| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | M |
| Fate: | Foundered due to a leak in the hangar door on 26th January 1932 |
Started life as K19.
M2 and M3 had their large 12-inch guns removed in the late 1920s to conform with the Washington Disarmament Treaty, which stated that no submarine should have larger than 8-inch calibre guns. M2 was refitted with a seaplane hangar forward of the conning tower and a catapult to launch a small Parnall Peto seaplane.
This conversion was a success, and M2 could surface from periscope depth, open the hangar door, catapult the plane, close the door and dive again within five minutes.
She was subsequently lost during exercises in the English Channel in 1932 when her hangar door was left open.
The wreck of M2 is used in the training of sonar operators.
The Royal Navy's Tragic Submarine Carrier Experiment
Roll of Honour |
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| Arbuthnot, Crofton Keith |
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| Lieutenant Commander | ||||||
| Back, Leonard Stanley |
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| Electrical Artificer 3rd Class | ||||||
| Banks, Sydney Wilfred |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Blake, Frederick James |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Brown, Dougal McPherson |
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| Leading Steward | ||||||
| Burridge, Jack |
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| Leading Telegraphist | ||||||
| Butcher, Harold Frederick |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Chapman, Cecil |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Clarke, Allan |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Coleshill, Charles Jeffrey |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Drummond, James |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Edwards, John Herbert |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Ellis, Stanley Gilbert |
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| Petty Officer Telegraphist | ||||||
| England, George |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Estcourt, George |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Ferguson, Douglas |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Gregory, Leslie (RAF) |
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| Leading Aircraftsman | ||||||
| Hardy, Charles Percy |
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| Engine Room Artificer 1st Class | ||||||
| Harman, Frank James (RAF) |
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| Leading Aircraftsman | ||||||
| Hayes, William Alfred |
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| Warrant Engineer | ||||||
| Head, Hamilton Charles Wrightson |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Horn, Stanley Charles Albert |
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| Engine Room Artificer 1st Class | ||||||
| RN DoB 24/02/1895 | ||||||
| Jackson, Edward Victor |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Jacobs, Albert Ernest |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Jarrett, Sidney Reginald Williams |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| King, James |
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| Chief Petty Officer | ||||||
| Lakin, John William |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| RN DoB 08/02/1901 | ||||||
| Leathes, John Duncan de Mussenden |
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| Lieutenant Commander | ||||||
| Commanding Officer | ||||||
| Leavy, Frederick William |
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| Signalman | ||||||
| Lewis, John William James |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| MacDonald, Louis Peter |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Macdonald, Somerled |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Matthews, Edward |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Morris, Thomas |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| O'Dwyer, Albert Anthony Edward |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Oliver, Frank Henry Joseph |
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| Leading Steward | ||||||
| Peplow, William |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Powell, Henry |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Rawlings, William Herbert |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Ready, Frank |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Sharpe, George |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| RN DoB 09/07/1901 | ||||||
| Sims, John Harold |
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| Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | ||||||
| Smales, Joseph Frederick |
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| Yeoman of Signals | ||||||
| Smith, Reginald |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Sweetland, Cecil Sydney |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Thomas, Ernest Joel |
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| Telegraphist | ||||||
| Thornton, Thomas |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Threlfall, Charles Harold |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Toppin, Henry Castlehow |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Pilot | ||||||
| Totterdell, James Henry Francis |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Townsend, Claud Richard |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Observer | ||||||
