Safari to ScotsmanPage last Updated:
20-Dec-2007
| Name | Class | Pennant | Crew | Built | Builder
| Disposal Date | Method |
Safari | S3 | P211 | 48 |
18-Nov-41 | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead | 08-Jan-46 | Lost (Not War) |
 Cdr. B. Bryant, DSO, DSC, RN. Operations Harpoon/Vigorous, June 42.
2 Jul 42 sank the Italian sailing vessel Adda (792 GRT) with gunfire and one torpedo 2.5 nm off Monte Santo, south of
the Gulf of Orosei, Sardinia, Italy.
15 Jul 42 damaged the Italian merchant Tigrai (1302 GRT) with gunfire off the Gulf of Orosei, Sardinia, Italy.
16 Aug 42 damaged a sailing vessel with gunfire east of Sardinia.
17 Aug 42 sank the Italian sailing vessel Ausonia (218 GRT) with gunfire 11 nm bearing 180 from Orosei, Sardinia.
18 Aug 42 torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Perseo (5225 GRT) near Cape Carbonara, 15 nm south of Serpentara, Sardinia.
Safari also attacks the Italian submarine Bronzo.
2 Oct 42 torpedoed and damaged (also with gunfire) the Italian merchant Veglia (896 GRT, former Yugoslavian Kosovo)
off Korcula, Croatia, 42º56'N, 17º17'E. The damaged ship is later salvaged but declared a total loss.
5 Oct 42 torpedoed and damaged the Italian merchant Eneo (545 GRT) south of Sebenik, Yugoslavia, 43º38'N, 15º52'E.
On 19 October 1942 HMS Unbroken (Lt. A.C.G. Mars, RN) torpedoed and damaged the Italian merchant Titania (5397 GRT).
The Titania is taken in tow by the Italian destroyer Ascari. The Titania is sunk early the next day by HMS Safari
east of Tunisia, 34º45'N, 12º31'E.
13 Nov 42 sank the Italian Bice (269 GRT) with gunfire east of Sousa, Tunisia.
16 Nov 42 torpedoed and sank the German transport Hans Arp (2645 GRT) off Ras el Hilal, Libya, 30º28'N, 18º48'E.
17 Nov 42 sank the German barge F 346 (220 tons) with one torpedo near Misurata, Libya.
18 Dec 42 sank the Italian sailing vessel Eufrasia (49 GRT) with gunfire in the Gulf of Hammamet, Tunisia.
20 Dec 42 torpedoed and heavily damaged the Italian auxiliary patrol vessel F 139 / Constantina (345 GRT) in the
Gulf of Hammamet, Tunisia 36º04'N, 10º30'E. The damaged Italian ship was declared a total loss.
21 Dec 42 sank the Italian auxiliary minesweeper Rosina S. (297 GRT) about 5 nm south of Hammamet, Tunisia.
27 Dec 42 sank the Italian sailing vessel Eleonora Rosa (54 GRT) with gunfire about 10 nautical miles south of Sousa, Tunisia.
29 Dec 42 torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Torquato Gennari (1012 GRT) about 25 nm south of Sfax, Tunisia, 34º20'N, 10º49'E.
30 Jan 43 sank the Italian Aniello (77 GRT) and Gemma (67 GRT) with gunfire of Cape Scalea, Italy.
2 Feb 43 intercepted an Italian convoy off Isola di Capri, torpedoed the Italian merchants Valsavoia (5733 GRT)
and Salemi (1176 GRT), 40º35'N 14º29'E.
9 Mar 43 sank the Italian sailing vessel Stefano M. (69 GRT) with gunfire off Cape San Vito.
3 Apr 43 sinks the Italian sailing vessel Nasello (314 GRT) and the Italian fishing vessel S. Francisco di Paola A. (77 GRT)
with gunfire off the Gulf of Orosei, Sardinia, Italy.
6 Apr 43 attacked but missed the Italian merchant Cap Figalo (2811 GRT) off Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy.
9 Apr 43 sank the Italian auxiliary minesweeper No. 295/Bella Italia (117 GBRT) with gunfire off Cape Carbonara, Sardinia, Italy.
