Thistle to ThunderboltPage last Updated:
2-Jan-2008
| Name | Class | Pennant | Crew | Built | Builder
| Disposal Date | Method |
Thistle | T1 | 24T | 56 | 4-Jul-39 | Vickers Armstrong |
10-Apr-40 | War Loss |
 Lt.Cdr. W.F. Haselfoot RN. In
April 1940, in the belief that a German invasion of Norway was imminent, Flag Officer Submarines ordered
Thistle to Stavanger with orders to sink any enemy vessel that she may spot in the harbour.
On 10-April Thistle signalled her intentions in complying with this order and that she had two
torpedoes remaining after an unsuccessful attack on a U-boat. With this in mind the Admiralty changed
her orders to patrol off Skudenes. No further contact was made with the Thistle. It was later
discovered that the German Type IIa U-boat U4, the U-boat Thistle had previously attacked, had sighted
the submarine on the surface and sunk her with torpedoes.Thistle had a distinctive
shortened after-casing |
Thorn | T2 | N11 | 61 | 26-Aug-41 | Cammell Laird |
14-Aug-42 | War Loss |
 Lt.Cdr.
Robert G. Norfolk DSO RN.
Sunk Italian s/m Medusa 30-Jan-1942 in Gulf of Venice.
Operations Harpoon/Vigorous off Taranto, June 1942. Attacked a tanker off
southwest Crete 6-Aug-42. On the 14th August 1942 encountered the Italian torpedo boat, Pegaso, escorting the steamer/tanker
Istria 30 miles from
Gavdos (Gaudhos) Island off SW Crete. At 1230 an escorting aircraft was seen to machine-gun the surface of the
sea and Pegaso moved in to investigate. Four minutes after the aircraft attack, Pegaso picked up
a contact and carried out seven attacks after which contact was lost. There is also a possibility that she was
later lost on mines off Tobruk, Libya. Picture. |
Thorough | T3 | P324 c/s GGWY | 61 | 30-Oct-43 |
Vickers Armstrong Barrow | 29-Jun-61 | Scrap |
27 Sep 44, (Lt.Cdr. J.G. Hopkins, RN) sank a small Japanese vessel north of Sumatra.
13 Nov 44, sank a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire in the Strait of Malacca.
14 Nov 44, sank two Japanese vessels and damages another with gunfire in the Strait of Malacca.
19 Nov 44, laid mines in the Strait of Malacca.
22 Nov 44, sank a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire in the Strait of Malacca
23 Dec 44, laid mines in the Strait of Malacca.
29 Dec 44, sank two Japanese sailing vessels of the west coast of Siam.
1 Jan 45, sank a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire of the west coast of Siam.
13 Feb 45 to 28 Feb 45, (Lt. A.G. Chandler, RNR) sank 21 small Japanese vessels with gunfire of the west coast of Siam.
2 Apr 45, sank a small Japanese gunboat with gunfire off the Nicobar Islands.
10 Apr 45, sank a Japanese coaster with gunfire of the west coast of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies.
25 May 45, sank Japanese merchant Nittei Maru in Java Sea.
3 Jun 45, sank two Japanese coasters with gunfire off Tenggol Island.
5 Jun 45, sank a Japanese coaster with gunfire off Tenggol Island.
17 Jun 45, sank a Japanese trawler and a Japanese sailing vessel off Surabaya, Java, Dutch East Indies.
1 Aug 45, with Taciturn, (Lt.Cdr. E.T. Stanley, DSO, DSC, RN), attacked Japanese shipping and shore targets off northern Bali.
Sank a Japanese coaster and a sailing vessel with gunfire.
2 Aug 45, sank a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire off Bali.
4 Aug 45, sank a Japanese coaster with gunfire off Bali.
12 Aug 45, sank the Malaysian sailing vessel Palange (120 GRT) with gunfire off Bali.
10 Nov 51, damaged in a collision. First submarine to circumnavigate the globe, returning to Gosport 16 Dec 57. Broken up at Dunston on Tyne.
Thorough,
just post-war |
Thrasher | T2 | N37 | 61 | 01-Nov-40 | Cammell
Laird Birkenhead | 01-Mar-47 | Scrap |
Commanding officers: Lt. PJ Cowell, DSC, RN, 21 Jan 41 - 12 Oct 41 (Promoted to Lt.Cdr. on 1 April 1941);
Lt. HS Mackenzie, RN, 12 Oct 41 - 3 Mar 43 (DSO 30 June 1942, Bar to DSO 19 Jan 43);
Lt. AR Hezlet, DSC, RN, 3 Mar 43 - 15 Oct 43;
Lt. HRB Newton, DSC, RN, 15 Oct 43 - 15 Apr 44
Lt. MFR Ainslie, DSO, DSC, RN, 15 Apr 44 - Endof war.
17 Jul 41, (Lt.Cdr. P.J. Cowell, DSC, RN) heavily damaged French fishing vessel Virgo Fidelis (129 GRT) with gunfire in the
Bay of Biscay off San Sebastian, Spain. The Virgo Fidelis is beached and declared a total loss.
28 Jul 41, evacuated 67 soldiers from Crete to Alexandria.
15 Aug 41, attacked but missed the German transport Ankara (4768 GRT) off Cape Sunion, Greece.
20 Aug 41, sank the Greek sailing vessel San Stefano with gunfire off Cape Malea, Greece.
28 Oct 41, (Lt. H.S. Mackenzie, RN) sank the Italian sailing vessel Esperia (384 BRT) with gunfire north-east of Benghazi, Libya.
25 Nov 41, torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Attilio Deffenu (3510 GRT) about 20 nm east of Brindisi, Puglia, Italy in
position 40º37'N, 18º27'E.
