| Built By: | Vickers (Barrow) |
| Build Group: | R2 |
| Fate: | 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. |
| 1932: | Lieutenant Commander | John Reginald Hughes D'Aeth | |
| 1936: | Lieutenant Commander | Ronald George Mills | |
| 1939: | Lieutenant Commander | Hugh Christopher Browne | |
| 1941: | Lieutenant Commander | Peter Joseph Howell Bartlett | |
| 1941: | Lieutenant | Walter Neville Ronald Knox | DSC |
Served in Chinese waters until being sent to the Mediterranean in 1940.
1930-1931: Portsmouth.
1931-1935: Mediterranean.
1935-1940: 4th Flotilla. HMS Medway, China Station.
1940: 1st Flotilla. HMS Medway, Alexandria.
1941: 10th Flotilla. Malta.
It should be noted that although some boats were attached to HMS Medway at Singapore, they often operated in a detached mode covering the China Station such as Hong Kong and even to the point of patrolling the Siberian Coast and boats attached to 1st Flotilla in Alexandria were likely to spend much of their time at Malta, even though Malta had been given up as a submarine base due to the air attacks. Although submarines did still operate from Malta during this period the 10th Flotilla was not recognised as such until September 1941.
Sank the Silvia Tripcovich 2,400 tons
Story by Ian Randall (Dec 2022)
Divers have located a wreck off of Italy's Adriatic coast that they believe may be HMS Regent, a submarine that vanished during April 1943, in the middle of World War 2. Experts believe that the 62-man sub sank after striking a mine off of the coast of Monopoli on April 18 that year. Historical accounts note that an unidentified submarine attacked an Italian convoy that afternoon, and later that day an explosion was heard off the same coast.
The Navy assumed the Regent was lost when she failed to return to her base in Beirut, Lebanon, to refuel and take on supplies as expected by May 1, 1943. In the following weeks, four bodies, three of which were dressed in the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus used by British submariners were washed ashore south of Monopoli. However, the individuals, who were buried in the Bari War Cemetery, were not identified.
The newly identified wreck, located off of the coast near Villanova di Ostuni, some 19 miles from Monopoli, was discovered by divers with the Italian Naval League. Marine explorer Fabio Bisciotti leads the underwater study group at the Italian Naval League. He said:
The wreck lies at a 75 metre [246 foot] depth and it's upside down.
"When we arrived on this wreck, in the first moment, it was difficult to understand that we were talking about the Regent. But if you study the hull, the composition of the steel, and the stern and the bow, we have seen that we are talking about a British design.
The dimensions of this wreck match with a British design and, of course, on the bow we are talking about six torpedo tubes, three per side.
If we are talking about a German U-boat or an Italian submarine, we are talking about four torpedo tubes, so, two per side.
Mr Bisciotti's team, which includes Acquelibere Sub Diving Club of Padua members Stefania Bellesso and Michele Favaron, were able to obtain footage of the wreck. In this video, there is evidence that the vessel was the victim of an explosion.
The blast damage seen on the wreck would fit the theory that the Regent sank after striking a mine in April 1943. Given this, the location of the wreck and the recorded submarine deployments of the time, Mr Bisciotti is emphatic that there is only one possible candidate that could have produced the wreck in question.
He explained:
Mathematically, it's not an opinion. If we want to talk about this wreck, it's surely the Regent, because nobody else was in this area. "In April 1943, watching all the diaries of the submarines from Great Britain in the Mediterranean Sea, only the Regent was patrolling the area.
A Royal Navy spokesperson said that, with the wreck being upside down and having key sections buried in the sea-floor, it would not be possible at present to confirm the discovery. However, they added, this could change as and when more information comes to light. They added:
We appreciate the efforts to locate the wreck of HMS Regent which, even after the passage of eight decades, would bring a sense of closure to the families and descendants of those tragically lost when she sank.
We are also especially grateful for all the efforts made in protecting the last resting place of those who gave their lives in the service of our country.
One family who are hoping to locate the Regent are those of William Trice, the submarine's CERA. The trauma of William's death, they explained, has reverberated down through the generations.
