Saracen (P247)
| Built By: | Cammell Laird (Mersey) |
| Build Group: | S Group 3 |
| Fate: | 14 August 1943 - Depth charged off Corsica by Italian CVT Minerva |
Saracen
Ex P213
Ex P63
Stoker W Holt was awarded the DSM in March 1943
HMS Saracen Found
Extract from the Daily Telegraph of Tuesday 23rd June 2015
One of the most feared Royal Navy Submarines of the Second World War has been found, seventy two years after it was scuttled off the coast of Corsica. Photographs of HMS Saracen lying hundreds of feet below the surface of the Mediterranean were released by Guido Gay, an Italian engineer, following a two year search.
"This morning I inspected a sonar contact found yesterday and there she is – beautifully adorned by white corals" said Mr. Gay, who discovered the S Class Submarine in Italian waters at a depth of 1,385 feet. HMS Saracen terrorised the German and Italian navies in the Mediterranean.
Terry Hodgkinson, a British author who has written extensively about the Submarine, said the find was "absolutely magnificent". "It is an incredible discovery and one which will cause huge excitement around the world," he said.
Mr Hodgkinson said all surviving relatives of the Saracen crew were being informed of the discovery, and a bronze badge honouring those who served on board will now be lowered to the wreck.
Beyond that she will remain exactly where she is, as befits a War Grave.
Stoker 1st Class William Holt
On 1st March 1944 Stoker 1st Class William Holt, DSM D/KX 132173 was a Prisoner of War in Italy from Submarine HMS Saracen.
He tried to make his way to Allied lines after the Italian surrender but was arrested and held in Perugia jail before being transferred to the Dachau and then the Buchenwald Concentration Camps.
After an intervention by a Czechoslovak interpreter he was sent to Stalag XVIIIC at Markt Pongau, Austria. It is understood that he was beaten by camp guards damaging his health and he later died from pneumonia.
He is buried in the Klagenfurt War Cemetery in Austria in Grave No. 6.D.17. He was the husband of Gladys Holt
Acting Sub Lt Roy Charlton Elliott
Acting Sub Lt Roy Charlton Elliott RN died on 15th March 1944 whilst a Prisoner of War in Italy from Submarine HMS Saracen.
He had been sent to Rome with the other Officers from Saracen but he escaped and made his way to the Vatican City but, unfortunately, he died after a fall from a window at the Vatican.
Roy Elliott was the twenty one year old son of Christopher Charlton Elliot and his wife Margaret of Woodlands, Station Road, Benton, Northumberland. He is buried in the Campo Cestio Cemetery in Rome in Plot D.3.11.
Roll of Honour
| Name | Rank | Number | Hons | Age |
| Dowen, James William | Able Seaman | P/JX 283499 | 22 | |
| Elliott, Roy Charlton | Acting Sub Lieutenant | 21 | ||
| PoW died after a fall from a window at the Vatican while trying to escape | ||||
| Holt, William | Stoker 1st Class | D/KX 132173 | DSM | |
| PoW beaten by camp guards damaging his health and died from pneumonia 1st March 1944 | ||||
| Ward, Ronald George | Stoker Petty Officer | D/KX 85717 | DSM* | 30 |
Events
| 16-07-1940 : | Laid Down |
| 16-02-1942 : | Launched |
| 27-06-1942 : | Completed |
| 03-08-1942 : | On her first patrol, HMS Saracen torpedoed and sank U-335 NE of the Faeroes. One survivor from crew of 44 |
| 10-10-1942 : | A submarine duel occurred on this day in the Mediterranean. The British submarine HMS Saracen fired two torpedoes at U-605, but missed. The U-boat replied with four torpedoes, but these also missed |
| 09-11-1942 : | HMS Saracen torpedoes and sinks the Italian submarine Granito near Capo San Vito, Sicily, Italy. |
| 16-11-1942 : | At 0907 hours HMS Saracen fires three torpedoes against a convoy made up of the small Italian tanker Labor, the German merchant Menes escorted by the Italian torpedo boats Calliope and Climene north of the Gulf of Tunis. All torpedoes fired missed their targets. |
| 17-12-1942 : | HMS Saracen fires four torpedoes against the German transport ship Ankara and one of her escorts the Italian destroyer Camicia Nera north of Bizerte, Tunisia. All torpedoes fired missed their targets. |
| 20-01-1943 : | HMS Saracen sinks the Italian auxiliary submarine chaser V 3/Maria Angelette with gunfire about 30 nautical miles south of Isola di Capri, Italy. |
| 12-02-1943 : | HMS Saracen sinks the French tugs Provincale II and Marseillaise V. with gunfire off Cape Sardineaux, southern France. |
| 15-02-1943 : | HMS Saracen torpedoes and damages the French (in German service) tanker Marguerite Finaly in the Capo di Noli/Capo di Vado area, Italy. |
| 19-02-1943 : | HMS Saracen damages two sailing vessels with gunfire at Cervo, Liguria, Italy. |
| 19-04-1943 : | HMS Saracen sank the italian boat Francesco Crispi near cap Punta Nera Elba's isle in Tirreno Sea. |
| 22-04-1943 : | HMS Saracen torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Tagliamento about 35 nautical miles south of Pianosa, Italy. |
| 06-07-1943 : | HMS Saracen sank the Italian merchant Tripoli near the Island of Monte Cristo |
| 11-07-1943 : | HMS Saracen torpedoes and sinks the German merchant Tell about 25 nautical miles east of Corsica. |
| 14-08-1943 : | HMS Saracen suffers flooding after heavy depth charge attacks by Italian torpedo boats Euterpe and Minerva off Bastia. Unable to control buoyancy, the crew assembles in the control room to make their escape to the surface, and Saracen sinks after being abandoned |
| 22-06-2015 : | The remains of Saracen were found seventy two years after it was scuttled off the coast of Corsica. Photographs of HMS Saracen lying hundreds of feet below the surface of the Mediterranean were released by Guido Gay, an Italian engineer, following a two year search. |
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