10 Jan 42, torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Fedora (5016 GRT) about 35 nm NE of Cape Dukato, Greece in position 38º59'N, 19º59'E.
13/14 Jan 1942, 2xVCs (Bomb removal) Lt PS Roberts, PO Thomas W Gould (Details here).
Picture.
16 Feb 42, attacked, but missed, on the German merchant Arkadia (1756 GRT) off Suda Bay, Crete, Greece.
9 Apr 42, torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Gala (1029 GRT) about 20 nm WNW of Benghazi, Libya in position 31º49'N, 19º42'E.
13 Apr 42, torpedoed and sank the German army cargo ship Atlas (2297 GRT) south-west of Benghazi, Libya in position 31º26'N, 18º56'E.
Also sank the Italian tug Pilo 210 (30 GRT) with gunfire in the same area.
19 Apr 42, attacked the German barge F 184 with gunfire west of Derna, Libya in position 32º53'N, 22º23'E. Return fire forced
Thrasher to break off the attack.
19 May 42, torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Penelope (1160 GRT) about 5 nm NW of Monopoli, Italy in position 41º01'N, 17º16'E.
23 Jun 42, torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Sant Antonio (1480 GRT) in the Gulf of Sirte in position 31º53'N, 16º35'E.
29 Jun 42, torpedoed and sank the Italian sloop Diana (1568 tons) north of Tobruk, Libya in position 33º30'N, 23º30'E.
26 Jul 42, bombed in error by a British Swordfish aircraft off Port Said, Egypt. Required a month of repairs.
4 Sep 42, torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Padenna (1589 GRT) about 40 nm north of Tobruk, Libya in position 32º44'N, 24º11'E.
12 Oct 42, sank a Greek sailing vessel with gunfire in the Aegean Sea, about 15 nm east of Cape Drepano, Greece in position 39º56'N, 24º17'E.
13 Oct 42, sank a sailing vessel with gunfire in the Aegean Sea about 10 nm south-west of Cape Pinnes, Greece in position 40º01'N, 24º10'E.
19 Oct 42, sank the Italian tug Roma (130 GRT) with gunfire off Stampalia, Greece in position 36º43'N, 26º41'E.
20 Oct 42, torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Lero (1980 GRT) between Symi and Rhodos Islands, Greece in position 36º26'N, 27º54'E.
22 to 28 Jan 45, (Lt.Cdr. M.F.R. Ainslie, DSO, DSC, RN) sank ten Japanese sailing vessels with gunfire of the west coast of Siam.
16 to 19 Mar 45, sank five Japanese sailing vessels with gunfire of the west coast of Burma/Siam.
22 Jun 45, sank three Japanese sailing vessels with gunfire off the west coast of Siam.
25 Jul 45, sank a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire north of the Strait of Malacca.
27 Jul 45, sank four Japanese coasters and a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire in the northern part of the Strait of Malacca.
Operations Harpoon/Vigorous, off Taranto, June
1942. Towing submarine for X-5 on midget raid on Tirpitz, Kå fjord, Norway, September 1943. Eastern Fleet 44-45
(Lt. Cdr. Ainslie DSO DSC.)
|
Thule | T3 | P325, S25 c/s GGXL | 61 | 22-Oct-42 |
HMDY Devonport | 14-Sep-62 | Scrap |  Lt.Cdr. Alastair
Mars, DSO, DSC*. (Author of book 'Thule Intercepts' and others) Conducted air-conditioning trials in Kilbrennan
Sound 1944, then proceeded to Trincomalee. Operated mainly in Malacca Strait, sinking many sampans and junks.
Dec-44 Sunk a Japanese RO-100 class submarine. Feb-45 reinforced military personnel and equipment at point just
North of Singapore. Returned May-45. Operated from May 45 from Fremantle where she was holed by Stubborn
when berthing alongside. Returned Chatham, UK, Dec 45. After refit, including streamlining, commissioned into
5th Flotilla at Portsmouth, then Portland. On Nov 18 1960 was damaged around her fore-ends when, during exercises
in the channel, she surfaced under the RFA Black Ranger - reportedly signalling to the tanker when safely
on the surface "Thules rush in where Rangers fear to tread!". Broken up at Inverkeithing.
 |
Thunderbolt (ex-Thetis) | T3 |
11T, N25 | 61 | 01-Oct-42 | Cammell Laird Birkenhead | 14-Mar-43 |
War Loss | | Lt Cdr Cecil Crouch. Lt. J.S. Stevens,
(picture) Sank Italian s/m
Capitano Tarantini, Bay of Biscay 15 Dec 40. At 2210 on Friday 12-March-1942 the Italian merchant ship
Esterel was torpedoed two miles north of Capo San Vito. Following the attack the torpedo boat
Libra was ordered to seek out the submarine responsible - Thunderbolt. The Libra
made contact with the Thunderbolt that night and carried out seven depth
charge attacks with no result. On Sunday 14-March the Italian corvette Cicogna obtained
a contact and shortly after 0734 a periscope was sighted 2000 yards off the corvette’s bow. At
0845 the periscope was again sighted, this time less than 10 feet away. Depth charges were launched
at once and the corvette increased its speed and turned for another attack when an explosion lifted
the submarine’s stern out of the sea at an angle of 90 degrees. The submarine sank through a discharge of air and oil.
A further two depth charges were dropped resulting in air bubbles, oil and smoke appearing on the surface where the submarine
had sunk. The Cicogna remained on station for an hour but no further contact was made.
The wreck now lies on a sandy bottom at a depth of -60m off S.Vito lo Capo. The hull shows the dramatic effects of the
explosion
(c 38-15'N, 15-15'E). 
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Tigris to Totem