10 Apr 43 intercepted an Italian convoy. Torpedoed the Italian merchants Loredan (1355 GRT), Entella (2691 GRT) and
the Italian tanker Isonzo (3363 GRT) near Cape Torre delle Stelle off Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy.
Lt. R.B. Lakin, DSO, DSC, RN
2 May 43 sank the Italian Sogliola (307 GRT) with gunfire off Asinara Island, Italy.
6 May 43 torpedoed and sank the Italian auxiliary minesweeper R 106 / Onda (98 GRT) off Asinara Island, Italy.
8 May 43 torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Peppino Palomba (2034 GRT); torpedoed and damaged the Italian
merchant Liv (3068 GRT, former Norwegian Liv) off Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy.
10 Jun 43 torpedoed and sank the German transport ship KT-12 (834 GRT) off Orosei, Sardinia, Italy, 40º21'N, 09º45'E.
18 Jul 43 sank the Italian auxiliary minesweeper No. 47/Amalia (101 GRT) with gunfire 16 nm WSW of Cape Comino, Sardinia, Italy.
19 Jul 43 sank the German barges Maria and Paula and the Italian armed yacht Margherita (88 GRT) with gunfire in
the port of Favone, Corsica, France.
20 Jul 43 torpedoed and sank the Italian pilot vessel F 50/Silvio Onorato (208 GRT) between Bastia and Maddalena.
22 Jul 43 torpedoed and sank the Italian minelayer Durazzo (530 tons) east of Corsica, France.
25 Jul 43 sank the Italian auxiliary minesweeper FR 70/La Coubre (120 GRT) with torpedoes and gunfire west of Elba, 42º42'N, 10º30'E.
26 Jul 43 attacked but missed the French (German controlled) tanker Champagne (9946 GRT) off Piombino, Toscane, Italy.
Sunk SE of Portland, on way to scrap.
|
SagaNautilo (S161) | S3 | P257 | 48 |
14 Jun 45 (Commissioned) | Cammell Laird Birkenhead | Not
Known | Scrap |
|  Too
late for war service, 10 Feb 46, collided with the trawler Girl Lena at night in the English
Channel, sinking the trawler. Transferred to Portugal as Nautilo, 1949.
|
Sahib | S3 | P212 | 48 |
19 Jan 42 | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead | 24-Apr-43 | War Loss |
Lt. J.H. Bromage DSC, RN;
12 Sep 42 sank the Italian sailing vessel Ina S. (24 GRT) with gunfire and demolition charges 8 miles SW of Isola Rossa, Sardinia, Italy.
14 Sep 42 sank an Italian sailing vessel with gunfire west of Sardinia.
16 Sep 42 sank an Italian sailing vessel with gunfire west of Sardinia.
13 Nov 42, sank the Italian
transport Scillin, 1903 tons. Scillin was transporting Allied prisoners of
war, of which many drowned. Scillin was en route from Tripoli to
Sicily with about 815 Commonwealth prisoners-of-war on board, when it was
torpedoed by the Sahib 10 miles north of Cape
Milazzo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Sahib rescued 27 POW's from the
water (26 British and one South African) plus the Scillin's captain
and 45 Italian crew members. Only then, when the commander heard the
survivors speaking English, did he realize that he had sunk a ship carrying
British prisoners-of-war and some Italian soldiers and had drowned 783 men.
At a subsequent inquiry into this 'friendly fire' tragedy, Lt. Bromage was
cleared of any wrongdoing as the ship was unmarked and at the time he firmly
believed that the ship was carrying Italian troops. The Ministry of Defence
kept this incident a closely guarded secret for fifty-four years,
maintaining that they had died while prisoners-of-war in Italian camps or
simply 'lost at sea'. It was not until 1996, after repeated
requests for information from the families of the drowned men that the truth
came out. See another
account.
There appears to be a strong feeling that it was known by the Admiralty, from code-breaking,
that Scillin was carrying POWs, but would not tell British submarines to avoid it - the theory being
that the Axis powers, seeing a ship of POWs left unhindered through waters patrolled by British submarines,
would deduce that their codes had been broken. Personally, I still do not accept this - it would have been easy to tell
the submarines to leave the ship alone but a different matter for the submarines to identify it (at only
1903 tons it was hardly conspicuous) and any perceived risk in allowing the ship to escape would have been negligible -
the Germans and Italians would not have been able to tell whether their ship had been give free passage deliberately or had
just been lucky. I would really like to find out the truth eventually.
