Losses
Losses by name
Click the to view the boats Roll Of Honour
Struck on the starboard side, near the conning tower by the steam ship Berwick Castle. 18th March 1904 off Portsmouth, no survivors.
Raised 18th April 1904 and eventually used as target, sunk August 1911.
Foundered in Bomb Ketch Lake Portsmouth in January 1920.
Sold 22/10/1925 to H J Pounds of Portsmouth
Rammed and sunk by the HMS Hazard (The original Submarine Tender), off the Isle of Wight on 2nd February 1912.
Raised and used as target and sunk on 17th May 1912.
A5 was involved in an explosion at Queenstown, Ireland, on 16th February 1905 whilst berthed alongside the tender HMS Hazard, where five crew members were killed.
The explosion was caused by a leak in the petrol pump, when the engine was started up to ventilate the submarine it caused the fumes to explode.
Broken up in 1920 at Portsmouth Dockyard.
16/1/1914 - Sank in Whitsand Bay near Plymouth. Remains 135 feet down as a maritime grave
8 May 1905 - Sank in Plymouth Sound after internal explosion but was raised and repaired.
Eventually stricken in July 1916 and sold for breaking on 18th October 1920 to Phillips of Dartmouth.
Lost on 16th April 1951 through flooding caused by fractured snorkel in Hurd Deep, off Alderney
Sold for scrap in 1972 after sinking alongside at Dolphin trot 1.
On 9th August 1916, B10 was tied up alongside the Depot Ship Marco Polo in Venice. During an air raid by Austrian aircraft B10 was damaged by a bomb and sank.
The Submarine was later raised and placed in dry dock for refit/repair. During these repairs the Submarine was set on fire by a welder's torch and was written off.
Sold to the Italian government for scrap.
Rammed and sunk by SS Amerika off Dover 4th October 1912, one survivor, Lt. R.I. Pulleyne.
Lost after a collision the night of 14th July 1909 with the 3850 ton steamer Eddystone of Farrar, Groves and Co. off Happisburgh, twelve miles South of Cromer, Norfolk.
There were only three survivors, these being the CO, the first Lieutenant (Lt. G. Watkins) and one able seaman.
October 1918 - Sank in Immingham dock when main motors failed and she was carried by the tide against a destroyer. She was badly holed in this collision which caused her to sink.
She was later raised and put back into service.
Sold for scrap 2nd February 1920.
In collission with Government Hopper No.29 on 10th December 1913 in Plymouth Sound.
This was the seventh occasion on which a British submarine had been sunk in an accident, but the first on which there was no loss of life.
She was raised and survived until being sold 5th December 1921.
C16 which was dived and at periscope depth was in a collision with HMS Melampus on 16th April 1917. The submarine was damaged and hit the bottom at 60 feet.
It appears that all the crew survived the collision and the bottoming but, through a series of misfortunes, all attempts at escape failed and the whole crew was lost.
The submarine was later recovered and refitted and saw further war service.
The submarine was sold for scrap to C A Beard of Upnor on 12 August 1922.
Sunk in collision with HMS Lurcher in May 1917.
Repaired but scrapped 20th November 1919.
Deliberately scuttled in the Baltic off Helsingfors to prevent their capture by the German Army. The Care and Maintenance Party (under Lieutenant Downie) who carried out the scuttling also destroyed all of the stores and torpedoes of the Baltic Flotilla before returning home safely via Petrograd & Archangel.
The submarine was subsequently salvaged in August 1953
Deliberately scuttled in the Baltic off Helsingfors to prevent their capture by the German Army. The Care and Maintenance Party (under Lieutenant Downie) who carried out the scuttling also destroyed all of the stores and torpedoes of the Baltic Flotilla before returning home safely via Petrograd & Archangel.
On 29th August 1915 Submarine C29 (Lieutenant Commander William R Schofield) ran into an unknown mine field off of the Humber and the submarine was lost with all hands.
C29 was working with the trawler Ariadne in an operation against U-Boats. At the time, C29 was being towed whilst dived and was in contact with the Ariadne when the mine exploded.
The loss of C29 brought to an end Trawler/Submarine operations.
Submarine C31 was sent to the area off Zeebrugge in Belgium for a two-day patrol on the 4th January 1915 with orders to report at Harwich on the 7th. Nothing more was heard from C31 and on the 10th and 11th January two destroyers (Lurcher and Firedrake) attempted to find out what had happened but were thwarted by the stormy weather prevailing.
It was thought that the submarine had been sunk by enemy patrol craft but it may well have been mined. The date of the loss of C31 is accepted as being Thursday 7th January 1915.
Stranded 24th October 1917 in Gulf of Riga and destroyed by own forces.
On 4th August 1915 Submarine C33 was operating in the North Sea in conjunction with the trawler Weelsby in an operation against the U-Boats.
In the early evening the two vessels parted company. After a wireless message later the same evening nothing more was heard from C33.
It is believed that the Submarine strayed into a minefield, hit a mine and was lost with all hands.
On 17th July 1917 Submarine C34 was on the surface to the east of Fair Isle, in position 59 degrees 30 minutes North 0 degrees 05 minutes
West, when she was torpedoed by the German Submarine U-52 (Walther Hans).
The only survivor was Sto1 Frank Scoble O/N K22307 Frank Scoble was rescued by U-52 and taken Prisoner of War. He is understood to have returned home after the War.
Deliberately scuttled in the Baltic off Helsingfors to prevent their capture by the German Army. The Care and Maintenance Party (under Lieutenant Downie) who carried out the scuttling also destroyed all of the stores and torpedoes of the Baltic Flotilla before returning home safely via Petrograd & Archangel.
