Submariner Memorial by Integrative Media

SUPPORTING SUBMARINERS AND THEIR FAMILIES, FOR LIFE.

M A R K I N G T H E D E D I C AT I O N O F T H E S U B M A R I N E R M E M O R I A L AT T H E N AT I O N A L M E M O R I A L A R B O R E T U M 1 8 T H M AY 2 0 2 2

Published on behalf of the Submariner Memorial Appeal by

Editor & Publisher: Alan Spence – alan.spence@theveteran.uk Submariner Memorial Appeal Trustee Advisor: Mike Davis-Marks - jollijacktar@gmail.com Partnership & Engagement Director: Julien Wildman – julien.wildman@theveteran.uk New Business Director: Nick Hutchins – nick.hutchins@theveteran.uk New Business Manager: Andrew Adam – andrew.adam@theveteran.uk Production & Design: Paul Cunningham – paul@sprucecreative.com Printer: Pensord – www.pensord.co.uk TheVeteran.UK is a division of Integrative Media Ltd, 152-160 City Road, London EC1V 2NX +44 (0)7402 319888

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Front Cover Based on ‘Silent Service’ artwork by Georgina Bown of sculptor Paul Day’s Submariner Memorial, and reproduced by kind and generous permission of the artist. - 3 -

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

CONTENTS

CONTENTS HRH THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE.............................................. 6 ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET............................................................. 7 SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE................................... 9 FIRST SEA LORD AND CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF.......11

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD SUBMARINER MEMORIAL APPEAL.......................................13 COMMODORE SUBMARINE SERVICE...................................17

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

THE EARLY YEARS......................................................................20 FIRST WORLD WAR & INTER-WAR YEARS..........................25 A NEW GLOBAL CONFLICT 1939-1945..................................36 COLD WAR, FALKLANDS AND THE GULF.............................45

TODAY AND THE FUTURE.........................................................55

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CONTENTS

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

RNRMC: EMBRACING THE SUBMARINE FAMILY..............58 CREATING A FITTING MEMORIAL.........................................60 THE GENERATION GAME..........................................................66 WHAT MAKES A SUBMARINER?.............................................68

VICTORIA CROSS SUBMARINERS.........................................71 TOGETHERNESS IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD......................72 THE ART OF SUBMARINES.......................................................74 REFLECTIONS..............................................................................76

EDITOR’S NOTE Submariner Memorial is the official publication marking the Dedication of the Submariner Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum on 18 May 2022. However, in exploring the role of submariners through 120 years of often grim history, the Publication is also a powerful narrative of the courage and sacrifice of submariners and their families through many decades of service - and will act as an abiding instrument of remembrance and legacy. TheVeteran.UK is honoured to produce the publication for the Submariner Appeal and to donate its publishing and related services. Alan Spence – Editor & Publisher

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

FOREWORD

HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE COMMODORE-IN-CHIEF SUBMARINES

n the 120 years since the formation of the Royal Navy Submarine Service, submariners have done, and continue to do, incredible deeds in contribution to our Nation’s security. The extent of personal sacrifice has been vast; almost 6,000 souls have been lost in times of both peace and war. The fact that so many of these brave people have no known resting place makes this memorial all the more poignant. I am extremely proud of the way in which the submarine community has come together to create this moving sculpture, and today I dedicate it to the entire Submarine Family.

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FOREWORD

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET, LORD BOYCE KG GCB OBE DL PATRON SUBMARINER MEMORIAL APPEAL

was very pleased to be asked to be the Patron of the Appeal and would like to congratulate the Appeal Committee for all their hard work in raising the considerable amount of money required to enable such a stunningly beautiful and evocative Memorial to be built. I look back on my days as a sea-going submariner with huge pride and affection and to that I can now add my involvement in this project. I would like especially to thank all those who have contributed towards the Appeal whether it be financially, in talent and experience, or by raising funds in a variety of ways - your help has been immeasurable.

