P32 to P222Page last Updated:
20-Dec-2007
| Name | Class | Pennant | Crew | Built | Builder
| Disposal Date | Method |
P32 | U3 | P32 | 33 | 15_Dec_40 | Vickers Armstrong Barrow
| 18-Aug-41 | War Loss | Lt D.A.B. Abdy. 15 Jul 41, torpedoed and sank
the Italian merchant Barbarigo (5293 GRT) off Pantellaria Island in position 36º27'N, 11º54'E. During a counter attack P33
was damaged by the Italian torpedo boat Procione.
P32 left Malta for a patrol off Tripoli 12-Aug-41, joining P33
and Unique. On the 18th P32 sighted a convoy of five merchant vessels heading towards the swept channel
approach to Tripoli Harbour.
The convoy was escorted by three Italian destroyers, Freccia, Euro
and Dardo, and three Italian patrol craft, Procione, Pegaso
and Sirtori. P32 made an attempt to gain a better attacking
position and dived under a minefield, but as the submarine returned to periscope depth, to check the convoy’s position, she
struck a mine on the port side.
The explosion put out all the lights, the forward control door jammed, she
took on a heavy list to port and sank to the bottom, 210' below the surface.
In fact, the whole of the boat forward of the control room had been
destroyed, killing the eight crew members forward. The remaining 24 sought
refuge in the after spaces. Once it was realised that the boat could not be
saved or surfaced, the decision to attempt escape was taken. In Abdy's
opinion the engine room offered the better prospect of escape as he was
concerned about the pressure being put on the forward control room door.
However, taking into consideration the number of crew members in the engine
room (23 besides himself) and the amount of time that the boat had been
submerged he decided to split the group up. The Coxswain (Petty Officer E.
Kirk), and ERA Martin volunteered to join Abdy in an attempt to make what
was believed to be the more dangerous escape via the conning tower. Abdy and
the Coxswain escaped successfully but ERA Martin was dead on his arrival on
the surface. Both Abdy and Kirk were later picked up by an Italian naval
vessel shortly after being spotted by an aircraft which had been searching
the area after the mysterious explosion. When it was reported by Abdy that
others would appear shortly, the Italians opted to remain for several hours
but no other survivors were seen to escape. Abdy and Kirk were made
prisoners of war and eventually chosen for prisoner exchange in March 1943.
Due to the belief that the escape hatch was a weak point during heavy depth
charging (and the chances of escape from a sunk submarine in war time being
considered remote), it was fairly standard for an iron bar to be welded over
the escape hatches of HM submarines on active duty. This theory seems to be refuted
by
recent diving expeditions on the boat, which discovered the engine room hatch to be open. 10th Flotilla |
P33 | U3 | P33 | 33 | 28 Jan
41
| Vickers Armstrong Barrow | 20-Aug-41 | War Loss | |
Lt R.D. Whiteway-Wilkinson DSC RN. 15 July 41, sank a supply ship, the Italian Barbarigo, 6,600 tons,
south of Pantelleria, Med. On 6-Aug-1941, P33 sailed from Malta with orders to
join P32 and Unique and intercept an Italian convoy bound for Libya.
On 18-Aug, P32 reported hearing a prolonged depth charge attack that lasted for two hours. When the
attack was finally over P32 attempted to contact P33 but received no response and it is almost
certain that P33 had perished in the attack. Italians claimed she was sunk by torpedo boat
Partenope off Pantelleria island on the 23rd. 10th Flotilla |
P36 | U3 | P36 | 33 | 28 Apr
41
| Vickers Armstrong Barrow | 01-Apr-42 | War
Loss, Scuttled | Lt. H.N. Edmonds
DSC RN. 26 Nov 41, while on patrol in the Bay of Biscay, attacked but missed a German submarine with torpedoes
south-west of Belle-Ile island in position 47°16'N, 03°20'W.
13 Feb 42, fired four torpedoes against the Italian heavy cruisers Gorizia and Trento in the Ionian
Sea about 90 nm east of Capo Spartivento, Calabria, Italy, 37°42'N, 18°00'E. All torpedoes missed.