Sunk on 25th November 1914 by a German patrol boat off Borkum Island.
Erroneously sunk when mistaken for a U-boat on the 12th March 1918 by a French airship while in the Channel.
Sunk by a mine thrown out of a German warship off Great Yarmouth on 3rd November 1914.
Torpedoed by the German U-Boat UB-73 on 28th June 1918 near Northern Ireland.
Deliberately scuttled in the Baltic off Helsingfors to prevent their capture by the German Army.
The Care and Maintenance Party (under Lieutenant Downie) who carried out the scuttling also destroyed all of the stores and torpedoes of the Baltic Flotilla before returning home safely via Petrograd & Archangel.
Submarine E10 had been sent to patrol off the North-North West of Heligoland on 18th January 1915. The submarine parted company with the sister submarine E5 in the early evening of 18th January and was not seen again.
It was thought at the time that E10 was mined on or about 18th January, the recent discovery of the wreck of the submarine confirmed that she did hit a mine.
All hands were lost in this incident.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records that the loss took place on 21 January 1915 which, it is assumed, is the day the submarine should have arrived back at Harwich.
On 19th August 1915 Submarine E13 was attempting to make the passage through the Skaggerack and the Kattegat and into the Baltic Sea to join other British Submarines operating with the Russian Navy.
The Submarine experienced a gyro compass failure and ran aground on the Danish Island of Saltholm.
Despite the presence of Danish Warships in the area Submarine E13 was shelled into a wreck by German warships, which opened fire without warning.
Fifteen of the crew were killed in the attack and the remainder swam to safety but were then interned by the Danes.
She was eventually scrapped but parts of her machinery gave service for many years. Her motors were sold to the Aarhus Electric Works in 1929 and one was resold to a firm in Grenan where it remained in service until 1952.
Sold August 1915 to Denmark.
On 28th January 1918 Submarine E14 was badly damaged when one of her torpedoes exploded shortly after firing and was further damaged by shore based artillery after running aground at Kum Kale before finally sinking..
Nine of her crew rescued and taken prisoner.
E14 was the last submarine to be lost in the conflict with Turkey.
17 April 1915 - Ran aground at Kephez Point in the Dardanelles and subsequently torpedoed by HMS Majestic & Triumph to avoid capture by the Turks.
On 22 August 1916, E16 was sighted on the surface some thirty-five miles east of Yarmouth by the sister submarine E38. A group of warships was also sighted by E38 a short while later.
Splashes were seen on the surface in the distance which may have been depth charges exploding. There were also reports of German warships attacking a periscope on the same day.
E16 did not return from patrol and was presumed to have been lost.
In the morning of Thursday 6th January 1916 E17 was on patrol north of the island of Texel. The Submarine struck an uncharted bank and was badly damaged. The Dutch Cruiser Noord Brabant closed to investigate the problem but Lieutenant Commander Moncrieffe dived the Submarine to escape, believing that the Cruiser was hostile.
The damage forced Moncrieffe to surface. The crew was taken off and interned in Holland for the duration. Initially the crew was interned at Den Helder but they were later moved to Groningen where other Royal Navy internees were held.
E17 sank later in the morning of 6th January.
E18 was due to report in to Dagerot on the 2nd of June. Recently laid mines along the submarine's course home the likely cause for E18's loss
Deliberately scuttled in the Baltic off Helsingfors to prevent their capture by the German Army.
The Care and Maintenance Party (under Lieutenant Downie) who carried out the scuttling also destroyed all of the stores and torpedoes of the Baltic Flotilla before returning home safely via Petrograd & Archangel.
Torpedoed and sunk on 5th November 1916 by German U-boat U14 in the Sea of Marmara
Torpedoed and sunk by U18 in the North Sea on 25th April 1916. Two members of the crew picked up and landed at Zeebrugge.
E24 sailed from Harwich on Tuesday 21 March 1916 with orders to carry out a Mine Laying Operation in the Heligoland Bight.
The Submarine did not return from this operation and is assumed to have been mined on or about Friday 24 March 1916.
On 3rd July 1916 E26 was operating off the estuary of the Ems River when the submarine was attacked by German forces. Both gunfire and bombs were used. E26 did not return from her patrol. The crew were all lost.
Submarine E3 had been detailed to patrol off the Island of Borkum in the North Sea. However Submarine E3 was sighted, whilst on the surface, by the German U-Boat U-27.
The Commander of U-27 fired his torpedoes and sank E3. It is reported that four of the crew were seen in the water after the Submarine sank but the Commander of U-27 (Lieutenant Commander Bernhard Wegener) was unwilling to close the area to make a rescue as he was concerned that there was another British Submarine in the area.
When he finally closed the area of the sinking all four had vanished. As a result all of the crew of Submarine E3 died in the sinking.
Lost on 22nd November 1916 in the North sea. Possibly mined off Orford Ness
Believed mined on 20th July 1918.
Whilst returning from her twenty-fourth minelaying operation off Vlieland, she probably strayed into a minefield laid in that area by E51 some time earlier.
She was the last E boat to be lost in WWI.
E36 was lost with all hands in the North Sea, believed to have been hit, whilst dived, by E43 on Friday 19th January 1917.
E37 was lost on the night of 30th November/1st December 1916 although the CWGC Records quote a date of Sunday 3rd December 1916.
Lieutenant Commander Robert Fellowes Chisholm had sailed from Harwich in company with E54 (Lieutenant Commander Robert Raikes). It is thought that E37 was lost in a minefield off Orford Ness.