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FOREWORD

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

THE RT HON BEN WALLACE MP SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE

he ‘Silent Service’ has been steadfast in protecting us for more than 100 years. Few of us are privileged to know their work, but we owe all our submariners, past and present, a great debt. So it is with gratitude and admiration that we are unveiling this memorial, recognising submariners for their service in the defence of our nation; especially the 6,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice. I also thank the exceptional men and women currently serving in the Submarine Service and their families who support them. They continue to play a vital role defending the realm. We all sleep better at night knowing that somewhere beneath the ocean, the Submarine Service have our backs.

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FOREWORD

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

ADMIRAL SIR BEN KEY KCB CBE FIRST SEA LORD AND CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF

n behalf of the whole Royal Navy, I would like to add my congratulations to the Submarine Flotilla and the wider submarine family on the unveiling of the Submariner Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. It is the realisation of the bold decision taken in 2020 to create a permanent memorial that recognises the unique challenges of serving under the waves for submariners and their families. It is also a fitting tribute to mark the ultimate sacrifice paid by so many submariners through the years, and the impact their loss has had on their loved ones. As both a surface warfare officer and aviator, I have always had a profound respect for those who undertake the challenge of serving in submarines. Whenever I have visited Fleet boats or SSBNs I have been pleased to note the deep bonds created between those who have earned the right to wear their Dolphins and call themselves submariners. I am delighted that so many people are able to gather at the Arboretum to witness the Submarine Service’s Commodore-in-Chief, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, dedicate the Memorial. I am sure that it will be a source of pride and comfort to many people for years to come.

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FOREWORD

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

VICE ADMIRAL PETER WILKINSON CB CVO CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD SUBMARINER MEMORIAL APPEAL

s a submariner it has been a huge privilege to be part of the Appeal Committee and I would like to add my thanks to the Project Officer and others who have worked so hard to bring this idea to fruition. I would also like to thank everyone who entered the competition to inspire the Memorial’s design and to congratulate the winners on their imagination and ability. On the Appeal Committee, we have all enjoyed working with the brilliant winning designer, Paul Day, as he explained and shared his vision for the Memorial – the results of which we can all see today. On behalf of the Committee, I trust you enjoy your day at the NMA and will return many times to gaze again at this wonderful Memorial and think about those of our friends and colleagues who served and died as proud, professional, people. They were undoubtedly very special – for they were all submariners in the Royal Navy.

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Manoeuvring and control

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Escape and rescue Atmosphere control

Weapons, torpedoes and targets

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Structures

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Information Strategic assurance communications

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QinetiQ supporting generations of submariners

Chris Groves is the Underwater Business Lead for QinetiQ; he is a 2nd generation Submariner, having followed in his father’s footsteps. Chris’s son is the 3rd generation of Submariner and is serving today. QinetiQ is proud to support Chris following his family success in designing the Submariner Memorial.

QinetiQ has a long heritage supporting the Royal Navy Submarine Service and is particularly proud that a key member of the Submariners Memorial design team, Captain Chris Groves Royal Navy Retd, is a leading member of our underwater Test and Evaluation capability. Chris provides QinetiQ with a wealth of invaluable operational submarine and defence experience, enabling us to provide the best value to the Submarine Enterprise.

Submarines operate in an unforgiving, complex and highly pressurised environment where the need for absolute stealth is paramount. Threats and technology, especially sensors, weapons and autonomy are moving rapidly and this is driving the need for new tactics and novel systems to be developed, tested and implemented at pace. Test & Evaluation (T&E) is at the heart of QinetiQ’s offering to our defence customers and aims to provide an evidence base that allows them to make well-informed, objective decisions in relation to underwater capability. This assures that the capability is safe, is contractually compliant, and that operational risk is understood. Everyone involved with an existing or future capability benefits from T&E. Firstly for the customer, it means they can be sure they’re getting an asset that is safe and meets their requirements; secondly the manufacturer can use T&E to understand the options available to them early in the development process, gather the evidence to support contractual acceptance, and understand the upgrade options once a capability has been fielded; and thirdly the end-user – such as the submariner – who, thanks to T&E, can be sure that the capability will meet operational requirements and is safe to use, enabling them to fight and win.

