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B
a t t l e H o n o u r s
SABANG
1945
First use
of this name for a British warship and after
completion deployed at Lame for
work-up before taking passage to Ceylon to
join the Eastern Fleet as part of
the reinforcements agreed in August 1943. She
joined the 4th Submarine Flotilla
for interception patrols and also for
minelaying duties and was deployed off
the coasts of Burma, Siam and Malaya as well
as in the Indian Ocean.
During
patrols in early 1944 she sank a supply ship
and two smaller vessels in the
Malacca Straits. Her patrol in April included
landing an SOE Party in Malaya
(Operation REMARKABLE IV). In May that year
she carried out a torpedo attack
sinking another supply ship and the next
month, in addition to a minelay
(Operation ML09) she intercepted the Japanese
submarine 166 but the
subsequent torpedo attack failed. In July she
provided Air-Sea Rescue
facilities during an Eastern Fleet air attack
on Sabang
(Operation CRIMSON) with HMS TEMPLAR.
This submarine was transferred
with the
Flotilla to Fremantle in September 1944, where
she remained from the 29th until the
16th October, before continuing patrols in the
same
areas. Whilst on patrol in November she sank a
supply
ship and damaged the Japanese Submarine Chaser
CHI.
The
patrol area was changed in 1945 and she sailed
from Fremantle on 3rd January
for patrol in the Indian Ocean. On 22nd she
was deployed to provide Air- Sea
Rescue facilities during allied air attacks on
oil installations in Sumatra
(Operation MERIDIAN I). Although one of the
aircraft was reported to have
ditched in the patrol area no MAYDAY message
was heard by the submarine and no
recovery requirement was made. On release from
MERIDIAN I the submarine was
deployed in the South China Sea to attack
coastal shipping in the Gulf of
Thailand where she carried out a number of
successful gun attacks sinking small
craft. These successes prompted a request for
an extension of the patrol and on
11th February the top structure of two major
warships were sighted east of the Anamba
Islands. The Japanese ships were the
battleship-carriers ISE and HYUGA which were
on passage to Japan. The heavy air
escort forced the submarine to take avoiding
action and she was unable to get
into a position to carry out an attack.
On return to Fremantle 15 days
later
this submarine had carried out the longest
patrol by any RN submarine, lasting
55days with 39 in the patrol area and 11,692
miles in length. Released from
East Indies Station service when the submarine
flotillas were re-organised in
April 1945 this submarine returned to UK.
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