|
B a t t l
e H o n o u r s
MEDITERRANEAN
1942
Identified as P37 on launch in May 1941 this submarine was
named in October 1942 under the policy change and was the first use
by the RN. She completed work-up at the end of November
1941 and carried out an uneventful patrol off Stadlandet in early December. On return she was
deployed for anti-submarine training of Home Fleet ships at Scapa
Flow till 14th January 1942 when she joined the 9th Submarine
Flotilla at Dundee.
During a
patrol between Stadlandet and Gripholen she sustained some damage when she
struck the seabed and was under repair at Dundee on return. Resuming
service on 26th March she carried out another Norwegian coast patrol
in the same area and encountered a German submarine on 11th April
but the torpedo attack failed. Further repair at Dundee was
completed at the end of April and after trials she returned to
Norwegian coast patrol in May to provide additional protection
against submarine attacks on Russian convoys PQ16 and returning
QP12.
This submarine
was transferred to the Mediterranean in June and took passage from
Dundee on 29th June 1942 after repair to join the 10th
Submarine Flotilla in Malta. She was deployed at Gibraltar during
July for patrols off the Spanish coast and in the western
Mediterranean and sailed for Malta with stores on 19th September.
Her first patrol began on 5th October and she sank a small coaster,
a sailing ship and the mercantile ALGA, 1,851 tons. Later off
Lampedusa she sank the 4,459 ton freighter BEPPE and the Italian
destroyer GIOVANNI DA VERAZZANO on 19th before return to Malta
Her next patrol in November in support of allied
landings in Algeria was not as successful since attacks on two ships
failed and a convoy interception was missed At the end of December
she landed two agents east of Tripoli and four days later on 31s
came under depth charge attacks off Cagliari by an Italian
destroyer.
Whilst
deployed in the Straits of Messina in January 1942 she hit and
damaged the 8,000 ton Italian mercantile VIMINALE
but was forced to return to Malta for repair of damage
caused by counter attacks. Her next patrol was in the Adriatic where
she sank two more freighters before returning on 14th February. The
next month she landed a Commando party near Cape Bruzmano and sank two small steamers. Her final
Mediterranean deployment was an uneventful patrol in the Gulf of
Hammamet
before return to UK on 12th April.
Calling at
Gibraltar on 24th April she arrived at Portsmouth on 8th May. She
carried out anti-submarine training for Western Approaches Command
escorts with the 7th Submarine Flotilla at Londonderry during June
and then Paid-off at Devonport on 29th prior to refit. Post refit
trials were completed in December 1943 and she rejoined the 7th
Submarine Flotilla in January 1944 for
work-up and Home Fleet anti-submarine training. Her remaining war
service was with the 6th Submarine Flotilla at Blyth and she was
deployed for training of submarine crews there until May 1945 when
she refitted until October. She Paid-off on
3rd December 1945 and was laid-up in the Gareloch until used for Ship Target trials in
1946 after which returned to lay-up at Lisahally prior to sale in
1950. |