An enormous amount of T&E of all Royal Navy submarines is conducted by QinetiQ allowing them to ensure that they can retain their world famous ‘Battle Winning Edge’. Important areas include: the submarine operating envelope; hydrodynamics and propulsion; escape, abandonment and rescue; structures and survivability; submarine atmospheres and life support; environmental and shock testing; weapons and combat systems; and – extremely importantly - stealth and signatures. As technology continues to advance, T&E is also evolving and embracing the digital world. Increasingly it is conducted in synthetic environments with digital design and T&E enabling a significant percentage of the submarine design to be trialled and verified in advance of the steel of the vessel being cut. These synthetic environments save greatly on time and costs by allowing errors to be detected safely and cost effectively prior to physical model testing and platform manufacture. For more information, read our full Fundamentals of Underwater Test & Evaluation story at qinetiq.com or contact TandE@qinetiq.com.

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FOREWORD

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

COMMODORE JIM PERKS CBE RN COMMODORE SUBMARINE SERVICE

oday is a source of immense pride for me and the entire Submarine Family. Pride, which is universally shared by all submariners and their loved ones as we stand together to witness the dedication of The Submariner Memorial. A spiritually enriched focal point for acts of commemoration and reflection to those who have died during their Submarine Service, whilst honouring the sacrifice made by those left to mourn. One of the hardest jobs within the Submarine Service is borne by the submariner’s kith and kin and I am privileged to be here amongst so many members of the Submarine Family to share in this historic event and key milestone.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE The following brief history of the Submarine Service has been specially compiled for Submariner Memorial by leading naval historian and author Iain Ballantyne. He traces the development of the submarine from the 15th Century ruminations of Leonardo da Vinci and the often lethal ‘diving’ and ‘plunging’ machines of the 18th and 19th centuries to the ever more sophisticated submarines – colloquially ‘boats’ – which played such formidable roles in two world wars. Subsequently, amidst many other peace-time tasks, the Submarine Service took charge of the United Kingdom’s ‘Continuous At Sea Deterrent’.

Through all these remarkable developments, he maintains, however, that the ‘human element’ remained key and “a willingness to be stealthy, deep-running guardians still resides within the men and women of the Submarine Service, for all the hazards their life under the sea poses”. And amidst his account of submariners’ bravery, courage and sacrifice he echoes Winston Churchill’s timeless words:

“Of all the branches of men in the forces there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariner” Winston Churchill

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

THE EARLY YEARS

he idea of a combat vessel that could remain invisible under the sea until it struck with utmost devastation taunted the imaginations of artists, scientists and inventors for centuries before it ever became a practical reality.

They must find a means of propulsion and navigation, sustain the lives of the crew, while also fitting it with a workable weapon.

In the late 1400s Leonardo da Vinci drew up plans for ‘a ship to sink another ship’ – a submersible craft to defeat hostile fleets menacing Venice. In England during the 16th Century retired naval gunner William Bourne and his former Above : Leonardo da Vinci. captain William Monson separately created designs for a submersible and an underwater cannon, though neither man sought to make them real.

A major motivation for various people down the years was to damage the Royal Navy and end Britannia’s rule over the surface of the sea. Among those creating diving machines in the late 1770s to attack the British was American colonial rebel David Bushnell. His over-sized, walnut-shaped Turtle – made of oak bound together by an iron band - was the first fighting submersible. It was propelled and manoeuvred by the pilot’s muscle power working a couple of screws, aided by a small ballast tank. The weapon was to be an explosive charge with a clockwork detonator pinned to the target vessel’s hull.

For the challenges involved in producing a viable submarine were considerable: inventors had to devise a means to dive the vessel, then achieve neutral buoyancy, so it could maintain depth and also move up and down at will.

