| Built By: | Cammell Laird (Mersey) |
| Build Group: | T 2 |
| Fate: | 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. |
Roll of Honour |
60
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| Aitchison, Thomas McMillan DSM* |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Balshaw, Joseph William (RNVR) |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Barrow, James |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Bell, Albert |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Bell, Arthur Edwin Colin (RNVR) |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Bond, Albert Godfrey |
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| Telegraphist | ||||||
| Boon, Frederick |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Brodie, Frank Harry |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Burr, Walter Sidney |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Butcher, Henry Bernard Robert Burns MID |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Caffery, Patrick |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Chalcraft, Reginald John |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Cockwill, George Edward MID |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Collier, James |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Crompton, Thomas |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Davies, Leonard Frederick |
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| Warrant Engineer | ||||||
| Detton, Frederick Cyril |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Dodd, Kenneth |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Eason, William James MID |
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| Chief Petty Officer | ||||||
| Elphick, Charles Donald |
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| Petty Officer Telegraphist | ||||||
| Flockhart, Peter |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Freese, Joseph MID |
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| Petty Officer Stoker | ||||||
| Gibbons, Frederick Bernard |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Gossman, Dennis Herbert |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Hatchard, Arthur James DSM |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Hawksworth, Arthur St George |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Hay, John (RNVR) MID |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Hayes, Patrick DSM |
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| Chief Stoker | ||||||
| Hayler, Claude Levi |
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| Ordinary Seaman | ||||||
| Hayward, Leslie Edward DSM |
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| Leading Telegraphist | ||||||
| Henden, Frederick William Henry |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Incledon, Lewis John |
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| Sub Lieutenant | ||||||
| Jones, Charles (Johnny) |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Laird, James Burton |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Magness, William Stanley MID |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Maples, Cyril |
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| Leading Telegraphist | ||||||
| McCarthy, Dennis |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| McInnes, Colin |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Milburn, John Joseph |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Milliken, Thomas Eric |
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| Petty Officer Steward | ||||||
| Mitchell, Thomas |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Moorcroft, Reginald George MID |
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| Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | ||||||
| Newland, John Leonard |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Norfolk, Robert Galliano DSO |
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| Lieutenant Commander | ||||||
| Nuttall, Wilkin |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Parker, Chester James (RNVR) |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Paterson, James Alexander |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Paul, Charles Neville |
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| Leading Cook | ||||||
| Pope, John Edmund |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Porter, Reginald Edward |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Price, Thomas DSM |
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| Chief Engine Room Artificer | ||||||
| Reeson, Robert Charles |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Smithson, John Albert |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Torr, Herbert MID |
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| Yeoman of Signals | ||||||
| Upton, Walter William Gilmore MID |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Webb, Frederick Albert John |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Webster, George Walter |
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| Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | ||||||
| Wood, Bernard John |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Wood, Eric Albert |
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| Chief Engine Room Artificer | ||||||
| Yardley, Kenneth James |
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| Ordinary Seaman | ||||||
| CWGC has D/JX 160450 | ||||||
| 20-01-1940 | Laid Down |
| 18-03-1941 | Launched |
| 26-08-1941 | Completed |
| 30-12-1941 | HMS Thorn torpedoes and sinks the German tanker Campina about 5 nautical miles west off Cape Dukato. |
| 28-01-1942 | HMS Thorn torpedoes and sinks the Italian tanker Ninuccia off Cape Planka, Yugoslavia. |
| 30-01-1942 | The Italian submarine Medusa was sunk in the Adriatic near Promontore, Istria, Italy by the British submarine HMS Thorn. |