| Treacy, Philip |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Vincent, Arthur John |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Walker, Ralph |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Watson, William Alan |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Whiting, Francis Charles |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Williams, Leonard Walter |
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| Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | ||||||
| Winfield, Harold |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Woodhouse, Frank Leslie |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Wrathmall, Charles |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Real name, AKA John Edward Wrathmall | ||||||
| 13-07-1916 | Laid Down |
| 19-10-1918 | Launched |
| 14-02-1920 | Completed |
| 26-01-1932 | Foundered due to a leak in the hangar door on 26th January 1932 At 9 o'clock on the morning of 26th January 1932 HMS M2 left Portland to take part in routine exercises. At 1011 she signalled her intention to dive at 1030. This was the last communication with the submarine. The loss of radio communication did not cause any consternation until M2 failed to return to port as expected at 1615. Search vessels were dispatched but there was no sign of the submarine or her crew. No explanation could be found for her loss until the Admiralty received a report from the captain of the coaster Tynesider which reported seeing a submarine diving stern first off Portland. This had caused the Captain some anxiety but he thought he saw the same submarine a short time later. M2's exact position remained a mystery for a week until the Destroyer Torrid picked up sonar sounds that indicated a sunken submarine; divers confirmed this to be M2 lying with her stern in the sand at a depth of 90ft Two bodies were recovered from the wreck during the next week. A number of attempts were made to raise the vessel but all failed. It was believed she had dived with both inner and outer hangar doors open though the cause was never disclosed. |
| Length overall | 295 ft 9 inch |
| Beam | 24 ft 8 inch |
| Depth | 18 ft 8 inch |
| Displacement | 1594 tons (surface) |
| 1946 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 200 ft |
| Speed | Surface 16 knots (design) 10 (service) |
| Submerged 10 (design) 8 to 9 knots (service) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Propeller | 3 blades, 5 ft 10 inch diameter |
| Armament | (i) 4 x 18 inch bow tubes (8 torpedoes carried) |
| 1 x 12 inch gun | |
| 1 x 3 inch gun | |
| Endurance | Surface: 2500 miles at 16 knots (design) 2000 miles at full power or 4500 miles max (service) / Submerged: 10 miles at 10 knots (design) 9 miles at 8+ knots (service) |
| Complement | 6 Officers and 62 Ratings |
| Note | (i) In M3 these were replaced by four 21 inch bow tubes, which were responsible for an overall increase in length of 10 ft |
Further Reading |
|
| M-class Submarines |
Martin H. Brice |
| Class: | 1935 - 1970: Improved S Class |
| Built By: | Cammell Laird (Mersey) |
| Build Group: | S3 |
| Fate: | |
| 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. | |
World War II: Resistance fighters accept a suicide mission to deliver a stolen Nazi submarine carrying atomic uranium. Hunted by Hitler’s army, the crew must outwit the German Navy to bring the cargo safely to America.
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| Length overall | 295 ft 9 inch |
| Beam | 24 ft 8 inch |
| Depth | 18 ft 8 inch |
| Displacement | 1594 tons (surface) |
| 1946 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 200 ft |
| Speed | Surface 16 knots (design) 10 (service) |
| Submerged 10 (design) 8 to 9 knots (service) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Propeller | 3 blades, 5 ft 10 inch diameter |
| Armament | (i) 4 x 18 inch bow tubes (8 torpedoes carried) |
| 1 x 12 inch gun | |
| 1 x 3 inch gun | |
| Endurance | Surface: 2500 miles at 16 knots (design) 2000 miles at full power or 4500 miles max (service) / Submerged: 10 miles at 10 knots (design) 9 miles at 8+ knots (service) |
| Complement | 6 Officers and 62 Ratings |
| Note | (i) In M3 these were replaced by four 21 inch bow tubes, which were responsible for an overall increase in length of 10 ft |
Further Reading |
|
| M-class Submarines |
|
Martin H. Brice |
| Class: | 1935 - 1970: Improved S Class |
| Built By: | Cammell Laird (Mersey) |
| Build Group: | S3 |
| Fate: | |
| 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. | |
World War II: Resistance fighters accept a suicide mission to deliver a stolen Nazi submarine carrying atomic uranium. Hunted by Hitler’s army, the crew must outwit the German Navy to bring the cargo safely to America.
14 pages added or updated in the last 5 month
Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button
If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
Comments
Comment by: Melanie Bishop on August 26th, 2022
My Grandfather is Harold Frederick Butcher J91916.
Prior to transferring to the submarine HMS M2, my grandfather served on various ships and land-based facilities. In 1929 he was with HMS Pembroke, during this time he took part in the Royal Tournament Field Gun Competition, he won two solid silver medals for best aggregate score and Fastest Run.
I am the proud custodian of these medals plus various memorabilia relating to the sinking of the M2, these passed into my possession on the death of my father, my grandfather's only son. My Grandfather had just had his thirtieth birthday when he met his fate in the M2.
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