Bushnell declined to take the Turtle into action himself, the job being awarded to a volunteer soldier. The Turtle was a failure when put to the test off New York in September 1776 against a British warship. The explosive device did not stay attached to the ship’s bottom, so the 64-gun HMS Eagle escaped harm.

Image : Bushnell’s submarine torpedo boat, 1776. Drawing of a cutaway view made by Lieutenant Commander F.M. Barber in 1885 from a description left by Bushnell.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

Above : Fulton’s Sketch of submarine cross section.

In the early 1800s the enterprising Robert Fulton, another American, offered his wind and muscle-powered Nautilus ‘plunging boat’ to France, to assist its struggle against British naval hegemony. Boasting a copper skin on iron ribs, Nautilus was around 20ft long and contained ballast tanks for diving and surfacing. When on the surface Nautilus unfurled sails, though propulsion under the water came courtesy of a handcranked propeller in the stern. Vertical movement was achieved via a bow-mounted horizontal propeller. With rudders aft for steering, the Nautilus had a primitive periscope to assist navigation, while air was reportedly refreshed via a snorkel. The Nautilus would use an auger to bore a hole in a target vessel’s hull into which an explosive charge was to be inserted - that is, if Fulton could get close enough to a British warship. Napoleon Bonaparte initially showed keen interest and authorised a subsidy for sea trials, but ultimately shunned the outlandish idea of submarine warfare.

He proposed a new vessel that was bigger and better-armed than Nautilus. Fulton suggested a bounty of £40,000 per major enemy warship sunk. His plans received short shrift from Admiral John Jervis, the First Lord of the Admiralty, who suggested it was foolish to ‘encourage a mode of war which they who commanded the seas did not want, and which, if successful, would deprive them of it.’ Nelson’s crushing defeat of a Franco-Spanish battle fleet of Cape Trafalgar on 21st October 1805 established the supremacy of the British navy for more than a century without needing Fulton or his ‘plunging boat’.

“Should some vessels of war be destroyed by means so novel, so hidden and so incalculable the confidence of the seamen will vanish and the fleet rendered useless from the moment of the first terror.” Robert Fulton 1797

Fulton destroyed Nautilus and conveyed himself to Britain, offering to help the Royal Navy destroy the French invasion fleet at Boulogne.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

During his time in England, Fulton had, however, demonstrated the power of underwater warfare during a test off the coast of Kent. By use of what he called a ‘torpedo’ an early version of today’s sea mine - he managed to blow apart a 200-ton brig. It was the beginning of a long path to what we today call a torpedo, but which is, more accurately, a self-propelled torpedo. Having fared no better in England than he had across the Channel, Fulton went home to America. During the War of 1812 between the US and Britain he carried on inventing submersible craft, once again to attack the Royal Navy. It took the cause of Irish Liberation to properly begin the process of constructing a steel-hulled submarine that was a truly practical vessel of war. Emigrating from Ireland to the USA in the 1870s, its creator, John Philip Holland, got involved with the Fenian Brotherhood who envisioned launching swarms of submersible attack craft against the Royal Navy. Holland constructed the so-called Fenian Ram, but soon fell out with the would-be maritime terrorists who were his sponsors. They seized the Fenian Ram but soon ran it aground and so that was the end of that project.

Above : Holand submarine being built, 1900.

After several further tries to construct an effective submersible, in 1900 Holland sold a boat to the US Navy that would be the basis for rapid global submarine development. Holland VI had a petrol engine for sailing on the surface, where she could vent the fumes and charge the electric batteries for silent running under the water, along with ballast tanks for diving and surfacing. The vessel was armed with two self-propelled torpedoes.

Above : An early submarine design by John P. Holland, 1877 Right : Holland stands in the hatch of a submarine.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

The British also decided the Holland Class submarine would be their starter vessel in the realm of undersea warfare where other European navies were already more advanced. For example, the French were already operating numerous submarines - or at least experimenting with them - which alarmed the British.