15 Feb 42, torpedoed and damaged the Italian destroyer Carabiniere off Taranto.
1 Apr 42, In harbour after covering Alexandria/Malta convoy (MW.10?)
at time of Second Battle of Sirte (Malta convoys) and lying alongside a jetty at Sliema Harbour in Malta when the
Luftwaffe attacked the harbour. A large bomb
landed sufficiently near to the submarine to hole her and she began to sink. Despite desperate efforts to save the
submarine she rolled over and sank. She was raised on 7 August 1958 and scuttled off Malta on 22 August 1958.
Following the loss of P36 in 1942, some surviving crew members embarked on board HMS Olympus bound for
Gibraltar. Shortly after leaving Malta on 8 May 1942, Olympus was sunk after striking a mine. Nine of the
98 passengers and crew swam 7 miles back to the Maltese coast.
10th Flotilla |
P38 | U2 | P38 | 33 | 9 Jul
41
| Vickers Armstrong Barrow | 23-Feb-42 | War Loss |
| Lt. R.J. Hemingway
DSC RN. Sank the Ariosto, 4,170 tons, 15/2/42 - 138 Allied POWs lost. P38 left Malta 16-Feb-1942
to intercept a convoy off Tripoli. By the 23rd she was in position as the convoy hove into view. Amongst the
convoy was the Italian destroyer Circe. At 0800 the Circe reported contact with a submarine and
the warships turned to attack. A periscope was sighted but was quickly replaced by bubbles as the submarine
dived realizing it had been spotted. At 1050 after a flurry of attacks P38 rose stern first out of the
water, her propellers turning wildly, before crashing back beneath the waves. A large patch of oil appeared
on the surface as well as debris - clear evidence of the submarine's destruction.
The Italians, and Wikipedia, give credit for the sinking
to the destroyer Antoniotto Usodimare (pictured below is a ship of the same
class). Sunk east of Tripoli, western
Libya (c 32-45'N, 15-00'E) - 10th Flotilla 
|
P39 | U2 | P39 | 33 | 23
Aug 41 | Vickers Armstrong, Barrow | 26-Mar-42 | War Loss,
Scrap | | Lt N Marriott DSC RN, and Lt.
J.D. Martin as spare C.O. 10th Flotilla. Damaged at Malta 1942, by German bombers. In
harbour following a patrol in the area east of Tunisia. Previous bomb damage
being repaired. Too badly damaged for repair. Salvaged, towed to Kalkara and
beached 1943, but again badly damaged by another air attack.
Many of the crew were later lost on Olympus on their way
home to UK. Broken up in 1954. |
P41/Uredd | U3 | P41 | 33 |
1941 | Vickers Armstrong, Barrow | 24 Feb 43 | War Loss | | Built
for Royal Norwegian Navy. Norwegian command was assumed on 7. December 1941. Operated with the 'Norwegian Section' of the 9th
Flotilla at Dundee. Lost on its 8th patrol. CO
Lt Cdr R.Q. Røren, left Lerwick on 31 January, 1943, expected back on February 19. Completing a total of seven successful
missions for the Royal Norwegian Navy before being destroyed by a minefield in February 1943, she had served mostly as a
patrol craft off the coast of Nazi-occupied Norway. She was assigned to drop off five "Kompani Linge" Special Agents at
Bodø as part of Operation Seagull* - and then proceed to Senja to pick up two French submariners that had been left behind
by HMS(FS) Junon. Minefield believed to have been laid by German Minelayer Cobra. 34 crew and six Special Agents killed.
Wreck found on November 4, 1985 by the Norwegian submarine Tana at a depth of 105 meters. The following year,
King Olav V unveiled a memorial to those lost aboard the Uredd, located in Grensen.
Mined and sunk in the Fugleøy fjord, south of Bodø. (ack. Jan-Olof Hendig in Sweden).
One officer and two ratings were RN - Ty/Act/Sub Lt Wilfred J COND, RNVR; Jack BARKER, Leading Telegraphist, P/JX 140054; Victor A A HABGOOD,
Leading Signalman, P/JX 150619. More details Uredd.
.
