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On This Day - December 12

1914 B 11 (I 00) Sailed from Tenedos in an attempt to break into the Sea of Marmara.
1917 P 511 Laid Down
1936 X 1 Laid up and scrapped
1939 Salmon (N 65) German liner Bremen arrives at Bremerhaven from Murmansk, having evaded the British blockade. Bremen was intercepted by HMS Salmon but the submarine observed the then current rules of engagement and surfaced to order Bremen to heave-to. However, a German flying boat appeared and Salmon was forced to dive and Bremen escaped
1939 Seahorse (S 98) HMS Seahorse was undocked.
1939 Undine (N 48) HMS Undine was docked at Blyth.
1940 Urge (N 17) Completed
1941 Torbay (N 79) HMS Torbay sinks the Greek sailing vessel P III with gunfire north-west of Suda Bay, Crete.
1941 Utmost (N 19) HMS Utmost attacks the Italian merchant Fabio Filzi in the Gulf of Taranto but miss the target.
1941 O 20 (Dutch) Placed under the command of the British Commander in Chief Eastern Fleet and ordered to proceed to Singapore.
1942 Vampire (P 72) HMS Vamire was depth charged and sunk by the Italian MTB Fortunale off Naples.
1942 P 222 HMS P222 sunk by depth charging.

HMS P222 left Gib for patrol off Naples on 30th November 1942. Messages were received from her on 7th December, but after that no more was heard. P222 failed to arrive at Algiers on her due date of 21st December, and the Italians claimed to have sunk a submarine by depth charge on the 12th December. This is the most probable cause of the submarines loss but there has been no conformation.
1942 P 512 HMS P-512 lost a man overboard off Pictou NS
1944 Subtle (P 251) HMS Subtle sinks three Japanese sailing vessels with gunfire in the Strait of Malacca.

Featured Badge

Stratagem (P 234)

Class: 1935 - 1970: Improved S Class
Built By: Cammell Laird (Mersey)
Build Group: S3
Fate:
HMS Stratagem sailed from Trincomalee on 10th November 1944 with orders to patrol in the vicinity of Malacca where it was believed the Japanese were loading ships with bauxite ore.

On the afternoon of the 18th Stratagem attacked and sank the tanker Nichinan Maru.

On 22nd November a Japanese aircraft spotted the submarine and directed a destroyer to where it had dived. Just after midday the destroyer attacked, the first depth charge causing the submarine's bow to strike the bottom.

The submarine was plunged into darkness and the forward part began to flood. Attempts to shut the watertight door to the forward compartment failed and the crew were forced to make their escape.

Ten crew managed to escape, of which eight were taken Prisoner of War. Only three of these (who were taken to Japan) survived captivity. The other five were executed in Singapore by the Japanese.
Featured Film
German U-Boats at Sea
Historical documentary which explores the efforts of German soldiers during World War II.

The outbreak of the Second World War meant that both sides had to concentrate a huge amount of their workforce on rearmament, with large amounts of supplies being delivered by air.

The German army relied heavily on their U-boats, and with ambush tactics devised by their creator, Admiral Doentitz, they became a dangerous force on the water.

The programme includes rare footage of former captains and U-boats in action.
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