“In their inception they were the weapons of the weak ... Now they loom large as the weapons of the strong.” Admiral Sir John (Jackie) Fisher

Holland’s designs were also set to find other customers globally, so the Royal Navy decided it could learn a lot in how to counter submarines from possessing a few of its own. In 1901 the British ordered five Holland Class submarines, for a total cost of £175,000, which were to be built under licence by Vickers Sons and Maxim Ltd, at Barrow-inFurness. The same site is to this day used by the firm’s successor, BAE Systems, to construct nuclear-powered submarines. HMS Holland I was laid down in February 1901, launched that October and started sea trials in January 1902.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

Also, as far as the surface fleet was concerned, submariners were just not gentlemen. The vessels they operated were most underhand for not being visible when they attacked. Surely only small navies that could not afford big warships would think submarines a worthy weapon? Yet, even some of the men who served in the early British submarines were less than enthusiastic. They included Lieutenant Forster D. Arnold-Forster, who was sent to Barrow-in-Furness in August 1901 to take command of HMS Holland I. He was primarily motivated by the chance of an early command and extra ‘submarine pay’ and confessed that he found his new command to be “like a very fat and stubby cigar.” Nonetheless, some in the top ranks of the Royal Navy recognised the war-winning possibilities offered by submarines, not least Admiral Sir John (Jackie) Fisher. An enthusiastic proponent of such vessels, he felt they had progressed from being ineffectual to potential game changers.

Above : HMS Holland I under way at Spithead.

Holland I had a tiny conning tower that barely poked above the waves and displaced 107 tons dived. She had a crew of eight. An overall length of 63ft 4 inches only enabled the ‘submarine torpedo boat’ (as she was also known) to host a single launch tube. Holland I could manage a maximum of eight knots on the surface and around seven knots dived. The primitive periscope was mounted on a knuckle on the outside of the hull, so it could be swung up for use, which was not easy to do. Even though their own nation was getting into the submarine game, many Royal Navy admirals of the early 20th Century still believed such vessels would be worthless in war and regarded them with contempt. The traditionalists were appalled at the idea of such impudent little craft sinking one of their magnificent battleships with a mere torpedo.

‘In their inception they were the weapons of the weak,’ Fisher observed. ‘Now they loom large as the weapons of the strong.’ Despite the disdain expressed by some, prior to the First World War Britain engaged in an energetic programme of constructing the ‘boats’ and by 1910 had 61 operational, with A13 pioneering the diesel engine. Diesel was less flammable than petrol and anything reducing the risk of fire in an enclosed space like a submarine had to be a good thing. The B and C classes had a bigger deck casing to enhance surface cruising performance and buoyancy. In addition to other innovations they also had a pair of hydroplanes on the forward edge of the conning tower, which gave better underwater handling. The D class submarines were the first Royal Navy boats designed for overseas operations, exemplifying a push to expand the horizons of the Service beyond British coastal waters.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

As for the first of her kind in the Royal Navy, despite representing a revolution in naval warfare, HMS Holland I never fired a torpedo in anger.

Martin Nasmith, who would become one of the great early heroes of the Submarine Service, was a pre-war Training Officer. He was fanatical about submariners acquiring deep technical knowledge of their boats so they could potentially do each other’s jobs if needs be – a skill that to this day is much valued in the Submarine Service.

She foundered off the Eddystone in 1913, having being bought for scrap for £400 after decommissioning the same year. She was being towed uncrewed to a South Wales breakers yard. Holland I was rediscovered in April 1981 with assistance from a Royal Navy minesweeper using its sonar. A year later Holland I was raised and today is a prize exhibit at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire. The submariners may have been held at arm’s length by the surface navy, but during mock combat they proved their lethal potential by sneaking up on battleships, giving them a nasty shock with a hit from a practice torpedo. Meanwhile, the valour exhibited in just going to sea in one of the tiny craft was illustrated early. Several boats fell victim to being run down by merchant vessels, suffered petrol explosions or were overwhelmed by the sea flooding in via open hatches. The casualty rate was shocking. Altogether 90 ratings and 18 officers were killed prior to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. For example, in June 1905 disaster struck when submarine A8 was leaving Plymouth. She suffered a faulty hatch seal, which let in a large amount of water, causing her to slide bows first under the sea. Sailors aboard an escorting torpedo boat heard a muffled explosion shortly afterwards. Fourteen ratings and an officer lost their lives.