15/8/1916 - Sank off Harwich after collision with HMS E4
Scrapped in September 1922
On 2th March 1917 Submarine E49 left the Shetlands for patrol. As the Submarine was clearing the Balta Sound she hit a mine which had been laid by the German U-Boat UC-76 on 10th March 1917.
E49 sank with all the crew and is lying in 16 fathoms (96 feet) of water off Huney Island.
On 7th March 1916 Submarine E5 was on patrol in the North Sea north of Juist Island when it was sighted by a German Battle Cruiser SMS Seydlitz. An attack was carried out on the Submarine - apparently without effect.
Later a Submarine, believed to be E5, was sighted by German Cruiser SMS Regensburg further east and close by a German minefield off the west of the Ems River. Submarine E5 was not seen again and is thought to have been lost in the minefield.
Submarine E50 was lost in the North Sea on, or about 1/2/1918. The Submarine is believed to have struck a mine near the South Dogger Light Vessel.
On 4th September 1915 Submarine E7 was attempting a passage through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Marmora when the starboard propeller became entangled in the anti-submarine nets at Nagara.
Despite all efforts the submarine was unable to break free and to avoid being depth charged to destruction the Commanding Officer surfaced the submarine to abandon ship and then scuttled the submarine.
All of the crew survived and were made Prisoners of War. However four of the crew died in captivity.
Deliberately scuttled in the Baltic off Helsingfors to prevent their capture by the German Army.
The Care and Maintenance Party (under Lieutenant Downie) who carried out the scuttling also destroyed all of the stores and torpedoes of the Baltic Flotilla before returning home safely via Petrograd & Archangel.
Deliberately scuttled in the Baltic off Helsingfors to prevent their capture by the German Army.
The Care and Maintenance Party (under Lieutenant Downie) who carried out the scuttling also destroyed all of the stores and torpedoes of the Baltic Flotilla before returning home safely via Petrograd & Archangel.
In 1918 HMS G7 (Lt Charles A C Russell RN) operated out of Blyth patrolling the North Sea. Contact was lost on the 23rd October and she was declared lost on 1st November, the last British submarine lost in WW1
Ran aground and was wrecked off Howick, Northumberland, returning from Dogger Bank patrol in thick fog on 22nd November 1918. Two crew members lost.
Submarine G8 sailed on a North Sea patrol in January 1918 and failed to return. It is believed that she was lost in a German minefield on or about 14th January 1918.
Submarine G9 was on patrol in the North Sea on 16th September 1917 having left her base on the Tees on 9th September. The Submarine was in position between 60 degrees 30 minutes North and 61 degrees 30 minutes North. G9 apparently fired a torpedo at the ‘M’ Class Destroyer HMS Pasley believing the Destroyer to be a German U-Boat. The torpedo did not explode and HMS Pasley rammed the submarine, which sank.
There was one survivor, Stoker William Alfred Drake. The remainder of the crew of G9 was lost.
HMS Grampus was reported missing on her first War Patrol. In the Mediterranean. The Submarine was 'lost with all hands' on 16th June 1940 off Syracuse having been detected and depth charged by Italian torpedo boats Circe, Clio and Polluce.
Lost on 20 March 1944 when she ran aground on the west coast of the Island of Islay, Scotland
H10 sailed on a North Sea patrol in January 1918 and failed to return. It is believed that she was lost in a German minefield around 20th January.
Sank in Devonport Dockyard in August 1926. After being raised was scrapped in 1927
Mined attempting to penetrate the Austrian anchorage at Cattaro in the Adriatic sea on 15th July 1916. Lost with all hands.
At the time that the German Battle Cruisers Scharnhorst and Prinz Eugen were expected to leave Breast, H31 was sent to form part of a circle of submarines around the French Port. H31 was escorted as far as the Wolfe Rock and left her escort on 19th December 1941.
Nothing more was seen or heard of H31 which was presumed lost in the Atlantic along the Northwest Coast of Spain. There were no survivors.
Foundered in the English channel Sept 3 1918 while under tow to be scrapped. She was salvaged and used as a target the following year.
Sunk alongside at Blyth on 18th October 1919 after being holed in a collision, by the propeller of HMS Vulcan.
9 July 1929 - Sank off Pembrokeshire Coast following collision with HMS L12
On 17th October 1940, HMS H49 (Lt. Richard Evelyn Coltart, DSC, RN) sailed from Harwich with orders to patrol off Texel, on the Dutch coast.
On the following day, to the west of Texel in the Netherlands by H49 was depth charged by the German auxiliary submarine chasers UJ-116 and UJ-118. One survivor was picked up. He was L/Sto George William Oliver D/KX 77876, but the other 26 members of the crew were lost.
Submarine H5 had sailed for a patrol in the Irish Sea. In the morning of Saturday, 2nd March 1918 the Submarine was sighted after it had crossed the bows of a steamer, the SS Rutherglen.
The Captain of the Rutherglen believed that he had come across a U-Boat and he rammed the submarine resulting in the loss of all the crew.
SS Rutherglen was herself sunk on 24th April 1918 after being torpedoed by a U-Boat whilst on passage between Gibraltar and Genoa.
In 1940 she was scuttled at Dan Helder, salvaged by the Dutch and served as UD1 until March 1943.
Submarine J6 was sunk on 15th October 1918.
At the time J6 was on the surface near Blyth. In the afternoon the Q Ship HMS Cymric sighted what was thought to be a German Submarine and made an attack with her guns.
The submarine was unable to establish her identity as the Signalman attempting to hoist the Recognition Signal was killed by shell fire.