 * - “Seagull” - 30, 000 tons of copper concentrate, 140, 000 tons of pyrites,
and 9000 tons of zinc concentrate annually were being mined at Sulitjelma (67N, 16E). The operation, by SOE/Norwegian Independent
Company No.1 (Linge), aimed to destroy the power plant some 60 miles east of Bodo. |
P47/Dolfijn | U3 | P47, O-1 | 33 | 27
July 42
| Vickers Armstrong, Barrow | 1952
| Scrap |
 25
Sep 42, transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy, commissioned 8 Oct 42
as HNlMS Dolfijn. Ltz. I van Oostrom Soede RNLN. Sep 42 to Jan
43, 3rd Flotilla, Holy Loch. Jan to Nov 43, 8th Flotilla, Algiers. On 9 Feb, 1943 torpedoed and sunk the Italian
Perla class submarine Malachite near Cape
Spartivento, Sardinia, Italy in position 38.42N, 08.52E. 29 Mar 1943, fired three torpedoes and sunk
the Italian freighter SS Egle, 1143t, 1nm south west of Carbonara, off Cagliari. More
details.
Nov to Dec 43, 10th Flotilla, Malta. Dec 43 to Mar 44, 1st Flotilla,
Beirut. Sunk many small enemy craft in the Mediterranean. Returned to UK
with convoys, eventually refitted at Dundee. Training boat in Amsterdam
1947-52. Nominally returned to RN, but broken up in the Netherlands
in 1952.
|
P48 | U3 | P48 | 33 | 15
Apr 42 | Vickers Armstrong Barrow | 25-Dec-42 | War Loss | |
Commanded by Lt.
M.E. Faber RN. Sailed from Malta 23-Dec-42; Sunk Christmas Day 1942, in Gulf of Tunis
c 37-15N, 10-30'E - by depth charges of Italian destroyer escorts Ardente, Ardito and possibly Audace,
northwest of Zembra Island. Attacking Italian convoy making for Tunis.
Declared overdue 5 Jan 43. 10th Flotilla. |
P52/
ORP DzikHDMS Springeren | U2 |
|
33 | 01-Oct-42 |
Vickers Armstrong Barrow | 01-Apr-58 | Scrap | |
After the loss of the Polish submarine Jastrzab
(See P551)(to friendly fire off Norway) on 2 May, 1942 the Polish requested a new
submarine. The Royal Navy agreed and gave them the U-class boat P52 then
being built. This boat became the Polish (ORP) Dzik. After training at Holy Loch, she was then assigned to
the 7th Flotilla at Dundee, Scotland. Dzik carried out three patrols
off Norway and in the Arctic Sea. Her mission, along with her sister sub ORP Sokol, was to screen allied convoys
from the Scharnhorst. All patrols were without incident.
In the spring of 1943, Dzik was ordered to Malta to join the 10th Flotilla, arriving in Malta
on 5 May 1943. On 24 May, during her first patrol in the Mediterranean, near Cape Sparitvento, Dzik fired four torpedoes
at a tanker. Two hits were heard. The tanker was damaged and set on fire but was towed to Messina and repaired.
2-19 July 43, took part in Operation HUSKY the invasion of Sicily. Dzik’s assignment was to screen the
allied invasion fleet from axis naval forces. On the night of 19 July, while nearing Malta, Dzik received reports of Italian
submarines in the area. Dzik made contact with a submerged submarine and fired two torpedoes, both of which missed. The target
turned out to be HMS Unshaken. During Dzik’s next patrol, she came upon a lone ship on the morning of 15 August 1943.
Dzik fired four torpedoes, claiming two hits. HMS Unruly also attacked at this timeand both boats claimed hits.
Later that night, Dzik spotted a two-ship convoy near Bari. While submerged, Dzik fired four torpedoes, hitting both
ships, which were towed to Bari with major damage. When returning to Malta on the night of 19 August, Dzik spotted a
large submarine submerging. Dzik fired 2 torpedoes but missed. In Sept. 1943, the Allies invaded Italy. Dzik was ordered
to blockade the axis naval base at Bastia, Corsica.
Dzik was ordered to prevent the Germans and Italians from evacuating Corsica for the Italian mainland.
The C.O., Romanowski, decided the best way to do this was to attack any shipping before they attempt to break out. On the evening
of 21 Sept., while submerged outside the port of Bastia, Romanowski observed an air raid on the port. Taking advantage
of the confusion caused by the raid, Dzik slipped into the harbour while submerged. Two large ships
were spotted moored close together. Dzik fired four torpedoes, sinking both ships. One or two torpedoes passed under one
of the ships, striking a German tug and barges docked behind the ships. In the pre-dawn darkness on 22 September, while on the
surface, Dzik spotted three German landing craft leaving the port. Dzik launched four torpedoes, claiming hits on
all three craft, leaving them burning in the water. After recharging batteries, Dzik resumed patrol. Spotting no ships in or
near the port, Dzik was ordered to return to Malta. On the morning of 24 Sept, Dzik spotted a large merchant ship 11 miles
from Bastia. The remaining two torpedoes were fired and Romanowski claimed two hits. The British submarine HMS/M Ultor also
claimed hits around the same time. The ship was beached and ultimately sunk by HMS/M Uproar. It was after this patrol
that Dzik and her sister submarine Sokol came to be known in the 10th Flotilla as 'the terrible twins'.
