Wednesday 18 April 2012

April 18th - On This Date - RN Submarine Service

1905 A13 Submarine HMS A13 launched
1916 E33 Submarine HMS E33 launched
1923 L69 Submarine HMS L69 completed
1945 Tireless Submarine HMS Tireless completed
1944 Thor Submarine HMS Thor launched
1944 Tiara Submarine HMS Tiara launched
1967 Warspite Submarine HMS Warspite completed
1923 HMS L69 From 18th April to 8th May L69 (also known as Lucia) went on sea trials.
1940 Sterlet HMS Sterlet was sunk

On 8th April 1940 HMS Sterlet left for a patrol in the Skagerrak, Norway. Four days later she signaled that she had unsuccessfully attacked a Convoy of 3 Merchant ships and a Destroyer. The following day she was assigned a new patrol area and on the 18th torpedoed the German Gunnery Ship Brummer, causing serious damage. At once the German escorts counter attacked with repeated depth charge attacks. Their target never resurfaced.
1940 HMS Seawolf HMS Sea Wolf sank the German merchant Hamm in the Skagerrak
1941 Urge Whilst on the way to Malta on Submarine HMS URGE made an attack on the 10,585 ton Italian Tanker FRANCO MARTELLI in position 46`51'N 08`29'E in the Bay of Biscay firing torpedoes at a range of approximately 2,000 yards. One torpedo hit and the target sank. It is reported that the tanker had been returning to Italy from Brazil.
1942 HMS Torbay HMS Torbay torpedoes and sinks the German army cargo ship Bellona in the Ionian Sea about 50 nautical miles east-south-east of Capo Colonna, Italy.
1942 HMS Umbra HMS Umbra attacks the Italian merchant Nino Bixio about 40 nautical miles south-west of Pantelleria Island. All torpedoes missed.
1943 Regent 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
1943 P615 HMS P615 left Freetown under escort by minesweeper HMS MMS-107 on passage to the South Atlantic Command to provide ASW escort training. During the night they lost contact but found each other the next morning.

U-123 spotted both vessels at 0344 and missed them with two spreads of two torpedoes at 0534 & 0647, one of the torpedo tracks was sighted by the escort, but was put down to a porpoise.

At 1101, a merchant vessel was sighted and at 1153 the U-boat fired one torpedo at the minesweeper on station about 300 yards off the submarines starboard quarter, but missed.

At 1154, a spread of two torpedoes was fired at the submarine, which was hit by one of them on the starboard side, exploded and sank immediately about 100 miles SW of Freetown.

U-123 then torpedoed at 1239 hours Empire Bruce and left the area after sinking her with two coup de grace. The minesweeper picked up the survivors from the merchantman and returned to Freetown
1943 Unseen HMS Unseen torpedoes and sinks the German auxiliary submarine chaser UJ-2205 north-north-west of Isola di Femmine, Sicily, Italy.
1944 HMS Taurus HMS Taurus lays mines off Penang.
SAB

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