Submarine K1 was sunk, deliberately, by gunfire from the Cruiser HMS Blonde on 18th November 1917. K1 was sunk after being damaged in a collision with K4 off the Danish Coast.
The collision occurred when K1 lost power after sea water instead of oil fuel was accidentally sprayed into the boilers after changing over fuel tanks. All of the crew-members were transferred to HMS Blonde before the submarine was sunk.There were no casualties.
K13 sank on 29th January 1917 when carrying out Acceptance Trials in the Gareloch off shore of the Shandon Hydropathic Hotel. All personnel in the after part of the submarine were drowned.
The survivors from the front end of Submarine K13 were rescued on 31st January. The Submarine was raised on 15th March 1917 and was refitted and returned to service as K22.
Scrapped 1926.
Sank alongside HMS Canterbury whilst in Portsmouth Harbour, 25th June 1921.
Submarine K17 was lost on the night of 31st January 1918. The submarine, which had been steaming on the surface in formation during a night exercise, was hit by HMS Fearless.
K17 had altered course to avoid a collision with two trawlers that had been sighted. HMS Fearless, which was following K17, hit the submarine at 21 knots.
Many of the crew managed to abandon ship before the submarine sank but were run down whilst in the water by escorting Destroyers which were unaware that any accident had taken place. The incident in which K17 was lost came to be referred to as the 'Battle of May Island'.
Sunk after colliding with HMS Inflexible during a night exercise off May Island on 31st January 1918. The same day as her sister K17.
There were no survivors from Submarine K4
Foundered and sunk in the Bay of Biscay on 20th January 1921 for reasons unknown.
Sunk north of Terschelling by German destroyer S33 off river Texel, 30th October 1918
It is beleived that after firing her torpedoes at Soviet destroyers she had broken surface. She is subsequently thought to have dived into a minefield to evade the attacking destroyers and exploded a British mine, 4th June 1919.
She was salvaged and repaired by the Russians and put into service 7th August 1931.
Rammed and was sunk on 12th November 1925 by SS Vidar off Start Point. Wreckage was not found until 1990 by Royal Navy and more recently by divers in 1999.
HMS Medway was sunk by 2/3 torpedoes from U372 on 30th June 1942
Narwhal left Blyth on 22nd July 1940. On the afternoon of 23rd July, an aircraft reported attacking a submarine in the area where Narwhal should have been. Narwhal did not report again, it was assumed this attack sank the submarine with all hands.
The submarine was presumed lost on 18 June 1940. Since there are no German records about O13 having been sunk it is assumed that the submarine ran into a mine, a distinct possibility since O13 was patrolling in an area known to have been mined.
O22 left Dundee on 5 November 1940 to patrol off the Norwegian coast. She was not heard from again and is presumed mined.
Believed to be sunk by gunfire from Italian destroyer Strale & TB Baleno in the Gulf of Taranto on 14 June 1940
Odin (Lt. Cdr. Kenneth Maciver Woods, RN) went missing on her 1st Mediterranean War Patrol in June 1940 and was reported to have been 'lost with all hands' in the Gulf of Taranto about seventeen nautical miles east-north-east of Punta Alice, Crotone, Italy by the Italian destroyers Strale and Baleno on 14th June 1940, although this cannot be proved beyond doubt.
The boat was used for magic carpet trips to and from Malta. On 8th May she was detailed to evacuate survivors from the bombed submarines, P36, P39 and Pandora.
Olympus was mined six miles from St Elmos Light. There were only nine survivors out of the ninety eight crew and passengers.
HMS Orpheus was declared overdue on 27th June 1940. The likely cause of her loss with all hands is that she was mined off Benghazi.
in June 1940 Orzel was on patrol in the central North Sea. On June 5th Orzel was ordered to return to base. No reception was acknowledged. On June 8th the submarine was officially declared lost. The true cause is unknown, although it is commonly believed the Orzel most likely struck a British or German sea mine in or near the Skagerrak.
On 1st August 1940 HMS Oswald was rammed by the Italian Destroyer Vivaldi off Cape Spartivento.
The Submarine sank and three of the crew members were lost. The remainder of the crew survived and were taken as Prisoners of War.
The last submarine of this type to be taken out of service in April 1946. Scuttled in September 1946 off the coast of Durban.
HMS Oxley was torpedoed, in error, by HMS Triton (Lieutenant Commander Hugh Patrick de Crecy Steel, Royal Navy) in the North Sea (off Norway) on Sunday 10th September 1939. HMS Oxley had accidentally strayed into the patrol area allocated to HMS Triton and had failed, for various reasons to respond to challenges.
The Submarine Crew included a large proportion of Reservists, some of whom had served in Submarines in WWI, had only just been recalled for further Active Service.
There were only two survivors – the Commanding Officer Lt Cdr Harold Godfrey Bowerman and Able Seaman Herbert Gluckes C/J105279
Submarine P222 failed to arrive at Algiers and was reported overdue on 21st December 1942.
It was claimed that she was sunk by depth charge attack from the Italian torpedo boat De Fortunale on 12th December, south-east of Isola di Capri in position 40°29'N, 14°20'E.
This is assumed to be reason for the submarine's loss with all hands on 12th December
1942.
Submarine P32 was on patrol off Tripoli on 18th August 1942 when a convoy of five ships was sighted. The Commanding Officer attempted to dive under a minefield to give himself a better chance of attacking but the Submarine hit a mine that exploded, sending Submarine P32 to the bottom.
