April 24th - On This Date - RN Submarine Service

1918	L7	Submarine HMS L7 launched
1941	Sirdar	Submarine HMS Sirdar laid down
1945	Selene	Submarine HMS Selene launched
1976	Spartan	Submarine HMS Spartan laid down
1918	HMS C3	C3 was Filled with explosives and rammed into the viaduct at the Mole at Zeebrugge. By 1917 German submarines had wreaked havoc on British shipping, which threatened Britain's very ability to continue to fight. It was decided that the best way to stop the carnage was to block the gateways by which the U-boats entered the North Sea, namely Ostend and Zeebrugge. A plan was devised for an assault on the harbours, a key part of which entailed the partial destruction of the viaduct connecting the Zeebrugge Mole to the mainland to prevent reinforcements being rushed from nearby Bruges. This part of the assault required the use of submarines, which were to be pack ed with explosives, and rammed against the viaduct; the antiquated C1 and C3 were selected for the task. On 24th April 1918 the submarines were towed by destroyers to an assembly point where they were to make their own way to the viaduct. C3 rammed the viaduct at 9 knots and stuck fast. The crew took to motorboats, as a 12-minute fuse was set. With the motorboats only 200 yards away the submarine erupted blowing a large hole in the viaduct.
1945	HMS Torbay	HMS Torbay sinks a Japanese coaster with gunfire off Sabang, Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies.

SAB