14 Dec 42 torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Honestas (4960 GRT) about 30nm NNW of Cape Bon, Tunisia, 37º29'N, 10º46'E.
11 Jan 43 torpedoed and damaged the German (former French) transport San Antonio (6013 GRT) about 15 nm east of San Remo.
14 Jan 43 torpedoed and sank the German merchant Qued Tiflet (1194 GRT) about 20 nm SW of Savona, 44º08'N 08º17'E.
21 Jan 43, torpedoed and sank German Type VIIc U-boat U-301
west of Bonifacio, in position 41.27N, 07.04E. There was one survivor from U-301.
18 Feb 43 sank the Italian sailing vessel Francesco Padre (22 GRT) with gunfire off Cape Orlando.
23 Mar 43 torpedoed and sank the small Italian merchant Tosca (474 GRT) west of Cape Calava, Sicily, Italy.
27 Mar 43 torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Sidamo (2384 GRT) in Milazzo harbour, Sicily, Italy.
30 Mar 43 sank the Italian sailing vessels Santa Maria Del Salvazione (15 GRT), San Vincenzo (29 GRT)
and Pier Della Vigne (69 GRT) with gunfire off Milazzo, Sicily, Italy.
22 Apr 43 damaged the Italian tug Valente (286 GRT) and a barge with gunfire 3nm south of Cape Vaticano, Calabria, Italy.
The tug was hit 45 times and the barge 25 times. The tug was set on fire and completely burnt out.
24 Apr 43, sank the Italian transport Galiola, 1428 tons, off northeast Sicily.
Counter-attacked by Italians off Cape Milazzo after broaching the surface.
Fired on by a German Ju-88 aircraft and attacked by depth charges from
Italian corvettes Gabbiano, Climene (which was sunk four days
later by HMS Unshaken) and Euterpe. At about 0545, Sahib came
under heavy depth charge attack resulting in the pressure hull being holed
at the after ends. With no way of repairing the damage, the order to abandon
ship was given. The submarine surfaced, east of Lipari Island, meeting a machine gun attack from
the waiting aircraft and escorts. As the crew left, Sahib was
scuttled in position 38.30N 15.15E. One of the crew was wounded and died
on 3 May 43.
|
Salmon | S2 | N65 | 39 |
30 Apr 34 | Cammell Laird Birkenhead | 09-Jul-40 | War Loss |
Lt.Cdr. E.O. Bickford; 4 Dec 39, sank German Type
VIIA s/m U36, southwest of Kristiansand, Norway, 57.00N, 05.20E.
See also subart.net. 
Lt Cdr Bickford pictured below.
12 Dec 39, sighted the German
liner Bremen off Norway, in position 57.02N,05.25E. Details.
13 Dec 39, sighted a German task-force. Details. 23 Feb 40, Captured the
Belgian trawler 'Helene' and took her into Harwich with a prize crew.
On 4 July 1940, Salmon departed her base to patrol off Skudesnes on the south west
coast of Norway. She was sent signals on 9th, 11th and 12th July, the final
one ordering a return to harbour. None of these signals were acknowledged.
Later it became known that one of the signals routed her across a minefield
which at the time was unknown to the Admiralty. There is also a possibility
that she was attacked by aircraft, but mining was the most likely, in position
57.22N, 05.00E.
|
Sanguine Rahav | S3 | P266 c/s MVQD | 48 |
15 Feb 45 | Cammell Laird Birkenhead | 1969 | Scrap |
Not commissioned until 13 May, 1945, and saw no action. Became Israeli Rahav in 1958. Broken up
in Haifa 1969.
|
Saracen | S3 | P247 | 48 |
16 Feb 42 | Cammell Laird Birkenhead | 7-Aug-43 | War Loss |
Lt. M Lumby RN (later VAdm Sir Michael Lumby); 3 Aug 42, Saracen was
working up in the waters northwest of Shetland when Lumby sighted the German
Type VIIc U-boat U335 on the
surface. The U-Boat was making a passage from Kiel to her patrol area in the
North Atlantic and did not spot the British submarine. An accurate torpedo
attack by Saracen sank her. Lumby then looked for survivors, of whom there
appeared to be three. One man raised his arm and then sank below the
surface, the second was a corpse and the third, a signalman, was picked up.
