Class

Boat

P 222

Built By:	Vickers (Barrow)
Build Group:	S3
Fate:	Submarine P222 failed to arrive at Algiers and was reported overdue on 21st December 1942. It was claimed that she was sunk by a 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 the reason for the submarine's loss with all hands on 12th December 1942.

P 222

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1942: 8th Flotilla. HMS Maidstone, Gibraltar.

Patrolled off the French coast during the North Africa landings.

Carried out 5 patrols.

Roll of Honour

Absolom, Richard William

P/J 102709

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 36

Leading Telegraphist

Arkley, George William

D/KX 86682

Born: 8th Oct, 1915.

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 27

Stoker 1st Class

Bibbs, Jack

D/JX 237672

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 22

Able Seaman

Bird, Ernest Frank

D/MX 54216

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 30

Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class

Brooks, Bertram Alfred

C/J 106898

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 35

Chief Petty Officer

Clarkson, George

D/KX 148140

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 20

Stoker 2nd Class

Close, James Edward

C/JX 155239

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 21

Leading Signalman

Cousins, Michael Anthony (RNVR)

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 21

Sub Lieutenant

Cusack, Stanley John George

D/M 34913

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 39

Engine Room Artificer 1st Class

Deakin, Ronald

P/KX 82717

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 28

Stoker Petty Officer

Dunkinson, Frederick Walter Gates

P/SSX 20876

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 24

Petty Officer

Evans, Leslie Gordon

C/J 203926

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 21

Able Seaman

Everett, Robin Leslie

C/JX 319322

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 19

Ordinary Seaman

Finn, John Stephen

C/SSX 28172

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 24

Able Seaman

Fylan, Arthur Patrick

P/JX 157042

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 20

Able Seaman

George, Alfred Douglas

D/JX 145607

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 22

Able Seaman

Giles, Fitzroy Andrew

D/KX 86320

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 25

Stoker 1st Class

Gillard, Stanley Edward

D/JX 212988

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 21

Able Seaman

Gowing, Frederick Basil

D/KX 85886

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 25

Leading Stoker

Hartley, William

D/KX 85352

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 27

Chief Petty Officer

Hemelryk, Anthony

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 21

Lieutenant

Herbert, Donald Victor

P/JX 154232

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 21

Telegraphist

Jones, Frederick Henry

D/J 106630

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 36

Able Seaman

Kerry, Alick

P/JX 128667

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 32

Petty Officer Telegraphist

Knox, William James

P/JX 156418

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 20

Able Seaman

Mackenzie, Alexander James

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 32

Lieutenant Commander

Manson, Alexander

D/JX 144228

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 23

Able Seaman

Morgan, John Edwin William

C/JX 134896

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 27

Petty Officer

Morton, John Richard

P/KX 93701

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 26

Leading Stoker

Murray, Norman Bagwell

D/MX 58058

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 29

Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class

Newman, Robert Thompson

C/MX 77055

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 21

Engine Room Artificer 5th Class

Parfitt, William Frederick

P/J 100705

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 37

Petty Officer

Paxton, Ronald William

C/KX 139300

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 19

Stoker 1st Class

Ricks, Peter Albert

P/JX 157504

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 20

Telegraphist

Rogers, Bernard Vivian

P/KX 93968

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 23

Stoker 1st Class

Salter, Albert John

P/KX 90114

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 26

Leading Stoker

Saunders, Horace Edward

P/KX 120189

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 27

Leading Stoker

Scanlan, John

P/KX 84238

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 29

Leading Stoker

Staines, Albert Frank

C/JX 140820

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 24

Leading Seaman

Stanley, Victor Alexander

C/JX 327418

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 20

Ordinary Seaman

Storr, James Wilfred

P/JX 49736

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 42

Petty Officer Telegraphist

Tancock, Sidney James

D/JX 208452

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 22

Able Seaman

Taylor, Anthony John Dalzell

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 20

Sub Lieutenant

Taylor, Leonard Frederick DSC

(Ex M38743)

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 34

Warrant Engineer

Wilcock, Thomas

C/JX 290035

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 34

Able Seaman

Wilkinson, Leonard

P/MX 45394

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 38

Engine Room Artificer 1st Class

Windham, John Otto

D/MX 46580

Born: 2nd Jun, 1911.

Died: 12th Dec, 1942.