Roll of Honour |
63
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| Atkinson, John Kenneth |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Backhouse, Alfred MID |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Baker, Ronald Victor |
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| Warrant Engineer | ||||||
| Bayliss, Sidney |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Brown, Robert William |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Chesworth, Kenneth Lloyd |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Clifford, Raymond Alfred |
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| Chief Petty Officer | ||||||
| Compton, Ernest Reuben |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Cox, Sydney Arthur Albert |
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| Telegraphist | ||||||
| Culham, James Willmot Samuel |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Dewhurst, Herbert Edward |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Ellis, George Griffith |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Fernie, Robert Russell |
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| Sub Lieutenant | ||||||
| Foster, Benjamin William |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Foxhall, Percival George Thomas |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Gee, Leslie Robert |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Gibson, Peter Rawstone Johnstone |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Grounsell, Cyril Thomas |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Harding, Vincent Joseph |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Harvey, Robert |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Robert, or Bob as he was known, was born in November 1911 and had married Kate Elizabeth Frost, Kitty, in 1935, but they had no children. Kitty remarried some years after his death. Bob had been in America in 1942, when HMS Regent was being refitted, and had recorded a record which was with Kitty's family, with whom he had been staying. His sister learned of this record in 2009 and asked if she could have a copy or recording from it, to hear her brother's voice again. Sadly this has not been possible. |
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| Hewitt, Alfred |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Hitchcock, Toney James |
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| Leading Telegraphist | ||||||
| Hitches, Leonard Richard |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Horton, William Ronald |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Howell, Richard |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Hudson, Jeffrey King |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Imison, David Howard |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Jones, Arthur Herbert |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| King, Herbert George DSC |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Knox, Walter Neville Ronald |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Commanding Officer | ||||||
| Lee, Richard Denis |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Leech, Henry |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Lemin, John |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Lipscombe, Leonard Albert |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Lloyd, Richard William |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Loughran, Henry |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Lowis, Reginald Edward |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Mathews, Gordon Frank |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Moores, Alfred |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Murphy, Kenneth Charles |
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| Telegraphist | ||||||
| Murray, Athol James |
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| Leading Telegraphist | ||||||
| Noble, George Patrick |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Packer, John William |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Parris, Stanley George |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Perry, James Charles |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Pratt, Edwin Joseph Charles |
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| Warrant Engineer | ||||||
| Ex. M36621 | ||||||
| Rawlings, Albert Edward |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Rhodes, Bernard George |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Russell, Ernest Roy Wright |
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| Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | ||||||
| Savage, Stephen Albert |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Sawyer, Geoffrey James |
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| Leading Signalman | ||||||
| Shoulder, George Edwin |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Skinner, Reginald Wilfred |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Ex. H3944J112501 | ||||||
| Sutton, Richard John |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Tatham, Bryan Palmer |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Taylor, Jack Edward |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Thompson, Roy William |
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| Engine Room Artificer 5th Class | ||||||
| Tierney, George William |
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| Leading Cook | ||||||
| Trice, William Arthur |
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| Chief Engine Room Artificer | ||||||
| Turner, Anthony Donald Victor Henry |
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| Leading Telegraphist | ||||||
| Wentworth, Samuel |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Wilks, William Henry |
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| Telegraphist | ||||||
| Woods, Bertie Charles |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| 19-06-1929 | Laid Down |
| 11-06-1930 | Launched |
| 11-11-1930 | Completed |
| 05-10-1940 | HMS Regent rams and sinks the already grounded Italian sailing vessel Maria Grazia off Bari, Italy. |
| 09-10-1940 | HMS Regent torpedoes and damages the Italian merchant Antonietta Costa about 20 nautical miles west of Durazzo, Albania. |
| 15-01-1941 | HMS Regent torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Citt di Messina about 45 nautical miles east of Tripoli, Libya. |
| 21-02-1941 | HMS Regent torpedoes and damages the German merchant Menes about 55 nautical miles north-north-west of Tripoli, Libya. Following this attack Regent is damaged by depth-charges from the Italian destroyer Saetta. |
| 01-08-1941 | HMS Regent sinks the Italian auxiliary minesweeper B 23/Igea with gunfire about 33 nautical miles south of Bengasi. |
| 01-12-1941 | HMS Regent torpedoes and damages the Italian merchant Enrico about 10 nautical miles south-east of Marettimo island, Italy. |
| 18-04-1943 | HMS Regent sailed from Malta on 12 April 1943 to patrol in the southern Adriatic & was mined north of Monopoli. That evening a large explosion was heard in that area, which is believed to have been HMS Regent striking a mine. HMS Regent was reported overdue at Beirut on 1 May 1943. All 53 crew are lost. Post mortem on some bodies wearing British uniforms which were washed ashore between Brindisi and Otranto during April and May 1943 gave indication of a sinking three weeks earlier, hence between 18 and 25 April |
| Length overall | 287 ft 2 inch |
| Beam | 29 ft 11 inch |
| Depth | 16 ft 11 7/8 inch |
| Displacement | 1763 tons (surface) |
| 2030 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 500 ft |
| Speed | Surface 17 to 17.5 knots (design) |
| Surface 17.5 knots (service) | |
| Submerged 9 knots (design) | |
| Submerged8.75 knots (service) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Propeller | 3 blades. 6 ft 9 inch diameter |
| Endurance | Surface: 11400 miles at 8 knots (design) |
| Surface: 10900 miles at 8 knots (service) | |
| Submerged: 60 miles at 4 knots (design) | |
| Submerged: 8.8 miles at 8.8 knots or 60 miles at 4 knots (service) | |
| Armament | 6 x 21 inch bow tubes |
| 2 x 21 inch stern tubes | |
| (14 torpedoes carried) | |
| 1 x 4 inch gun | |
| Complement | 5 Officers and 51 Ratings |
11 pages added or updated in the last 2 month
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| Length overall | 287 ft 2 inch |
| Beam | 29 ft 11 inch |
| Depth | 16 ft 11 7/8 inch |
| Displacement | 1763 tons (surface) |
| 2030 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 500 ft |
| Speed | Surface 17 to 17.5 knots (design) |
| Surface 17.5 knots (service) | |
| Submerged 9 knots (design) | |
| Submerged8.75 knots (service) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Propeller | 3 blades. 6 ft 9 inch diameter |
| Endurance | Surface: 11400 miles at 8 knots (design) |
| Surface: 10900 miles at 8 knots (service) | |
| Submerged: 60 miles at 4 knots (design) | |
| Submerged: 8.8 miles at 8.8 knots or 60 miles at 4 knots (service) | |
| Armament | 6 x 21 inch bow tubes |
| 2 x 21 inch stern tubes | |
| (14 torpedoes carried) | |
| 1 x 4 inch gun | |
| Complement | 5 Officers and 51 Ratings |
11 pages added or updated in the last 2 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. Or you can make a big one if you like :)
Please Note: Donations made using this option go directly to the site owner and not to the Submariners Association.
Thankyou for your support.
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