HMS Saracen was a third-batch S-classsubmarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Completed in 1942, Saracen conducted a patrol in the North Sea where she sank a German U-boat. She was then assigned to the 10th Submarine Flotilla in Malta, from where she made three patrols; on her second, she sank an Italian submarine. Saracen was then reassigned to the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based in Algiers, French North Africa.
Operating from there, she conducted six patrols, sinking seven ships and landing agents in Corsica and Sardinia. On her twelfth patrol, Saracen was heavily damaged by two depth charge attacks from Italian destroyers. On 13 August 1943, Saracen was detected by two Italian corvettes and again attacked with depth charges. With several leaks in her pressure hull, the submarine surfaced and her crewmen abandoned ship. She was then scuttled and 46 out of 48 men were rescued by the Italian ships. Saracen's wreck was discovered in 2015 off Corsica.
Design and description
Schematic drawing of a S-class submarine
The S-classsubmarines were designed to patrol the restricted waters of the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The third batch was slightly enlarged and improved over the preceding second batch of the S class. The submarines had a length of 217feet 0inches (66.1m)overall, a beam of 23feet 9inches (7.2m) and a draught of 14feet 8inches (4.5m). They displaced865 long tons (879t) on the surface and 990 long tons (1,010t) submerged.[1] The S-class submarines had a crew of 48 officers and ratings. They had a diving depth of 300 feet (91m).[2]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 950-brake-horsepower (708kW)diesel engines, each driving one propeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 650-horsepower (485kW)electric motor. They could reach 15 knots (28km/h; 17mph) on the surface and 10 knots (19km/h; 12mph) underwater.[3] On the surface, the third-batch boats had a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000km; 6,900mi) at 10 knots (19km/h; 12mph) and 120nmi (220km; 140mi) at 3 knots (5.6km/h; 3.5mph) submerged.[2]
The third-batch submarines were armed with seven 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes. Six of these were in the bow and there was one external tube in the stern. They carried six reload torpedoes for the bow tubes for a total of thirteen torpedoes. Twelve mines could be carried in lieu of the internally stowed torpedoes. They were also armed with a 3-inch (76mm)deck gun.[4] The third-batch S-class boats were fitted with either a Type 129AR or 138 ASDIC system and a Type 291 or 291W early-warning radar.[5]
Construction and career
HMS Saracen was a third-batch S-class submarine and was ordered by the Admiralty on 23 January 1940. She was laid down in the Cammell Laird Shipyard in Birkenhead on 16 July 1940, and launched on 16 February 1942. On 24 June 1942, Saracen, under the command of Lieutenant M.G.R. Lumby, sailed from the shipbuilding yards to Holy Loch, where she was commissioned into the Royal Navy three days later as P247.[6]
During the following month Saracen conducted training exercises, then departed harbour for her first war patrol, off Norway, on 29 July 1942. After only five days at sea on 3 August, the boat torpedoed and sank the German submarineU-335 in the North Sea, northeast of the Faroe Islands.[7][8] Only one of the U-boat's crew of 44 was rescued, while a second sailor declined rescue and drowned. U-335 was also on its first patrol. Saracen's First Lieutenant, Edward Preston Young, was mentioned in dispatches for his part in the action.[9][10]Saracen ended her patrol in Lerwick on 9 August, then transferred to Holy Loch, arriving on the 11th.[6]
On 31 August, Saracen was ordered to conduct a special patrol off Cape Finisterre, Spain, to intercept a possible German blockade runner. Having sighted nothing, the submarine was ordered to continue to Gibraltar, and arrived there on 4 September. After exercises off Gibraltar, Saracen conducted a patrol in the Alboran Sea from 17 to 27 September but sighted no potential targets.[6]
Malta
Saracen was assigned to the British 10th Submarine Flotilla in Malta, and sailed to her new home port on 9 October 1942. The next day, she sighted the surfaced German submarineU-605 and fired six torpedoes at it, but the U-boat spotted the torpedo tracks and passed between them. The British submarine then surfaced to use her deck gun, but her opponent dived after only three rounds had been fired, and Saracen dived. One hour and a half later, Saracen surfaced again to signal the presence of the enemy submarine and was spotted by U-605 which had remained in the area. U-605 fired four torpedoes at the British submarine, but also missed. The torpedoes were not noticed on board the British submarine, which then received orders to leave the area to allow surface ships to hunt U-605. Having expended half of her torpedoes, Saracen returned to Gibraltar to load new ones, then left for Malta on a different route following the sinking of the submarine HMSTalisman on the QBB.255 route. The boat arrived safely in Malta on 19 October.[6]