| 05-03-1942 | HMS Thorn sinks the Italian auxiliary patrol vessel AS 91/Ottavia with gunfire of Kefalonia, Greece. |
| 07-05-1942 | HMS Thorn fires four torpedoes against an Italian convoy in the central Mediterranean about 180 nautical miles north-west of Benghazi, Libya. All torpedoes missed their targets. |
| 03-08-1942 | HMS Thorn torpedoes and sinks the Italian transport ship Monviso 8 nautical miles from Sidi Sueicher, Libya. |
| 06-08-1942 | Lost. On the 7th August 1942 HMS Thorn encountered the Italian torpedo boat Pegaso, escorting the steamer Istria from Benghazi, 30 miles south west of Gaudhos Island, off southern Crete. At 1255 an escorting aircraft was seen to machine-gun the seas surface and Pegaso moved in to investigate. Just four minutes after the aircraft's attack the Pegaso picked-up a contact and carried out seven attacks after which contact was lost. HMS Thorn failed to return from the patrol and is believed to have been lost in this attack. |
| Length overall | 275 ft |
| Beam | 26 ft 6 inch |
| Depth | 14 ft 3 inch |
| Displacement | 1327 tons (surface) |
| 1575 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 300 ft |
| Speed | Surface 15.25 knots (design) |
| Surface 15.25 knots (service) | |
| Submerged 9 knots (design) | |
| Submerged 8.75 knots (service) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Endurance | Surface: 7500 miles at 15.25 knots (design) |
| (ii) Surface: 8000 miles at 10 knots (service) | |
| Submerged: 80 miles at 4 knots (design) | |
| Submerged: 80 miles at 4 knots (service) | |
| Armament | (i) 8 x 21 inch bow tubes (2 external) |
| 2 x 21 inch amidship tubes | |
| (16 torpedoes carried) | |
| 1 x 4 inch gun | |
| (ii) 0.303 inch machine-guns | |
| Complement | 56 |
| Notes | (i) As an alternative load, Group 1 submarines could carry 18 mines. |
| (ii) These were later replaced by, or supplemented by one 20mm Oerlikon cannon. |
Tireless (P 327) |
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| Class: | 1935 - 1970: T Class |
| Built By: | |
| Build Group: | T 3 |
|
Fate: Scrapped in 1968 at Newport. |
|
Between 1942 and 1944 HMS Seraph was engaged in unusual but vital wartime assignments, including carrying Eisenhower's deputy, General Mark Clark, through the Mediterranean to a hazardous rendezvous with the Free French as a prelude to the North African invasion, as well as the dramatic rescue of General Giraud from Vichy France in rough sea right under the nose of the enemy. Her most famous mission however was Operation Mincemeat where she aided the allies in deceiving their enemy about the invasion of Sicily.
Yet what made these missions even more extraordinary was the fact that this 'Secret Mission Submarine' had the unusual distinction of having two captains, Royal Navy Lieutenant Bill Jewell who was in operational control and Captain Jerauld Wright of the United States Navy who commanded for political purposes.
Terence Robertson uncovers the history of this extraordinary submarine and how these two captains collaborated to pull off some of the most remarkable operations in the Second World War.
22 pages added or updated in the last 1 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.
| Length overall | 275 ft |
| Beam | 26 ft 6 inch |
| Depth | 14 ft 3 inch |
| Displacement | 1327 tons (surface) |
| 1575 tons (submerged) | |
| Diving Depth | 300 ft |
| Speed | Surface 15.25 knots (design) |
| Surface 15.25 knots (service) | |
| Submerged 9 knots (design) | |
| Submerged 8.75 knots (service) | |
| No. of shafts | 2 |
| Endurance | Surface: 7500 miles at 15.25 knots (design) |
| (ii) Surface: 8000 miles at 10 knots (service) | |
| Submerged: 80 miles at 4 knots (design) | |
| Submerged: 80 miles at 4 knots (service) | |
| Armament | (i) 8 x 21 inch bow tubes (2 external) |
| 2 x 21 inch amidship tubes | |
| (16 torpedoes carried) | |
| 1 x 4 inch gun | |
| (ii) 0.303 inch machine-guns | |
| Complement | 56 |
| Notes | (i) As an alternative load, Group 1 submarines could carry 18 mines. |
| (ii) These were later replaced by, or supplemented by one 20mm Oerlikon cannon. |
Tireless (P 327) |
|
| Class: | 1935 - 1970: T Class |
| Built By: | |
| Build Group: | T 3 |
|
Fate: Scrapped in 1968 at Newport. |
|
Between 1942 and 1944 HMS Seraph was engaged in unusual but vital wartime assignments, including carrying Eisenhower's deputy, General Mark Clark, through the Mediterranean to a hazardous rendezvous with the Free French as a prelude to the North African invasion, as well as the dramatic rescue of General Giraud from Vichy France in rough sea right under the nose of the enemy. Her most famous mission however was Operation Mincemeat where she aided the allies in deceiving their enemy about the invasion of Sicily.
Yet what made these missions even more extraordinary was the fact that this 'Secret Mission Submarine' had the unusual distinction of having two captains, Royal Navy Lieutenant Bill Jewell who was in operational control and Captain Jerauld Wright of the United States Navy who commanded for political purposes.
Terence Robertson uncovers the history of this extraordinary submarine and how these two captains collaborated to pull off some of the most remarkable operations in the Second World War.
22 pages added or updated in the last 1 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: Stuart Newland on November 10th, 2025
My uncle, John Leonard Newland went down on the Thorn. My dad was only about 6 when it happened but he still lays a poppy for him every year at the Royal Navy Memorial at Chatham where he is commemorated.
Comment by: Nicholas Kenneth Yardley Fowler, M.D. on February 25th, 2022
My mother’s brother, my uncle, was Kenneth James Yardley. He died on the Thorn on that fateful day in August of 1942. I never knew him as I was born a few years later. His mother was tormented for the rest of her life.
Comment by: Kirsteen Nash on May 31st, 2021
My father was Able seaman Charles Jones who survived the torpedoing with spinal injuries.
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