Early in Nov. 1943, Dzik was assigned to the 1st Submarine Flotilla based in Beirut. Dzik’s patrol area was now
the Aegean Sea where her mission was to interdict German shipping between the occupied Greek islands. Dzik’s first patrol
out of Beirut was commanded by Kpt. Mar. A. Klopotowski while the CO, Romanowski, was on leave. On the night of 17 Nov. 1943,
near the island of Monemvasia, Dzik spotted a small sailing vessel while on the surface. Dzik signalled the ship to
halt but it failed to do so and Dzik fired on the ship with the deck gun, sinking it.
Dzik’s next patrol was in Jan 1944 in the Mytilene area of the Aegean. On the morning of 7 Jan 1944, while submerged,
Dzik spotted a tanker escorted by E-boats. Romanowski fired four torpedoes and dived to take evasive action.
Explosions were heard but not observed. Dzik left the area without incident, bu a torpedo had somehow damaged its outer
torpedo door, leaving the tube flooded. Dzik slowly made her way back to base. On the night of 8 Jan, a lone three-masted
sailing vessel was spotted. Dzik opened fire with the deck and machine guns. The vessel was hit several times before
halting and signalling surrender. Dzik sent over a boarding party in rubber rafts. The Greek crew and ten Germans were taken
prisoner, and then the vessel was sunk by gunfire. The next day a small sailing vessel was spotted. Dzik signalled the
vessel to halt, and a boarding party was sent to check the ship's cargo. The boarding party found German ammunition on board.
The Greek crew explained that the Germans forced them to transport the ammunition by threatening their families. German Marks
were found by the boarding party. Romanowski decided to let the crew free and then sunk the vessel with deck guns. Dzik then
returned to Beirut. After repairs, Dzik carried out two uneventful patrols in Feb. 1944. Dzik was then ordered to Malta,
arriving 5 March 1944. On 11 March 1944, Dzik was ordered back to Britain and she ended her Mediterranean Campaign.
Dzik underwent a refit and then was assigned to a training squadron. In December 1944, LCDR Andrzej Klopotowski was named
CO. At this time, Dzik was also outfitted with an experimental 'schnorkel' device. Romanowski and Klopotowski received
Distinguished Service Crosses from the British for their actions in the Mediterranean.
Dzik continued as a training
boat until May 1945, when she was put into at West Hartlepool. In July 1946, Britain ordered the return to Royal Navy of all
loaned ships. After twelve patrols and over 45,000 tons of enemy shipping claimed sunk, the Poles returned Dzik to the
British on 25 July 1946.
She was then transferred to Denmark in July 1947 and renamed U 1. In
1950 U 1 was renamed Springeren (as pictured below). Finally returned to Britain in
October 1957 and scrapped at Faslane in April 1958. 
|
P222 | S3 | P222/P72 | 48 | 4-Mar-42 |
Vickers Armstrong | 12-Dec-42 | War Loss | Originally
designated
P72, renumbered in July 1941. Commanded by Lt.Cdr. A.J. MacKenzie, 27 Jul 42, intercepted the Vichy French
merchant Mitidja (3286 GRT) off Cape Palos, Spain. The ship was boarded and later escorted to Gibraltar by HMS Wrestler.
P222
left Gibraltar for a patrol off Naples on 30 Nov 42. Messages were
received from her on 7th-Dec but after that no more was heard. P222
failed to arrive at Algiers on her due date of 21-Dec and the Italians
claimed to have sunk a submarine by depth charging from Italian torpedo
boat Fortunale on 12th-Dec, in Bay of Naples, SE of Capri. This is
the most probable cause of the submarine's loss but there has been no
confirmation. Attacking Italian convoy off Naples. Adopted by the town of
Swindon, UK.
 |
|
P311 to P714