From 21 to 24 October, Saracen conducted a patrol between the Kerkennah Islands and the Kuriat archipelago further north. She did not sight any ships on this patrol, and returned to port after three days.[6]
On 3 November 1942, Saracen along with her sister shipsSafari and Sahib, departed Malta for a patrol off North Africa to cover the Allied landings in North Africa. On her way to the patrol area, the submarine was attacked by German Messerschmitt Bf 109fighter-bombers, sustaining slight damage to her wireless transmitter. Originally ordered to patrol off Partinico, Sicily, Saracen's orders were changed to operate in the Strait of Sicily, between Tunisia and Sicily. On 9 November 1942, she torpedoed and sank the Acciaio-class submarineGranito approximately 40 nautical miles (74km; 46mi) northwest of Partinico, Sicily; Granito went down with all hands, in total 46 men.[11] Following the sinking, Young was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the action.[9][12] One week later, Saracen launched three torpedoes at the German merchant ship Menes in the Gulf of Tunis, but missed, and the boat returned to Malta on 24 November.[6]
Saracen departed Malta again on 7 December 1942, with orders to patrol off Naples, Italy, then later, eastern Tunisia. On 17 December, she missed the German transport Ankara with four torpedoes north of Bizerte, Tunisia. On 22 December, Saracen twice sighted the Italian submarineArgento, but failed to manoeuvre into a suitable attack position. Argento also sighted the British submarine, but did not attack it because it might have been her sister Italian submarineCorallo. Saracen ended her patrol on Christmas 1942 in Algiers, where she joined the 8th Submarine Flotilla.[6]
Algiers
On 10 January 1943, Saracen departed Algiers for her seventh war patrol, close to Naples, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. About 30 nautical miles (56km; 35mi) south of the island of Capri, the submarine sank the Italian patrol boatMaria Angeletta with gunfire on 20 January.[13] On 22 and 23 January, Saracen missed a small oil tanker and an unidentified ship with four torpedoes each, then returned to Algiers on the 27th.[6]
Saracen at Algiers, 7 February
Saracen commenced another patrol in the Gulf of Genoa on 7 February. In the early morning of 11 February, the submarine landed three men in Cupabia, south of Ajaccio, Corsica. The next day, she sank with gunfire the Vichy French tugboats Provinçale II and Marseillaise V off Cape Sardineaux, southern France. On 15 February, Saracen, until then called HMS P247, was officially given her name Saracen, then later in the day she torpedoed and damaged the German oil tanker Marguerite Finaly. On 19 February, Saracen surfaced and fired her deck gun into a small shipbuilding yard at Cervo, Italy. Two ships under construction were damaged before the boat was forced to submerge due to fire from coastal batteries. Saracen returned to Algiers on 22 February.[6]
On 25 February 1943, Saracen departed for Malta, then left Malta on 16 March to conduct a patrol north of Sicily. Two days later, she sighted two German landing craft, but did not attack them due to their shallow draft, which would have caused torpedoes to run under. On 20 March Saracen sighted an Italian convoy of two merchant ships, four destroyers, and sixteen aircraft, but she was detected by one of the escorting ships' sonar, which foiled the attack. On 1 April, the boat returned to Algiers, ending her patrol.[6]
Saracen left harbour again on 13 March to conduct a patrol in the Gulf of Genoa. On 19 April, she sighted an Italian convoy and sank the Italian cargo/passenger ship Francesco Crispi with six torpedoes off Elba.[14]Francesco Crispi was transporting 1,085 soldiers to Bastia, and Saracen was attacked with depth charges by the escorting ships, but was not damaged. The submarine then torpedoed and sank the Italian merchantman Tagliamento three days later, 35 nautical miles (65km; 40mi) south of the island of Pianosa, Italy; according to Saracen's logbook, "A sheet of orange flame went up hundreds of feet into the air and burning debris hurtled in all directions. As Saracen was diving the bridge of the merchant vessel flew overhead". The boat ended her patrol in Algiers on 27 April.[6]
Between 9 and 25 May, Saracen conducted a patrol northeast of Sardinia, but did not sight any ships.[6]
On 27 June, the submarine departed Algiers to patrol east of Corsica and provide cover for the Allied landings in Sicily. Shortly after leaving port, Saracen was spotted and identified by the German submarineU-593, but the U-boat had been ordered not to attack submarines in the area and let Saracen proceed unharmed. After midnight on 2 July, Saracen landed six men off Cape Palmeri, Sardinia, then torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant ship Tripoli15 nautical miles (28km; 17mi) south of Capraia, Italy on 6 July.[15] Four days later, the submarine was detected with Asdic by an Italian destroyer 15 nautical miles (28km; 17mi) east of Bastia, which dropped 27 depth charges, causing considerable damage aboard Saracen. The next day, the boat torpedoed and sank the German merchantman Tell and was again depth charged, causing more damage.[15]Saracen returned to Algiers on 21 July.[6]