Eight men in the fore-ends were killed by the collision and twenty-two survived the bottoming. Three of the crew including the Captain made an escape from the Conning Tower whilst the remainder attempted an escape from the Engine Room.
Only two of the Crew made a successful escape. Lt Abdy and CPO Kirk survived as POWs.
Depth-charged and sunk by Italian torpedo boat Partenope off Pantelleria 18th August 1941.
HMS P31 left Malta on 6th August 1941 for a patrol off Tripoli. Submarines HMS P32 and HMS Unique left at the same time and were in adjacent patrol areas.
Both of these Submarines heard depth charging on 18th August coming from the area where Submarine P33 was patrolling. It is assumed that this depth charge attack was responsible for the loss of Submarine P33 with all hands.
During an air raid on Malta on 1st April 1942 Submarine P36, which was alongside the Submarine Base at Manoel Island, was hit by a bomb, which breached the pressure hull.
The submarine sank but there were no casualties as the crew were all ashore in shelters. The wreck of Submarine P36 was raised in August 1958 and sunk in deep water off Malta.
On 23rd February 1942 Submarine P38 was detected off the Tunisian coast by the Italian Torpedo Boat Circe which made a depth charge attack which blew the submarine to the surface.
There was then a gunfire attack by the Italian Destroyer Antoniotto Usodimare after which P38 submerged again.
Further depth charge attacks were made by both Antoniotto Usodimare and Emmanuel Pessagno which, again, brought Submarine P38 to the surface before sinking for the last time.
Submarine P38 was lost with all hands.
During an air raid on Malta on 26th March 1942 Submarine P39, which was alongside at the Dockyard for repairs, was hit by a bomb from a Stuka dive bomber. The bomb exploded under the Engine Room Artificer's Mess and almost blew the submarine in two.
There were no casualties as the crew were all ashore in shelters. The submarine was later raised, beached and was written off as a constructive total loss.
Submarine P48 was most likely sunk on 25th December 1942 in the Gulf of Tunis in position 37°15'N, 10°30'E by depth charge attack by the Italian torpedo boat Ardente north-west of Zembra Island
Submarine HMS P514 was lost on 21st June 1942 whilst on passage from Argentina to St Johns, Newfoundland escorted by the Corvette Primrose.
The Minesweeper HMCS Georgian (Lieutenant Commander Stanley, RCN) was waiting to pick up a convoy to be escorted to Sydney, Cape Breton Island.
Georgian sighted P514 in the early hours and, not being aware that there was an Allied Submarine in the area, Stanley rammed and sank P514. The Submarine was lost with all hands.
Submarine P514 was one of a number of old US Navy Submarines which had been loaned to the Royal Navy. In US Navy service, the Submarine was designated as Submarine R19.
The submarine was dispatched to West Africa to provide ASW Training based at Freetown in Liberia. On 18th April 1943 whilst on passage to Takoradi and under escort by MMS 107.
P615 was torpedoed and sunk by the German U-Boat U-123 (Oberleutnant zur Zee Horst von Schroeter). The Submarine was lost with all hands
Submarine P311 took part in an operation to take Chariots to attack Italian shipping at the port of La Maddelena. Submarine P311 was allocated three Chariots for this task and completed the passage through the Sicilian Channel. No further reports were received from the submarine and P311 was presumed lost in a minefield near La Maddelena on (or about) 2nd January 1943.
There were no survivors from the crew of the Submarine. Also lost were the three Chariots (Nos. X, XVIII and ***), the three Chariot Crews (six personnel in all) and the team of four Dressers.
During an air raid on Malta on 1st April 1942, Pandora was alongside Grand Harbour, Malta, off-loading stores, when she was hit by two bombs, which sank the submarine in less than four minutes.
Twenty-five of the crew were killed in the sinking. The wreck of Pandora was raised and beached in Kalkara Creek.
Salvaged in September 1943 and scrapped in 1945.
Lost after striking a mine in southern Adriatic on 6th August 1943.
On 6th December 1941 the boat was mined off Cephallonia. The sole survivor was L/S John Capes whose extraordinary escape has become a legend within the Submarine Service
Phoenix sailed on patrol in the Central Mediterranean from Alexandria on 3rd July 1940. A long-range attack was made on two Italian Battle Ships and four destroyer escorts and one hit was claimed.
Phoenix continued on to the patrol area off Sicily where a minefield was to be laid. The Submarine was lost with all hands on 10th July 1940, probably after a depth charge attack by the Italian Torpedo Boat Albatros off the San Croce Lighthouse at Augusta in Sicily.
Possibly sunk off Penang by Japanese A/S aircraft on or about 11th January 1945.
On 3rd January 1945 the Submarine left Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) for her 23rd War Patrol (4th in the Far East) with orders to lay a minefield off Penang. On 9th Jan 1945, Lt. Cdr. H B Turner, DSC is understood to have reported by signal that he had successfully laid her mines off Penang. On 13th January 1945,
HMS Stygian was sent a signal informing her that Porpoise was in trouble 17 miles northwest of Pulo Perak). This information came from an Ultra decrypt (now in the National Archives in London) reporting that on 11th January a Nakajima B6N2 bomber had attacked a Submarine, dropping two 60kg bombs.
Further bombing attacks we made later but there was no further contact. Japanese records show that a submarine was spotted and bombed by aircraft in the vicinity of Penang. Although not destroyed in this attack, the submarine was wounded and leaking oil that left a trail for the Japanese anti-submarine forces to follow as they closed in for the kill.
HMS Porpoise was later declared overdue and then as lost with all hands.
