Top
Home → Boats → Submarines → U Class → Una

Una (N 87)

Built By: Vickers (Barrow)
Build Group: U1
Fate: Sold for scrapping on 11th April 1949 at Llanelly.
Una
Una

Upload An Image Of This Boat

Commanders
1941: Lieutenant   Desmond Samuel Royce Martin
1942: Lieutenant   Compton Patrick Norman
1942: Lieutenant   John Dennis Martin
1943: Lieutenant   William Gordon Meeke
1943: Acting Lieutenant   Paul Stamford Thirsk (RNR)
1944: Lieutenant   Arthur George Chandler MID
1944: Lieutenant   Charles Alexander Jacomb Nicholl
1945: Acting Lieutenant   Waldron Murrell Bennett
1945: Lieutenant   Allan Miles Brittain Buxton

Ex P32

1941 - 5th Flotilla: Portsmouth.
1941-1942 - 8th Flotilla: Gibraltar.
1942-1943 - 10th Flotilla: Malta.

Carried out 17 patrols in the Mediterranean during which time she sank 5 transports of 21,300 GRT.

August 1942 - Landed Commandos in Catania Bay.

November 1942 - Deployed to cover Operation Torch.

April 1943 - Returned to UK for refit.

August 1943 to the end of the war - Employed training A/S forces.

November 1945 - Placed in reserve until sold.

Events

 07-05-1940   Laid Down
 10-06-1941   Launched
 27-09-1941   Completed
 12-02-1942   HMS Una torpedoes and sinks the Italian tanker Luciana about 20 nautical miles north-east of Crotone, Calabria, Italy.
 13-03-1942   HMS Una sinks the Italian fishing vessel Maria Immacolata with gunfire 6 nautical miles off Mehedia, Tunisia.
 05-04-1942   HMS Una torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Ninetto G. about 12 nautical miles south of Capo dell'Armi.
 10-09-1942   HMS Una fires torpedoes against the Italian merchant Brioni about 10 nautical miles west of Palaiokhóra, Crete, Greece but missed.
 03-10-1942   HMS Una fires torpedoes against a merchant in Lampedusa harbour but torpedoes hit the rocks.
 18-10-1942   HMS Una fires torpedoes against the Italian tanker Panuco north of Catania, Sicily, Italy. All torpedoes missed the target.
 27-11-1942   HMS Una attacked the German merchant Menes with two torpedoes north of the Gulf of Tunis but missed.
 01-02-1943   HMS Una damages two sailing vessels with gunfire in the Gulf of Hammamet, Tunisia. Una had to break off the attack due to gunfire from shore batteries
 15-02-1943   HMS Una torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Petrarca about 10 nautical miles north of Crotone, Calabria, Italy.
 10-03-1943   HMS Una torpedoes and damages the Italian merchant Cosala 7 nautical miles off Punta Stilo, Italy.

Official
U1 Specification
Length overall  190 ft 7 inch
Beam  15 ft 9 inch
Depth  15 ft 9 inch
Displacement   630 tons (surface)
  730 tons (submerged)
Diving Depth  200 ft
Speed  11.5 knots (surface)
  9 knots (submerged)
No. of shafts  2
Endurance  Surface: 4050 miles at 10 knots (design)
  Submerged: 23 miles at 8 knots or 170 miles at 2.5 knots (design)
Armament  (i) 4 x 21 inch bow tubes (8 torpedoes carried)
  (ii) 1 x 3 inch gun
  3 x 0.303 inch machine-guns
Complement  (peacetime) 4 Officers, 23 Others,
  (at war) 4 Officers, 27 Others
Note  (i) The first seven U Class submarines had two additional external bow tubes installed and carried 10 torpedoes
  (ii) Undine and Unity, which were not fitted with the 3 inch gun, had 27-man complements.
Comments

Comment by: Christopher Wright on June 5th, 2024

My geandfather Charles Frederick Wright served on this vessel for the duration of WW2.
Later he moved to Mawnan Smith, Cornwall and named his house after this Submarine.

Add A Comment (click to open)

This form is for you to comment on, or add additional information to this page. Any questions will be deleted. If you wish to ask a question contact the Branch or the Webmaster using the Contact Us page or ask your question on our Facebook Page

Name E-Mail
Your email will not be shown, but is required
Anti Spam: Type the following code exactly as shown into the box below.

3FwH    
Note: All submissions are subject to approval prior to appearing on the page. As a SPAM prevention measure, any comments containing links to other sites will be automatically discarded.

Featured Badge

Proteus (N 29)

Class: 1927 - 1946: Parthian Class
Built By: Vickers (Barrow)
Build Group: P
Fate:
Scrapped by West of Scotland Shipbreaking at Troon 26 February 1946.
Featured Film
Submarine X-1
A special group of navy divers is created when a disabled Nazi warship is discovered in a fjord in Norway. Commander Bolton (James Caan) is the Canadian expert designated to train the new unit. Their mission is to plant a bomb on the warship as it undergoes repairs. The hard-driving Bolton encounters resentment from the British soldiers he trains, but he ultimately earns their respect as a leader. Their intense training operation is interrupted by an attack of Nazi paratroopers just before the unit leaves for Norway. Spectacular underwater photography is seen in this World War II adventure story based on an actual mission
Buy from Amazon
Latest Updated Pages
Branch Events
Updated: February 10, 2026
Branch Rules and Minutes
Updated: February 10, 2026
Branch Newsletter
Updated: February 8, 2026
Branch Noticeboard
Updated: February 8, 2026
Branch Rollcall
Updated: February 3, 2026
About Me
Updated: January 31, 2026
Commodore David Charles Langbridge MSC CEng FIME
Updated: January 31, 2026
Lieutenant Commander (WESM) Clive Waghorn
Updated: January 31, 2026
Welcome
Updated: January 31, 2026
Clyde Shipbuilding and Engineering
Updated: January 28, 2026
In Depth Newsletter
Updated: January 19, 2026

11 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. Or you can make a big one if you like :)

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.