After repairs in Algiers, Saracen scuttled the beached ammunition ship SSFort La Montee with her deck gun, then commenced a patrol, again east of Corsica, on 7 August; this was to be her last patrol. Shortly after midnight of 13 August, Saracen was detected on sonar by the Italian Gabbiano-class corvetteMinerva; the corvette dropped six patterns of depth charges for a total of 40. Saracen initially attempted to escape by diving deep but at a depth of 220 metres (720ft) several depth charges exploded close to Saracen, starting leaks in her pressure hull. Saracen was forced to surface and was fired upon by Minerva and her sister ship Euterpe's surface guns. Saracen's crew abandoned ship and the submarine was scuttled to prevent her capture by the Italians.[16][17] Forty-six crewmen were picked up, twenty by Euterpe and twenty-six by Minerva; two ratings went missing.[6]
Ironically, Saracen was sunk shortly after midnight of a Friday the 13th, and this patrol was Saracen's 13th as well.[6] In 2015, her wreck was discovered and photographed on the seabed, at a depth of 1,400 feet (430m) off the coast of Corsica.[18]
Summary of raiding history
During her service with the Royal Navy Saracen sank 7 ships for a total of 16,039 GRT as well as a German and an Italian U-boat.[6]
HMS Sceptre (P215) was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in April 1943, she spent the majority of her career in the North Sea, off Norway. After an uneventful patrol, the submarine participated in Operation Source, an attack on German battleships in Norway using small midget submarines to penetrate their anchorages and place explosive charges. However, the midget submarine that she was assigned to tow experienced technical difficulties and the mission was aborted. During her next four patrols, Sceptre attacked several ships, but only succeeded in severely damaging one. She was then ordered to tow the submarine X24, which was to attack a floating dry dock in Bergen. The operation, codenamed Guidance, encountered difficulties with the attacking submarine's charts, and the explosives were laid on a merchant ship close to the dock instead. The dock was damaged and the ship sunk, and X24 was towed back to England. Sceptre then conducted a patrol in the Bay of Biscay, sinking two German merchant ships, before being reassigned to tow X24 to Bergen again. The operation was a success, and the dry dock was sunk.
Italian submarine Axum was an Adua-class submarine built in the 1930s, serving in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was named after an ancient city of Axum in Ethiopia.
HMS Safari was a third batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Commissioned in 1942, she was assigned to operate in the Mediterranean Sea. During the course of the war, Safari sank twenty-five ships, most of which were Italian.
HMS P48 was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness. Commissioned on 18 June 1942, Vickers arranged for the wife of serving submarine Captain, Alister Mars of HMS Unbroken, Ting Mars and Commander of the cruiser Jamaica to officially launch P.48 at Barrow dockyard.
HMS Sturgeon was an S-class submarine that entered service with the Royal Navy in 1932. Ordered in 1930, she was laid down at Chatham Dockyard in January 1931 and launched on 8 January 1932. Commissioned on 27 February 1933, Sturgeon was assigned to the 2nd Submarine Flotilla.
HMS Stonehenge was an S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1943, she made her initial patrol off Norway and was then transferred to the Far East, where she conducted two war patrols, during which she sank two Japanese ships. On her second patrol, Stonehenge disappeared with all hands and was declared overdue on 20 March 1944. The most probable cause of her sinking is that she hit a mine, but her wreck has never been found.
HMS Splendid was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was laid down on 7 March 1941 and launched on 19 January 1942. After an initial patrol through the Bay of Biscay to Gibraltar, Splendid conducted two patrols in the Mediterranean Sea; one was abandoned after technical problems and on the other she sank two Italian ships. On her next patrol, the submarine attacked two Italian convoys, sinking an Italian destroyer in the second attack. Based in Algiers, the boat operated north of Sicily, sinking six Italian ships, including two tankers and two heavy merchant ships. Splendid was detected by a German destroyer on 21 April 1943 while patrolling off Naples, Italy; the submarine was attacked with depth charges by the destroyer and forced to surface, after which she was scuttled and her surviving crew members taken prisoner. She was the most successful British submarine by tonnage sunk between November 1942 and May 1943.
HMS Sickle was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1942, she made her initial war patrol off the Norwegian coast. Sickle then sailed to Gibraltar, from where she conducted one patrol, then to Algiers, French North Africa. From 10 May to 10 October, the boat patrolled the Gulf of Genoa five times and sank a German submarine as well as three minesweepers and an escort ship. She then moved to Beirut, French Lebanon, and conducted two patrols in the Aegean Sea, sinking three caïques and a merchant ship, in addition to landing resistance operatives in Greece.