Lost after a collision with SS Yuta off Wei-Hai-Wei in the Gulf of Korea 9th June 1931.
4th October 1940, while attacking a convoy Rainbow collided with the Italian M/V Antonietta Costa and was lost with all hands.
HMS Regent is assumed to have been lost in the Adriatic Sea off Bari between the 18th and 25th April 1943. The submarine is thought to have strayed into a minefield. The entire crew of sixty-three Officers and Ratings were lost.
The first of four bodies washed up near Brindisi on 1st May 1943 and was the body of an ERA dressed in overalls and wearing a DSEA escape kit. Another was washed up at Santa Andrea di Missipezza on 15th May 1943 also wearing a DSEA kit. On 16th May either an Officer or a Petty Officer was washed up at Torre Santo Stefano, north of Otranto and, on the same day, another was washed up at Castro Marina.
Lost, possibly mined in the Guild of Taranto 26 November 1940.
HMS Sahib (Lt John Henry Bromage DSO DSC) was lost on 24th April 1943. After making a successful attack on an escorted Italian Convo.
The Submarine was damaged in a depth charge attack by the escorting Italian Corvettes Gabbiano (Lt Nilo Foresi) and Euterpe (Lt Antonio March). Lt Bromage surfaced HMS Sahib, which was badly damaged, and attempted to run on the surface. #
Owing to the damage to the Submarine the crew were forced to abandon ship. It is reported that German aircraft machine gunned the survivors in the water killing one of the crew.
The six Officers and the forty surviving crew members were taken Prisoner of War. Of the forty, twenty-three made escape attempts and twelve made successful ‘Home Runs’.
There was only one casualty in the sinking.
This Submarine sailed for a North Sea patrol on 4th July 1940 and was expected to return to base on 14th July 1940.
The Submarine is thought to have been sunk with all hands after hitting a mine on 9th July 1940.
Sunk after a depth charge attack on 14th August 1943 by the Italian Corvettes Minerva (Lieutenant Mario Baroglio) and Evterpe (Lieutenant Antonio March).
Two members of the crew were lost in the sinking. The remainder of the crew were taken Prisoner of War
Sunk after being attacked and depth-charged by German 1st Minesweeping Flotilla 7th January 1940.
Seal had been detailed to conduct a mine-lay in the Kattegat. Following the mine-lay the submarine was disabled and was un-manoeuvrable after accidentally hitting a mine.
The Crew were forced to surrender to German Air and Surface forces. Although attempts were made to scuttle the Submarine Seal was salvaged by the German Navy who tried unsuccessfully to operate.
HMS Shark was sunk on 6th July 1940 after being caught on the surface off the coast of Norway.
Several bombs exploded close astern and severely damaged the propulsion. The Submarine dived in an attempt to get to safety but resurfaced in order to charge up the batteries and attempt to escape under cover of darkness. Both engines were restarted but the Port Engine was out of line and the rudder was jammed hard to port. The Submarine was relocated by enemy aircraft and attacked again.
Unable to dive owing to a lack of high-pressure air, a low battery and flooding the Commanding Officer attempted to fight his way out but was forced, eventually, to surrender.
27 of the crew were uninjured, 12 (including the Commanding Officer) were wounded and 2 were killed. HMS Shark sank as the Germans were attempting to tow it to Stavanger.
Believed lost when she struck a mine in the Kythera Channel. Sickle was the last British submarine to be lost in the Mediterranean during WW2
Whilst carrying torpedoes which were fuelled by Hydrogen Peroxide she suffered an explosion whilst alongside in Portland Harbour on the 16th June 1955. Sidon sank twenty minutes after the explosion with the loss of 13 lives.
Expended as an anti-submarine target 14th June 1957.
Sunk on 19th November 1943 possibly by mines in the Dardanelles.
Lost in the Bay of Biscay cause unknown on 11th February 1941.
Believed sunk by U34 off coast of Norway on 1st August 1940. Sole survivor AB William Pester later killed in an accident 01-07-1945.
HMS Splendid (Lt Ian Laughlan Mackay McGeogh, DSO) was lost on 21st April 1943. The Submarine was detected by a German destroyer (Hermes) on 21st April 1943 while patrolling off Naples, Italy.
Splendid was attacked and damaged in a depth charge attack by the Destroyer and forced to the surface. Following a fire-fight with the Hermes in which sixteen crew members were killed, HMS Splendid was scuttled and her surviving forty crew members taken Prisoner of War
Depth charged and sunk by German minesweeper M7 in the Heligoland Bight on 9 Jan 1940
HMS Sterlet (Lt. Cdr. G R S Haward, RN) is believed to have been sunk on 18th April 1940 in the Skaggerak south of Larvik in Norway in position 58°55'N, 10°10'E after an attack by the German antisubmarine trawlers UJ-125, UJ-126 and UJ-128 although it is possible that she might have survived the attack and was mined while returning to base.
Stonehenge sailed from Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on 25th February 1944 for her second patrol in the Far East in the area between Northern Sumatra and the Nicobar Islands.
The Submarine was reported overdue on 20th March 1944 when she failed to return to Trincomalee.
The cause of loss is unknown but the Submarine was declared as ‘lost with all hands’, probably in the Malacca Straits on (or about) 16th March 1944
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.
Bombed and sunk by a Liberator of No.86 Squadron, RAF on the 27th July 1944 while serving as Russian submarine V1 of the 9th Flottilla.
7 November 1940 - Mined of St. Catherine's Point Isle of Wight
Syrtis left Lerwick on 16th March 1944 for a patrol off the Norwegian Coast in Latitude 63° 36’ North. On 20th March 1944 the Submarine was ordered to an area in the vicinity of Bödo. records indicate that she carried out attacks on enemy vessels in the area on 22nd March.