Aged: 31

Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class

Events

10-08-1940

Laid Down

20-09-1941

Launched

04-05-1942

Completed

27-07-1942

P222 intercepted the Vichy French merchant Mitidja off Cape Palos, Spain. The ship was boarded and escorted to Gibraltar by HMS Wrestler.

12-12-1942

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.

Adoption

Officially adopted by Swindon and District
Warship Week from 6 Dec 1941 to 13 Dec 1941

Adopted after their original adoption, HMS Tetracht was lost

Submarine Adoptions

S3 Specification

Length overall	217 ft
Beam	23 ft 6 inch
Depth	11 ft
Diving Depth	350 ft
Speed	Surface 15 knots (design)
	Surface 14.75 knots (service)
	Submerged 10 knots (design)
	Submerged 9 knots (service)
No. of shafts	2
Endurance	Surface: 6000 miles at 10 knots (design)
Armament (i)	6 x 21 inch bow tubes
	1 21 inch stern tube
	(13 torpedoes carried)
	1 x 3 inch gun
	3 x 0.303 inch machine-guns
	1 x 20mm Oerlikon cannon
Complement	5 Officers and 43 Ratings
Note	The armament of submarines of this class varied considerably. For example: 23 boats were fitted with the six bow tubes only; 18 vessels, intended to operate in the Far East, had their 3 inch guns replaced by 4 inch guns; whilst, in some boats, the Oerlikon cannon replaced, rather than supplemented, the three machine-guns.

Comments

Comment by: Grace Absolom on November 17th, 2025

Richard William Absolom is my grandfather. He was my dad's father. My dad was 3 years old when the P222 disappeared. We often talk about what might have happened.

Comment by: Anne Clifford on January 25th, 2024

I was so excited to find the Bio of my Grandfather Frederick William Simpson DS . Thank yo . I am his grand daughter from his second marriage.

Comment by: Claudio Perazzini on June 17th, 2021

Hi, my name is Claudio Perazzini and I am the son of Natale Perazzini, who was a sailor of the "Fortunale" torpedo boat that sank the P222 submarine.

War is something terrible, but if it happens, men must never lose their humanity. I can only say what my father told me "when, after an hour of searching, we found no survivors, all the crew lined up on the ship, saluted militarily and said a prayer for those dead sailors".

After the armistice with the allies, the sailors of the Fortunale voted and decided to continue the war alongside the US and British navies and this is history.

Sorry for possible mistakes, but I used an automatic translator.

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Class

Boat

S3 Specification

Length overall	217 ft
Beam	23 ft 6 inch
Depth	11 ft
Diving Depth	350 ft
Speed	Surface 15 knots (design)
	Surface 14.75 knots (service)
	Submerged 10 knots (design)
	Submerged 9 knots (service)
No. of shafts	2
Endurance	Surface: 6000 miles at 10 knots (design)
Armament (i)	6 x 21 inch bow tubes
	1 21 inch stern tube
	(13 torpedoes carried)
	1 x 3 inch gun
	3 x 0.303 inch machine-guns
	1 x 20mm Oerlikon cannon
Complement	5 Officers and 43 Ratings
Note	The armament of submarines of this class varied considerably. For example: 23 boats were fitted with the six bow tubes only; 18 vessels, intended to operate in the Far East, had their 3 inch guns replaced by 4 inch guns; whilst, in some boats, the Oerlikon cannon replaced, rather than supplemented, the three machine-guns.

Have You Read?

Updated: March 6, 2026

Welcome

Updated: March 3, 2026

Branch Rules and Minutes

Updated: March 3, 2026

Branch Noticeboard

Updated: March 3, 2026

Branch Newsletter

Updated: March 2, 2026

Branch Events

Updated: March 1, 2026

Thorn (N 11)

Updated: February 26, 2026

Tactician (P 314)

Updated: February 24, 2026

Submarine Movies

Updated: February 21, 2026

Site Related Books

Updated: February 21, 2026

Olympus (N 35)

Updated: February 17, 2026

Taku (N 38)

Updated: February 17, 2026

The Jolly Roger

Updated: February 17, 2026

13 pages added or updated in the last 1 month

Errors and Corrections

Please help to maintain this site by reporting any Errors, Broken Links, Information or Site Issues on this page using this button

Report An Error

Buy Me A Coffee

If you find this site useful, please consider supporting my work with a small Donation.

Click to Donate

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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