Nasmith was also very cool under pressure and, while commanding submarine A4 in 1905, saved the lives of two submariners who lost their heads when that boat suffered an explosion and began to sink. Even as the water poured in he calmed them down and led them to safety. It is no wonder that Winston Churchill, who would be First Lord of the Admiralty twice in the 20th Century – 19111915 and then 1939/40 – observed of the submariner’s lot: ‘Of all the branches of men in the forces there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariners.’ Maybe that was because before the war, Churchill took a brief dip into the world of the submariner. In 1912, during a naval review in Weymouth Bay, Nasmith took King George V and his son Prince Albert (the future King George VI) for a short trip under the sea in submarine D4. Fellow passengers were Winston Churchill, Commander Roger Keyes (who would be head of the Submarine Service at the start of the war) and Arthur Balfour (the Prime Minister). Nasmith would later muse on the terrible consequences had D4 suffered a mishap that day and all aboard were lost.

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Above : HMS Holland I on display at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. Inset : Interior of Hollland I featured on the cover of Popular Mechanics first issue in 1902.

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

FIRST WORLD WAR & INTER-WAR YEARS

ven with the outbreak of hostilities in Europe, battleship admirals on all sides still refused to entertain the notion that it was possible for submarines to do more than merely poke about defending home harbours - or be towed out to sea and lurk in the approaches of enemy naval bases.

Holbrook and his 14 men endured a working environment described by a brother submariner as “a little like living inside the bonnet of a motor car.” Even when the boat was running on the surface, with the hatch open, those inside B11 were invariably intoxicated from the noxious engine fumes, giving them the appearance of being drunk.

Submarines supposedly did not have the range, the hardhitting weaponry, or speed to be much of a threat – or so they thought. Such people were soon proved wrong with British submariners pulling off extraordinary feats of daring.

Roger Keyes was in 1915 made Chief of Staff to the overall commander of the naval effort to achieve a decisive result in the Dardanelles. On arrival in the Aegean, Keyes proposed the more modern, better-armed - and certainly less hazardous to their own crews - E Class submarines could achieve some impressive results, if matched with daring and valour.

The first of 14 Victoria Crosses to be won by the Submarine Service in the two world wars of the 20th Century went to Lieutenant Norman Holbrook.

The E Class were excellent submarines and the backbone of the Submarine Service during the conflict, evolving incrementally across three construction groups.

In December 1914 he took the rather elderly boat B11 through the Dardanelles and sank the elderly Turkish battleship Messudieh.

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Left & Top : Lieutenant Norman D Holbrook was awarded the Victoria Cross for his action in successfully sinking the Turkish Battleship Messudieh at the Dardanelles on 13th Dec 1914.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

The E Class were excellent submarines and the backbone of the Submarine Service during the conflict, evolving incrementally across three construction groups.

Group Three boats were 181ft-long, could make 15 knots on the surface (ten knots dived) and were armed with a pair of bow tubes, another two on the beam and a stern tube too. Their standard crew was 30 men.

The Turks also hit the submarine’s hull, with a jagged hole ripped in the battery compartment. Water poured in, unleashing chlorine gas, which killed six submariners. Seven had already been wounded.

During a meeting with his senior submarine captains, Keyes suggested a boat must pass through the Dardanelles to go hunting in the Sea of Marmara. Its task would be to deny supplies and reinforcements to Turkish troops defending the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Making sure to destroy charts and secret documents, the order to abandon ship was given, with E15’s survivors swimming ashore to be taken prisoner.

Allied troops were soon to land there, in a bid to clear the way for a battle fleet to storm through the Dardanelles and bombard Constantinople. Lt Cdr Theodore Brodie, captain of E15, volunteered for the mission. Brodie knew success was unlikely and death from enemy mines or gunfire a real possibility. Going fast on the surface to save battery juice - hoping the pre-dawn darkness of 17 April 1915 would cloak her - E15 did not dive until 4.00am.

