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SICILY
1943
Motto
Frango
infractus:
'I break but am not broken'
This
submarine was launched as P42 and when
renamed on 1st February 1943 it was the
first use for an RN warship. On completion
of working up in the Clyde she took
passage to the Mediterranean on 22nd
February 1942 to join the 8th Submarine
Flotilla at Gibraltar.
Following
a week under repair she sailed for a
patrol off Alboran which proved
uneventful. In April she landed an
intelligence agent during a patrol off the
French Riviera when she damaged a ship in
a torpedo attack and a subsequent firing
at a submarine failed before return to
Gibraltar for routine docking and repair
which was completed at the end of May. Her
next deployment was to carry out a patrol
in support of the passage of the HARPOON
Malta relief convoy to intercept and
attack any Italian warships attempting to
intervene. On the completion she was
transferred to join the 10th Submarine
Flotilla based in Malta, joining on 20th
July. Whilst on her first patrol from
Malta off Maritimo and Naples she carried
out an attack on two mercantiles both of
which missed Her later bombardment of a
train near Longobadi was more re-assuring
but when she attacked another ship on 9th
August this also was unsuccessful. However
her fortunes returned when she damaged two
Italian cruisers MUZIO ATTENDOLO and
BOLZANO and survived the subsequent
counter attack by the escorts to arrived
back in Malta on 14th of that month. A
special operation at Crotone during the
following patrol off Sicily was not
satisfactory but two shore railway
bombardments were carried out on the 7th
and 9th of September. The next missions in
October and November included two attacks
off Lampedusa and Maritimo of which only
one ship was hit and two other ships in
the later patrol were missed. On 20th
December 1942 she sailed for a patrol off
Naples and before return to Malta on 6th
January had damaged the German mercantile
FELIX 21 (ex-French DJEBEL DIRA) and
bombarded a railway line NW of Policastro.
Patrols in early 1943 off the coast of
Libya included the landing of a party near
Kaliba A torpedo attack on shipping in
harbour at Sousse during March achieved no
hits but at the end of March on her next
patrol she was deployed off SE Sicily
where an attack on an Italian cruiser off
Calabria also missed. Before return to
Malta she hit and damaged German tanker
(ex-Norwegian) REGINA of 9,545 tons which
had to be beached. Deployed off the North
coast of Sicily in April she encountered a
submarine but the attack failed Later she
sank a small schooner on April 22nd and
damaged a mercantile GIACOMO C of 4,638
tons on 26th. She carried out patrols off
the Messina Straits in May when she sank a
small tug and the mv BOLOGNA OF 5,1440
tons before return to Malta on 26th May.
Her patrols in June was not remarkable and
July she was deployed for patrol off
Taranto to intercept any attempt by
Italian warships to attack assault and
follow-up convoys taking part in the
allied landings in Sicily. Nominated for
return to UK to refit at Blyth she sailed
from Malta on 30th July.
Whilst
in the Atlantic she was deployed for an
anti-submarine patrol in the Bay of Biscay
to intercept German submarines on passage
to and from French bases but this proved
to be uneventful and she arrived at
Portsmouth on 26th August. Refit at Blyth
was completed on 2nd February 1944 after
which she worked-up with the 6th Submarine
Flotilla before being deployed for patrols
off Norway in March.
Following
brief deployment at Blyth during April she
was nominated for transfer to the Soviet
Navy and handed over at Dundee on 11th
June. Renamed V2 (B2 in Russian) this
submarine served with the Northern Fleet
until February 1942 when she was returned
to the RN at Rosyth. She was placed on the
Disposal List and laid up at Lisahally,
Ulster until being sold for demolition at
Gateshead where she arrived on 9th May
1950. The Commanding Officer in 1943 was
Lieutenant AA Mars RN.
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