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Regent (N 41)

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.

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Regent
Regent
Regent (N 41)
Regent (N 41)
Commanders

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

Mystery of British submarine that vanished in World War 2 may have been solved

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
Died: 18-04-1943
Atkinson, John Kenneth  D/JX 206104
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 23
Backhouse, Alfred  MID C/JX 192769
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 23
Baker, Ronald Victor 
Warrant Engineer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 27
Bayliss, Sidney  D/JX 133751
Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 29
Brown, Robert William  D/KX 144749
Stoker 1st Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 20
Chesworth, Kenneth Lloyd  C/KX 118956
Stoker 1st Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 29
Clifford, Raymond Alfred  C/JX 127992
Chief Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 32
Compton, Ernest Reuben  P/KX 96749
Leading Stoker Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 23
Cox, Sydney Arthur Albert  C/JX 143583
Telegraphist Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 24
Culham, James Willmot Samuel 
Lieutenant Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 24
Dewhurst, Herbert Edward  P/JX 341337
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 19
Ellis, George Griffith  C/JX 142283
Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 23
Fernie, Robert Russell 
Sub Lieutenant Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 20
Foster, Benjamin William  C/KX 117339
Stoker 1st Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 25
Foxhall, Percival George Thomas  C/JX 235323
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 20
Gee, Leslie Robert  C/KX 96321
Leading Stoker Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 25
Gibson, Peter Rawstone Johnstone 
Lieutenant Born: 20-08-1920 Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
from   South Africa
Grounsell, Cyril Thomas  P/JX 182166
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 25
Harding, Vincent Joseph  P/LX 21771
Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 26
Harvey, Robert  P/JX 234155
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 31
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.
Hewitt, Alfred  P/JX 264920
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 33
Hitchcock, Toney James  P/JX 163012
Leading Telegraphist Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 19
Hitches, Leonard Richard  P/JX 143284
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 23
Horton, William Ronald  P/SSX 30519
Leading Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 21
Howell, Richard  D/KX 118461
Stoker 1st Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 21
Hudson, Jeffrey King  C/KX 90759
Leading Stoker Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 30
Imison, David Howard  C/KX 95072
Leading Stoker Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 24
Jones, Arthur Herbert  C/MX 73110
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 30
King, Herbert George  DSC C/SSX 25492
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
Knox, Walter Neville Ronald 
Lieutenant Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 30
Commanding Officer
Lee, Richard Denis  C/JX 208263
Leading Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
Leech, Henry  D/KX 80895
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 30
Lemin, John  C/KX 92690
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 25
Lipscombe, Leonard Albert  P/SD/X 1513
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 20
Lloyd, Richard William  C/KX 134511
Stoker 1st Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
Loughran, Henry  C/KX 115870
Stoker 1st Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 34
Lowis, Reginald Edward  C/JX 151999
Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
Mathews, Gordon Frank  C/KX 138438
Stoker 1st Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 20
Moores, Alfred  D/KX 95063
Leading Stoker Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 23
Murphy, Kenneth Charles  C/JX 259256
Telegraphist Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 20
Murray, Athol James  P/JX 132122
Leading Telegraphist Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 31
Noble, George Patrick  C/MX 71349
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 26
Packer, John William  C/J 105571
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 36
Parris, Stanley George  C/MX 64442
Engine Room Artificer 4th Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
Perry, James Charles  C/KX 134869
Stoker 1st Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 20
Pratt, Edwin Joseph Charles 
Warrant Engineer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 37
Ex. M36621
Rawlings, Albert Edward  C/JX 143312
Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 23
Rhodes, Bernard George  P/JX 138258
Leading Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 26
Russell, Ernest Roy Wright  D/MX 57434
Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 26
Savage, Stephen Albert  P/KX 91951
Leading Stoker Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 24
Sawyer, Geoffrey James  C/JX 151593
Leading Signalman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 21
Shoulder, George Edwin  C/SSX 24036
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
Skinner, Reginald Wilfred  C/JX 251639
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 34
Ex. H3944J112501
Sutton, Richard John 
Lieutenant Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 26
Tatham, Bryan Palmer  D/KX 80286
Stoker Petty Officer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 31
Taylor, Jack Edward  D/KX 82919
Leading Stoker Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 29
Thompson, Roy William  D/MX 66023
Engine Room Artificer 5th Class Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 21
Tierney, George William  D/MX 53858
Leading Cook Born: 23-11-1916 Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 26
Trice, William Arthur  C/MX 45219
Chief Engine Room Artificer Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 32
Turner, Anthony Donald Victor Henry  P/JX 142344
Leading Telegraphist Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 24
Wentworth, Samuel  C/SSX 26827
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
Wilks, William Henry  P/SSX 30181
Telegraphist Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22
Woods, Bertie Charles  D/JX 237827
Able Seaman Died: 18-04-1943 Aged: 22

Events

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
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