| Built By: | Scotts (Clyde) |
| Build Group: | T 2 |
| Fate: | Reported overdue on 12th December 1942 and is presumed to have been lost with all hands to Italian mines in the Gulf of Taranto on 4th December 1942. |
Roll of Honour |
65
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| Astley, Stuart |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Baker, Charles Henry |
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| Engine Room Artificer 3rd Class | ||||||
| Bartlett, Victor James Herbert DSM* |
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| Chief Engine Room Artificer | ||||||
| Berry, John |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Bolton, Derrick Richard |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Brown, Archibald McLean |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Byiast, Alfred Charles |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Christopher, Thomas William |
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| Chief Stoker | ||||||
| Cooley, Henry |
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| Telegraphist | ||||||
| Davis, Charles Victor |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Dean, Arthur Joseph |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Deller, William George Alfred |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Dickinson, Richard |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Ellgood, Harry |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Ellis, Robert York Dyer |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Finn, Vincent Thomas |
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| Petty Officer Telegraphist | ||||||
| Groves, Austin Leonard |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Groves, William BEM |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Hardwick, William Espin (RNVR) |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Hedges, Percival |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Hewlett, Frederick |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Hills, Horace Charles |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Holman, Albert Roy |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Hooton, Wilfred Harry |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Hubbard, Walter Frederick |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Hulbert, Wyndham Bertram |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Hunter, Robert |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Hutchings, John James |
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| Telegraphist | ||||||
| Hutton, Norman William |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| McBride, William |
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| Telegraphist | ||||||
| McGuire, James |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Meikle, Alexander |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Mills, Edward Percival |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Moncrieff, Ronald McCulloch |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Morrow, Thomas Albert Duncan MID |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Nelson, Louis Cyril |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Newbery, Eric |
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| Leading Seaman | ||||||
| Newell, Robert James Herbert |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Nicholson, John Edward |
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| Leading Telegraphist | ||||||
| O'Brien, Charles |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Odam, Samuel George |
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| Leading Steward | ||||||
| Owen, Brinley |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Palmer, Samuel MID |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Paris, Frederick James Stevenson |
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| Stoker Petty Officer | ||||||
| Parkinson, Peter Roscoe |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Payne, Charles Edmund Hunkin DSM |
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| Chief Petty Officer | ||||||
| Pickvance, Samuel Fred Osborne Wood |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Pinkney, Howard |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Price, Ronald |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Ramsay, Robert Swan |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Reed, Eugene Robert |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Reid, George William Alfred |
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| Leading Stoker | ||||||
| Robinson, Harold Ernest |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Ross, Murdo |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Rush, William George Horace |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| Russel, Hugh Dunbar Sutherland |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Scholes, Joseph |
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| Engine Room Artificer 4th Class | ||||||
| Smith, George Albert |
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| Able Seaman | ||||||
| St Clair-Ford, Drummond |
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| Lieutenant Commander | ||||||
| Taylor, William |
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| Stoker 1st Class | ||||||
| Tolson, Sydney |
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| Yeoman of Signals | ||||||
| Verner-Jeffreys, Robert David |
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| Engineer Lieutenant | ||||||
| Wickenden, Charles Alfred Bernard |
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| Petty Officer | ||||||
| Wild, John Russel (RNR) |
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| Lieutenant | ||||||
| Wilson, Richard Allison |
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| Petty Officer Cook | ||||||
| 17-01-1940 | Laid Down |
| 27-08-1941 | Launched |
| 10-04-1942 | Completed |
| 14-05-1942 | After a work up period in the Clyde area HMS Traveller departed Holy Loch for Gibraltar. She makes the first part of the passage through the Irish sea together with P211 and P43. They were escorted until Bishops Rock by the British minesweeper/escort vessel HMS La Capricieuse (former French) |
| 24-05-1942 | HMS Traveller arrived at Gibraltar |
| 02-06-1942 | HMS Traveller conducted exercises off Gibraltar together with P42 and P43 |
| 03-06-1942 | HMS Traveller departed Gibraltar for her 1st war patrol. This is a work-up patrol in the Alboran Sea. |
| 11-06-1942 | HMS Traveller ended her 1st war patrol at Gibraltar. |
| 19-06-1942 | HMS Traveller departed Gibraltar for Alexandria where she is to join the First Submarine Flotilla. While on passage she was diverted to Haifa. |
| 19-07-1942 | HMS Traveller departed Haifa for her 2nd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Adriatic. En-route to her patrol area she is to patrol along the North coast of Crete. |