Syrtis was ordered to leave her Patrol Area on 28th March 1944 but failed to return to Lerwick as expected on 30th March 1944. An air search was carried out but no sign of the Submarine was found.
Mines are now known to have been laid in the area in which HMS Syrtis was working and it is almost certain that HMS Syrtis was lost with all hands by striking a mine off Bödo sometime between 22nd and 28th March 1944.
HMS Talisman left Gibraltar on 10th September 1942 with stores bound for Malta. She reported sighting a U-boat off Philippeville, Algeria on the 14th, but was not heard from again.
HMS Talisman is presumed to have been lost on Italian mines in off Sicily. Though Italians claim to have sunk a submarine on the 17/9/1942 to the north west of Malta.
Talisman had been due to arrive at Malta on 18th September 1942.
HMS Tarpon left Portsmouth for Rosyth on 5th April 1940. She was diverted to patrol around Norway on 6th April 1940. Around 0600 hours on 10th April 1940 the Tarpon encountered the German 'Q-ship' Schiff 40 west of Jutland, Denmark.
Tarpon attacked the German vessel with two torpedoes both of which missed. It is assumed that Tarpon was sunk with all hands by depth charges in a counter-attack by Schiff 40.
Tarpon was reported overdue on 22nd April 1940.
Tarpon was probably the first British submarine to be lost to depth charges in WW2.
Scuttled in position 39º11' North 17º47' East in the Gulf of Taranto on 13th February, 1942
The boat was detected and there followed a seven-hour depth charge attack by the Italian Torpedo Boat Circe (Capitano di Corvetta Stephanino Palmas). Following an epic struggle the submarine was forced to the surface in heavy seas.
The Italians botched the rescue, and of the crew of sixty-three there were twenty-four survivors (twenty-three out of sixty-two, according to the Coxswain). The remainder were lost
After leaving Alexandria on 17th October 1941 en-route home to the UK via Malta and Gibraltar, the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Greenway, was requested to carry out a short patrol off Cavioli Island after leaving Malta and before proceeding to Gibraltar.
Her last recorded position was established with Submarine HMS P34 as being 37 Degrees 28 Minutes North, 12 Degrees 35 Minutes East in the Sicilian Channel on 27th October 1941. No more was heard from the submarine she was presumed to have been lost in a minefield either in the Sicilian Channel or off the Island of Cavioli on 27th October 1941.
HMS Thames was lost with all hands on 3rd August 1940.
The Submarine was on its first patrol in the North Sea following a refit. The cause of the loss is not known but may have been the result of striking a mine.
Foundered whilst on trials in Liverpool bay on 1st June 1939. Salvaged and became Thunderbolt. As a result of her demise the Thetis bolt was invented and fitted to all rear tube doors.
In the early hours of 10th April 1940 Submarine HMS Thistle (Lt Cdr Herbert James Caldwell) was on the surface charging batteries off Skudenses in Norway when she was sighted by the U-Boat U-4 (Hinsh). Two torpedoes were fired at very close range, the first missed but the second hit and Thistle was sunk with all hands.
Believed to have been sunk 'With All Hands' on 6th August 1942 after an attack on an Italian convoy in the Mediterranean in position 34°25'N, 22°36'E.
A Ju-88 aircraft had been seen to make a machine-gun attack ahead of the convoy. The Italian torpedo boat Pegaso then detected a contact and carried out a series of depth charge
attacks. After seven attacks a large air bubble was seen, as was a large oil slick.
HMS Thorn had been expected to arrive at Beirut but was declared overdue on 11th August 1942 when she did not arrive.
HMS Thunderbolt was 'lost with all hands' in the Mediterranean off Cap San Vito, Sicily on 14th Mar 1943.
HMS Thunderbolt was detected, in the early hours of 14th Mar, by the Italian Destroyer Cicogna (Lieutenant Augusto Migliorini).
Following a three and a half hour pursuit the Cicogna made a depth charge attack at 0845. This brought the stern of Thunderbolt to the surface before the submarine finally sank.
27 February 1943 - Probably depth charged off Capri by German UJ2210
Reported overdue on 12th December 1942 and is presumed to have been lost with all hands to Italian mines in the Gulf of Taranto on 4th December 1942.
On 15th October 1940, the Italian submarine Enrico Toto (C.C. Bandino Bandini) encountered HMS Traid south west of Calabria in position 38°16'N, 17°37'E.
The Submarines passed at close range on opposite courses as the Italian submarine engaged with machine-gun fire and three rounds of 4" from her deck gun, claiming two direct hits. HMS Triad fired back scoring a hit on the conning tower of Enrico Toti but this caused only slight damage and wounded two sailors. Triad’s torpedo missed the Italian submarine by a few yards.
Triad pulled away and dived but Enrico Toti had fired a torpedo which made a direct hit. Triad was lost with all hands.
On 28 November 1940, Triton left Malta for a patrol in the southern Adriatic Sea. On 6 December, the Italian merchant Olimpia was torpedoed by a British submarine in the area. Her distress message was picked up by the Royal Navy, which assumed that the attack had been carried out by Triton.
The submarine was never heard from again, and was declared lost with all hands on 18 December. Olimpia was successfully towed to port by Italian escort units.
The Italian Navy claimed that Triton was sunk by torpedo boats, probably Confienza, possibly by Clio, but the date cited was several days after contact was lost.