E15 was only slightly damaged, and with potential to be pressed into enemy service, several attempts were made to destroy her. These included sending out Holbrook in B11, but due to fog he couldn’t make a good enough sighting to launch a torpedo. On the night of 19 April a pair of steam-propelled picked boats - one each from the battleships Triumph and Majestic and armed with torpedo launch gear - had a go. Despite heavy enemy fire, they managed to drop their torpedoes at very close range and so E15 was finally turned into useless wreckage.

Surprised by strong crosscurrents, E15 ended up stuck on a shoal off Kephez Point, the conning tower poking up like a sore thumb. Turkish guns duly opened fire and E15’s captain was killed when the conning tower suffered a direct hit. - 26 -

Above : The interior of a British E-class submarine. An officer supervises submerging operations, c. 1914–1918.

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

E9 AND THE HELA

he Submarine Service achieved a notable early success in the First World War, when Max Horton’s E9 on 13 September 1914 sank the 2,000 tons German cruiser Hela. It was an event described vividly by E9’s Sub Lieutenant J. J. R. Pierson in a diary.

There was ‘a general feeling of relief which expressed itself in a hearty cheer.’ Sub Lt Pierson went on: ‘After about four minutes we rose again & just got a glimpse of the cruiser. She appeared fairly normal except that she was stopped and had a slight list to starboard & was surrounded by trawlers. Down we went again and 40 mins later came up once more to see the trawlers still assembled but no cruiser.’

‘At 7.18 the enemy ship was sighted and at 7.28 the two bow torpedoes were fired at her and we plunged instantly to 60ft,’ recorded Sub Lt Pierson. ‘There was an awful moment of suspense [when] it seemed that we must have missed when suddenly just as we reached 60ft there was a sharp crack & the whole boat trembled slightly. It is impossible to describe but it was the unmistakeable explosion of guncotton under water. The boat [E9] was hardly affected.’

Horton withdrew and E9 made it safely back to Harwich on 16 September. Sub Lt Pierson noted: ‘To our intense relief our doubts were finally settled & we found we had sunk the light cruiser “Hela.” Weren’t we pleased at such a ripping finish to a rather rotten time.’ Pierson’s diary is in the collections of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth.

Left : The outbreak of war saw Lieutenant-Commander Horton in command of one of the first British ocean-going submarines, the 800-ton HMS E9. Above : HMS E9.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

PUSHY E50’S DAMAGING ENCOUNTER

ne British First World War submarine captain was not averse to using his own vessel to try and push the foe into a watery grave.

discovered of E50’s hydroplanes had been ripped right off and there were impressive indentations in the casing, while the conning tower was slightly crumpled.

On 19 April 1917 submarine E50 was dived in the North Sea, at a depth of 25ft, with Cdr Kenneth Michell putting the scope up every five minutes. Each time he limited himself to a 30-second all ‘round look for likely targets.

E50 was soon out on patrol again, although she did not have the same captain, first lieutenant or navigator. She hit a mine in the North Sea on 1 February 1918 and sank. There were no survivors from her 30 crew. Today E50’s fin can be seen at the Sea War Museum, Jutland, Denmark.

There was a tremendous bump, which shook the entire boat, and Michell initially thought a zeppelin had spotted E50 and was bombing her. When something scraped all down the port underside of the boat, pushing E50 up by 12ft, Michell decided a U-boat was below his submarine. He ordered the hydroplanes ‘hard-a-dive’ and also ‘group up’, indicating he wanted all the boat’s battery sections connected in order to obtain maximum motor power. Knowing there was around 170ft of water below E50’s keel, Michell intended shoving the U-boat down, hopefully sending her all the way to the bottom. This went on for a minute and 40 seconds before E50 even reached a depth 30ft feet - the U-boat seemed determined to resist with all of its might. Only the U-boat’s bow had been trapped under E50 and by going full astern managed to claw its way out from under the British vessel. E50’s captain took a look through the periscope and glimpsed a U-boat a few feet away still under the water. E50 remained in peril though, for she was damaged and diving towards the bottom but Michell got the boat under control. With all tubes primed, the British boat turned to try and torpedo the enemy submarine, which had sensibly disappeared. E50 was by now in no fit state to pick a fight. Limping along under the sea for three hours in a homeward direction, she eventually surfaced. Michell

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Above : The restored conning tower from HMS E50.