| 28-07-1942 | While in transit through the Otranto Straits to her patrol area HMS Traveller is detected on the surface by an Italian destroyer. Traveller dived and a few depth charges were dropped but these inflicted no damage. Later on the same day she attacks the Italian merchant Ezilda Croce, on passage from Bari to Valona, in the Otranto Strait. The torpedoes fired however miss their target. An escorting aircraft dropped bombs on the submarine. |
| 30-07-1942 | The conning tower of an Italian submarine was sighted at a range of 10,000 yards but HMS Traveller could not close the range. This was most probably the Italian submarine Topazio on passage from Fiume to Naples. |
| 31-07-1942 | While operating in the Adriatic HMS Traveller fires 6 torpedoes at the Italian gunboat Cattaro. The torpedoes however missed their target. |
| 03-08-1942 | HMS Traveller attacked the German merchant Pluto with two torpedoes off Mulo Island. No hits were obtained. The coastal battery at Scoglio Mulo fired three shells at the submarine. |
| 05-08-1942 | HMS Traveller attacked the Italian submarine Porfido in the Adriatic Sea, about 25 nautical miles North-East of Pescara. Two torpedoes were fired which missed astern. Traveller then surfaced for gun action. 15 rounds were fired before the target dived as soon as Traveller opened fire and suffered no damage. |
| 07-08-1942 | HMS Traveller attacked an Italian submarine in the Otranto Strait. Three torpedoes were fired but no hits were obtained. |
| 14-08-1942 | HMS Traveller ended her 2nd war patrol at Beirut. |
| 30-08-1942 | HMS Traveller departed Beirut for her 3rd war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off the North-African coast in the Tobruk area. Later she was ordered to patrol North of Crete. |
| 03-09-1942 | HMS Traveller HMS Traveller was off Tobruk, patrolling at periscope depth when she was bombed by an unseen aircraft. There was no damage. |
| 05-09-1942 | HMS Traveller torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Albachiara about 30 nautical miles North-East of Derna, Libya. Later on the same day two torpedoes were fired against a merchant vessel about 50 nautical miles North-West of Derna, Libya. |
| 17-09-1942 | 2.5 miles south of Cape Archangelo (Rhodes), HMS Traveller picked up Lt. David Sutherland and Marine Duggan of the SBS (Special Boat Service, operation ANGLO), ten other members of the party failed to make the rendezvous and were captured. |
| 20-09-1942 | HMS Traveller ended her 3rd war patrol at Beirut |
| 04-10-1942 | HMS Traveller departed Beirut for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol off Crete. |
| 09-10-1942 | HMS Traveller attacks the Italian tanker Proserpina that is escorted by the Italian torpedo boats Castore and Ciclone, with four torpedoes west of Crete. None of the torpedoes fired hit the target. |
| 11-10-1942 | HMS Traveller attacked the German auxiliary minelayer Bulgaria with two torpedoes to the West of Crete. No hits are obtained. |
| 15-10-1942 | HMS Traveller attacks an Italian convoy to the West of Crete. 4 torpedoes were fired against the Italian merchant Anna Maria. No hits were obtained. |
| 26-10-1942 | HMS Traveller ended her 4th war patrol at Port Said. She is almost immediately put into dry-dock for the fitting of petrol tanks to enable her to transport petrol to Malta. |
| 13-11-1942 | HMS Traveller departed Port Said with a cargo of aviation spirit for Malta |
| 23-11-1942 | HMS Traveller (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) arrived at Malta with a cargo of aviation spirit. |
| 28-11-1942 | HMS Traveller sailed from Malta for her 5th war patrol. She was to carry out a preliminary reconnaissance of Taranto for Special Operation Principal (projected attacks on Italian ports by Chariot human torpedoes). |
| 04-12-1942 | HMS Traveller sunk On 28th November HMS Traveller was carrying out a reconnaissance patrol of the coast of Taranto as part of operation Portcullis (an attack on Italian battleships in Taranto Harbour using chariots) The submarine did not return from the operation and was probably mined on or about 4th December. |
| 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. |
The 'X' stood for experimental, but it might equally have meant extraordinary, exotic or extravagant, as this giant submarine attracted superlatives. Built in the early 1920s, it was the world's largest, most heavily armed, and deepest diving submersible of the day. A controversial project conceived behind the backs of politicians, X.1 would remain an unwanted stepchild. As British diplomats attempted to outlaw the use of submarines as commerce raiders, the Admiralty was building the world's most powerful corsair submarine, designed to destroy entire convoys of merchant ships.
This book explores the historical background of submarine cruisers, the personalities involved in X.1's design and service, the spy drama surrounding her launch, the treason trial of a Royal Navy submarine commander, the ship's checkered career, and her political demise. Despite technical successes, the X.1 became the target of a misinformation campaign aimed at persuading foreign naval powers that the cruiser submarine did not work. While the myth of her failure persists even today, it was ignored by other navies, who went on building submarine cruisers of their own. The book analyses the submarine cruisers built by the US, French, and Japanese navies, as well as the projected German copy of X.1, the Type XI U-Boat.
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| 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. |
The 'X' stood for experimental, but it might equally have meant extraordinary, exotic or extravagant, as this giant submarine attracted superlatives. Built in the early 1920s, it was the world's largest, most heavily armed, and deepest diving submersible of the day. A controversial project conceived behind the backs of politicians, X.1 would remain an unwanted stepchild. As British diplomats attempted to outlaw the use of submarines as commerce raiders, the Admiralty was building the world's most powerful corsair submarine, designed to destroy entire convoys of merchant ships.
This book explores the historical background of submarine cruisers, the personalities involved in X.1's design and service, the spy drama surrounding her launch, the treason trial of a Royal Navy submarine commander, the ship's checkered career, and her political demise. Despite technical successes, the X.1 became the target of a misinformation campaign aimed at persuading foreign naval powers that the cruiser submarine did not work. While the myth of her failure persists even today, it was ignored by other navies, who went on building submarine cruisers of their own. The book analyses the submarine cruisers built by the US, French, and Japanese navies, as well as the projected German copy of X.1, the Type XI U-Boat.
14 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.
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