HMS Stratagem was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1943, she made her first war patrol off Norway before she was sent to the Far East, where she conducted three war patrols. On her second, she shelled installations on a Japanese-held island. Her only success came on her last patrol, when she torpedoed and sank a Japanese oil tanker. Soon after, she was spotted by aircraft and depth charged by a destroyer. She was forced to surface, and was scuttled to prevent her capture. Ten crew members escaped the sinking submarine and were taken prisoner, of whom only three survived the war.
HMS Syrtis was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Completed in 1943, Syrtis spent most of her career in the Arctic, off Norway, other than a single patrol in the Bay of Biscay,
HMS Simoom was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was laid down on 14 July 1941 and launched on 12 October 1942.
HMS Sahib was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was launched on 19 January 1942 and commissioned on 13 May 1942. She was the only British naval vessel to bear the name Sahib.
HMS Sea Nymph was a S-class submarine of the third batch built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in July 1942, she spent the majority of her career patrolling the waters off Norway in the North Sea, then was sent to the Pacific but was forced back due to technical problems.
HMS Seadog was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in September 1942, she spent most of her career in Arctic waters, off Norway, but sank only one German ship in 13 patrols. In January 1945, she was redeployed to the Far East, meeting more success. On her first patrol in the area, the submarine rescued four American airmen. After two patrols, she and her sister ship HMS Shalimar sank five sailing vessels, two coasters, a barge, a tugboat and a Japanese tank landing ship. After the war ended, Seadog was sent back to England, placed in reserve, then sold for scrap in December 1947. She was ultimately broken up in August 1948.
HMS Sportsman was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1942, she spent most of the war serving in the Mediterranean Sea. After an initial patrol off Norway, she sank the heavy transport Général Bonaparte in the Mediterranean in 1943 and missed a French oil tanker. She was heavily damaged after a mistaken attack by an Allied bomber, and was sent east after repairs to participate in operations in the Black Sea. After the operation was cancelled, Sportsman patrolled the Aegean Sea, sending several Greek and German ships to the bottom. She sank the German transport SS Petrella in early 1944 despite it being clearly marked as a prisoner-of-war ship, killing 2,670 out of 3,173 Italians aboard. Sportsman sank several more ships, and suffered minor damage when she was detected and sighted while attempting to attack a convoy.
HMS P222 was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Commissioned in 1942, the boat had an uneventful first war patrol in the Alboran Sea. She intercepted the Vichy French merchant ship SS Mitidja in July, then provided protection for an Allied convoy to Malta in Operation Pedestal the next month. The navy intended that she was to be sighted on the surface by enemy aircraft to discourage potential attacks by surface warships. Though P222 did not encounter enemy forces, the convoy arrived at its destination on 15 August after sustaining severe losses. She then reconnoitred along the coast of Algeria in advance of Operation Torch, and was attacked by a French patrol ship, but sustained no damage.
German submarine U-73 was a Type VIIB U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She was laid down by Vegesacker Werft, Germany as yard number 1 on 5 November 1939, launched on 27 July 1940 and commissioned on 30 September of the same year under Kapitänleutnant (Kptlt.) Helmut Rosenbaum.
German submarine U-77 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built by the Bremer Vulkan-Vegesacker Werft, Bremen-Vegesack. Her keel was laid down on 28 March 1940, by Bremer Vulkan of Bremen-Vegesack, Germany as yard number 5. She was launched on 23 November 1940 and commissioned on 18 January 1941, with Oberleutnant zur See Heinrich Schonder in command until 2 September 1942, when he was succeeded by Oblt.z.S. Otto Hartmann, who remained in charge until the U-boat's loss.
German submarine U-576 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. She carried out five patrols, sinking four ships of 15,450 gross register tons (GRT) and damaging two more of 19,457 GRT. She was sunk on 15 July 1942 by depth charges from two US aircraft and gunfire from a merchant ship, near the East Coast of the United States. The wreck was discovered in August 2014.
Onice was a Perla-class submarine built for the Regia Marina during the 1930s. She played a minor role in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 supporting the Spanish Nationalists.
References
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Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-962-6.
Caruana, Joseph (2012). "Emergency Victualling of Malta During WWII". Warship International. LXIX (4): 357–364. ISSN0043-0374.
Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-146-7.
Heden, Karl, Eric (2006). Sunken Ships, World War II: U.S. Naval Chronology Including Submarine Losses of the United States, England, Germany, Japan, Italy. History Reference Center: Branden Books. ISBN0828321183.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Jordan, Roger (1999). The world's merchant fleets, 1939. London: Chatham publishing. p.445. ISBN1-86176-023-X.
McCartney, Innes (2006). British Submarines 1939–1945. New Vanguard. Vol.129. Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN1-84603-007-2.
Wynn, Kenneth (March 1998). U-boat Operations of the Second World War. Vol.1 Career histories, U1–U510. Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-55750-860-7.
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