He said that the other two had been the Captain and a warrant officer. 41
other men went down with the boat. Lumby was awarded the DSC.
Between Gibraltar and Malta in October of that year, Lumby had another
chance against a German U-boat, but missed with his torpedoes. 9 Nov 42, Saracen
was dived on patrol in support of the Allied landings in North Africa -
Operation Torch - when Lumby sighted the Italian submarine Granito
and hit her with three of the four torpedoes fired. Granito sank with
all hands.
16 Nov 42, at 0907, fired three torpedoes against a convoy made up of the small Italian tanker Labor (510 GRT),
the German merchant Menes (5609 GRT) escorted by the Italian torpedo boats Calliope and Climene north
of the Gulf of Tunis in position 37º30'N, 10º40'E. All torpedoes missed.
17 Dec 42 attacked but missed the German transport ship Ankara (4768 GRT) and one of her escorts,
the Italian destroyer Camicia Nera north of Bizerte, Tunisia.
20 Jan 43 sank the Italian auxiliary submarine chaser V3 / Maria Angelette (214 GRT) with gunfire about
30nm south of Isola di Capri, Italy in position 40º14'N, 14º10'E.
12 Feb 43 sank the French tugs Provincale II (124 GRT) and Marseillaise V (138 GRT) with gunfire
off Cape Sardineaux, southern France.
15 Feb 43 torpedoed and damaged the French (in German service) tanker Marguerite Finaly (12309 GRT) in the
Capo di Noli / Capo di Vado area (south-west of Genova, Italy).
19 Feb 43 damaged two sailing vessels with gunfire at Cervo, Liguria, Italy.
19 Apr 43 intercepted an Italian convoy and torpedoed and sank the Italian Francesco Crispi (7600 GRT) about 18nm west of
Elba island, Italy, 42º46'N, 09º46'E.
22 Apr 43 torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Tagliamento (5448 GRT) about 35nm south of Pianosa, Italy, 42º03'N, 09º48'E.
6 Jul 43, sank Italian merchant Tripoli
near the island of Monte Cristo.
11 Jul 43 sank the merchant Tell, 1349 tons.
14 Aug 43, forced
to surface off Bastia on the north east coast of Corsica, France by depth charges from the Italian corvettes Minerva
and Euterpe. Her crew abandoned ship and scuttled the boat in position 42º45'N, 09º30'E. Four men
lost, remainder taken prisoner. The prisoner's log of one crewman, William T.H. Morris, can be
seen online.
|
Satyr FS Saphir
(S616) | S3 | P214 c/s MDRN | 48 |
28-Sep-42 | Scotts, Greenock | 01-Apr-62 | Scrap |
Lt. T.S. Weston, RN;
5 Feb 44 torpedoed the wreck of the German merchant Emsland (5180 GRT) which was aground off Stadlandet, Norway
after being heavily damaged by British torpedo bombers on 20 Jan 44. On 11 Feb the wreck was hit again by aerial torpedoes.
24 Mar 44 torpedoed and sank the Norwegian merchant Nordnorge (339 GRT) off Stadlandet, Norway, 62º16'N, 05º06'E.
15 Jun 44 torpedoed and sank the German Type VIIC Uboat U-987 west of Narvik, 68º01'N, 05º08'W.
20 Aug 44 attacked but missed the German merchants Bochum (6121 GRT) and Emma Sauber (2548 GRT) off Skudesnes, Norway.
22 Aug 44 attacked but missed a German convoy off Egersund, Norway.
During 1944-1945, Satyr was
disarmed, streamlined and given more powerful batteries to serve as a high
speed target submarine.