British sources claimed that Triton was sunk by naval mines in the Strait of Otranto
The boat was mined on or around 21st January 1942. She had earlier struck a mine in December 1940 but miraculously survived.
There were no miracles the second time.
HMS Trooper sailed from the Base at Beirut on 28th September 1943 for a patrol off the west of the Dodocanese Islands.
The Submarine failed to arrive back as expected on 17th October and was assumed to have been sunk by a mine on 10th Oct 1943. There were no survivors.
Sank after a collinsion with MV Divina in the Medway estuary 12th January 1950. Salvaged in March 1950. Scrapped in September 1950 at Grays.
HMS Turbulent was presumed to have mined off Sardinia on or about 14 March 1943.
The Submarine had sailed from Algiers on 24th February 1943 for what was to be her last patrol in the Mediterranean before returning home. A signal was sent to Turbulent on 20th March giving a route back to Algiers. No reply was received concerning this signal.
It is thought that there were two likely reasons for the loss of Turbulent . These were a depth charge attack by a Ju88 and the Italian Destroyer Ardito on 6th March 1943 in the Bay of Naples or striking a mine in the minefields north and east of Sardinia between 12th and 14th March 1943
The entire crew of sixty-two Officers and Ratings was lost.
Mistaken for a U boat by anti submarine trawler Peter Hendriks off the Wash and rammed on 19 July 1941
Mistaken for a U boat in the Bay of Biscay and bombed by the RAF on 11 Nov 1942
She was lost during her first patrol off Tripoli, being the second U class boat to be lost.
Possibly sunk off Zuara, Libya by Italian TB Pegaso on 12th May 1941.
Depth charged by German minesweepers M1201, M1204 and M1207 in Heligoland Bight and scuttled 7 Jan 1940
The crew were picked up by the German and survived more than five years as prisoners.
Returned to the UK for refit. On completion did a short period in UK waters before returning to the Mediterranean.
On 10th October 1942 Submarine HMS Unique was on passage from UK to Gibraltar and had been ordered to conduct a patrol off North Spain on the way to intercept any possible 'blockade runners'.
Submarine HMS Ursula which had similar orders heard sounds of explosions whilst crossing the Bay of Biscay and assumed that Submarine HMS Unique was being attacked. No claim for an attack was made but it was assumed that the Submarine was lost with all hands after the attack.
Sank after collision with the Norwegian Atle Jarl off the River Tyne entrance 29th April 1940.
Lt. Low along with three ratings remained below shutting bulkhead doors while the remainder of the crew reached safety.
Lt. Low was posthumously awarded the George Cross.
All four who remained behind were lost.
Reported lost whilst on passage from Malta to Alexandria on 29th April 1942.
Experts believe that the HMS Urge was fatally struck by a German mine shortly after leaving Malta's Grand Harbour, while the vessel was still surfaced.
At the time of her loss, the submarine was carrying ten ratings as passengers in addition to the normal crew as part of the evacuation of the 10th Submarine Flotilla from Malta to Alexandria and a War Correspondent.
On 24th September 1943 HMS Usurper left Algiers for a patrol off La Spezia, Italy. On 3rd October. Lieutenant Mott was ordered to move north to an area in the Gulf of Genoa in an area later identified as containing Italian Minefield QB192.
HMS Usurper was patrolling in the Gulf of Genoa when the German anti-submarine vessel UJ-2208 reported that she had been unsuccessfully attacked. In the counterattack which followed UJ-2208 reported sinking a Submarine.
It is possible that HMS Usurper was sunk in this attack but, she might also have been lost in a minefield. HMS Usurper did not respond to any signals and failed to arrive back at Algiers on 12th October 1942 and was reported lost with all hands
Depth charged by Italian TB Groppo off the west coast of Sicily on 24 November 1942.
Bombed and sunk by a Liberator of No.86 Squadron, RAF on the 27th July 1944.
The shortest living vessel built at Barrow foundered during trials in the Firth of Clyde on 24th February 1943.
The wreck was located in June 1994 but the cause of her loss remains unknown.
Scuttled in North Sea after failed attack on Scharnhorst on 3 Oct 1943
The Submarine was under tow by HMS Syrtis in the Pentland Firth on Monday 7th February 1944 when the Officer of the Watch (Lieutenant Charles Blythe, RNR) was washed overboard from the bridge of HMS Syrtis.
The Commanding Officer of HMS Syrtis (Lieutenant M H Jupp, Royal Navy) reversed course in an attempt to rescue his ‘man overboard’ and accidentally collided with Submarine X-22.
Submarine X-22 sank at once and Lieutenant MacFarlane and his crew of three were all lost.
Lost during an attack on on German Battleship Tirpitz in Altenfjord Norway on 22 Sept 1943
Lost during an attack on on German Battleship Tirpitz in Altenfjord Norway on 22 Sept 1943
Lost during an attack on on German Battleship Tirpitz in Altenfjord Norway on 22 Sept 1943
Sank after a collision in Loch Striven on the morning of 6th March1945. XE11 was exercising in Loch Striven when she collided with a boom defence vessel that was laying buoys
A Tribute To Submariners
I have often looked for an opportunity of paying tribute to our submariners.
There is no branch of His Majesty's Forces which in this war has suffered the same proportion of total loss as our submarine service.
It is the most dangerous of all services.
That is perhaps the reason why the First Lord tells me that the entry into it is keenly sought by Officers and Men.
I feel sure the House would wish to testify its gratitude and admiration to our Submariners for their Skill - Courage and Devotion which has proved of inestimable value to the sustenance of our country.
Winston Churchill
We Will Remember Them |