Loaned to the French Navy and served as Saphir from
February 1952 until returned in August 1961. Sold for scrap
on 4 April 1962. Scrapped in June 1962. Pictured below in 1944, as fast
target boat.
 |
Sceptre | S3 | P215 | 48 |
9-Jan-43 | Scotts, Greenock | 01-Sep-49 | Scrap |
 Lt.Cdr. I.S. McIntosh, MBE, DSC, RN;
Launched
on 9 Jan 1943 in Greenock, although she was laid down in July 1940. Joined
the 3rd Flotilla in April 1943 and was based at Holy Loch. She then detached
to Scapa Flow to be used for the Submarine Commanding Officer's Qualifying
Course, the 'Perisher'. Whilst exercising to the west of the Orkneys, she
was depth charged in error by the RAF and her hull was slightly buckled
which required docking for repairs. After an uneventful first patrol, she
was fitted with special towing gear and proceeded to Loch Cairnbawn. Here
she joined up with 2 T-Class and 3 S-Class submarines, together with the
depot ships Titania and Bonadventure, the latter being
the depot ship for the X-craft midget submarines. Sceptre left Loch
Cairnbawn on 12 September 1943, towing
X-10 across North Sea for raid on Tirpitz, 1943 and Bergen
11 Sep 44.
7 Mar 44 torpedoed and heavily damaged the German merchant Lippe (7849 GRT)
off the Foldafjord, Norway in position 64º32'N, 10º38'E. The Lippe was beached but broke up the following day.
In April 1944, Sceptre left for another "special operation" with X-24 in tow. X-24 penetrated Bergen harbour and sank the
merchant ship Barenfels as well as damaging large sections of the floating dock in the harbour.
20 May 44 torpedoed and sank the German merchant Hochheimer (1894 GRT, former British Ronwyn)
off Bilbao, northern Spain, 43º24'N, 03º30'W. In the same attack the torpedoes miss the German patrol vessels V-402 and V-405.
23 May 44 torpedoed and sank the German merchant Baldur (3630 GRT, former Danish Jacob Christensen) off
Castro-Urdiales, northern Spain.
20 Sep 44, sank Norwegian coaster Vela, 1200 tons, and its
German escort M132, 11 nm off Eigerøy Light, Norway.
20 Oct 44 torpedoed and sank the German auxiliary submarine chaser UJ 1111 (527 GRT) off Lister,
Norway, 58º37'N, 05º30'E.
Commanded by
Lieutenant I S McIntosh MBE DSC RN throughout her short but active service
career, Sceptre sank 6 ships - 4 merchant vessels of 14,393 gross
register tons and 2 escorts of 1,444 displacement tons. This total and
tonnage was unequalled by any other submarine in home waters during the
period.
During 1944-1945 HMS Sceptre was disarmed, streamlined and
given more powerful batteries to serve as a high speed target submarine. At
the end of the war, Sceptre went to the 7th Flotilla and used for training,
based at Lochalsh. She continued to run as a training unit based Portland
until February 1947.
15
Apr 47, collided with the battleship HMS Nelson at Portland, damaging
the Nelson!
Damaged by a battery explosion on 8 Aug 1949.
Scrapped at Gateshead in Sept
1949.
|
Scorcher | S4 | P258 c/s MVQF | 48 |
18-Dec-44 | Cammell Laird Birkenhead | 01-Sep-62 | Scrap |
 Launched by Thomas Beacham a Foreman Driller
employed by Cammell Laird. Built as the Second World War was drawing to a close, she did not see much action.
Along with her sisters, HMS Sirdar and Scythian, Scorcher took part in the search for the missing
HMS Affray in 1951. Scorcher
too had her fair share of accidents. She was damaged in a collision on 4 February 1956, and suffered a fire during exercises on 22 November 1956.
Scrapped at Charlestown
14 September 1962.
|
Scotsman | S3 | P243, later S143 c/s GGTW | 48 | 01-Aug-44 |
Scotts, Greenock | 01-Nov-64 | Scrap |
 Lt. A.H.B. Anderson, DSC, RNR;
Very interesting post-war trials, with her casing and battery altered to test different
configurations. Streamlined, with most of the fore casing removed, given A Class motors and U Class diesels. Took a full
day to recharge battery. Later spent a long time looking very similar to USN 'Guppy' Class. Trials for quieter
propellers. Reserve in Gareloch 1961. See Misc. Pictures. Sunk for training 1964,
Kames Bay, Bute. Salvaged and scrapped at Troon.
Recent research by Peter Hulme, in New Zealand, has uncovered even more
detail of Scotsman's trials career in the 40s and 50s.  In
picture below, Scotsman in some of her many post war guises.
|
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Scythian to Sentinel