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

Next to try and get through the Dardanelles was the Australian HMAS AE2, under the command of the Royal Navy officer Lt Cdr Henry Stoker, followed within days by HMS E14 whose captain was Lt Cdr Edward Boyle. Both boats made it into Marmara, but AE2 came to grief at the hands of enemy patrol boats.

Nasmith edged his boat into Constantinople harbour. He took a periscope photograph of the Grand Mosque for proof, then fired a couple of torpedoes at vessels alongside a wharf.

E14 remained on the prowl, sinking the gunboat Nuakibahri on 1 May 1915. Nine days later she damaged the 5,071 tons Gul Djemal, a former transatlantic White Star Line liner carrying 6,000 troops and artillery.

Constantinople, sinking a Turkish gunboat. The latter got a lucky shot off as it went down, punching a hole through E11’s forward periscope.

Though Boyle claimed to have sunk her, she remained upright in shallow waters, was re-floated and towed to Constantinople. Even if E14 didn’t actually sink her, the damage to Gul Djemal still denied reinforcements to Turkish forces in the Gallipoli Peninsula. After that attack E14 was left with a single, defective torpedo that could not be fired, though by her mere presence in the Sea of Marmara, she continued to spread disruption. So keen was E14 to carry on damaging the enemy that, on encountering small craft, submariners armed with rifles were arranged on the boat’s casing to intimidate them into being stopped. The enemy vessels would then be boarded and sunk using scuttling charges. To enhance E14’s powers of intimidation a dummy gun was created, utilising a spare piece of pipe, canvas and an oil drum. It looked so menacing one Turkish steam vessel deliberately ran aground on a beach rather than risk being shelled. Recalled home by wireless message on 17 May, on the way back, E14 passed within killing range of the Turkish dreadnought Torgud Reis. Boyle was deeply frustrated at lacking a torpedo to attack her but the subsequent award of a VC for his other exploits gave him plenty to celebrate.

After a bizarre incident during which some Turkish cavalry opened fire from some cliffs as E11 tried to finish off a grounded paddle steamer, Nasmith edged his boat into Constantinople harbour. He took a periscope photograph of the Grand Mosque for proof, then fired a couple of torpedoes at vessels alongside a wharf. One of them went haywire, almost hitting E11, but the other blew up some lighters beside the transport vessel Stamboul. The explosion sank Stamboul and caused widespread panic in the city. After that highlight, and more prowling in Marmara, Nasmith headed home as E11 had developed engine problems. On the way he sank the troop ship SS Ceyan. Nasmith was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross. It was not just in the Sea of Marmara that British submarine captains and crews were making a reputation for themselves. On 15 October 1914, submarine E1, commanded by Lt Cdr Noel Laurence, and E9 (Lt Cdr Max Horton) had set sail from Harwich to slip across the North Sea into the Baltic and wreak havoc. E8, commanded by Lt Cdr Francis Goodhart, would soon join them. Horton was already notorious in German circles for flying a pirate flag from his submarine on returning to Harwich in the autumn of 1914 - to celebrate sinking the cruiser Hela and destroyer S116 in the North Sea.

Next through the Dardanelles Martin Nasmith, in command of E11, and by 23 May he was off

Above : Commander Edward Courtney Boyle, VC, aboard HMS E14.

Above : 12-pounder gun of an E-class submarine.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

Above : The K Class which was driven by steam turbines.

Both he and Laurence were soon regarded with great hatred by the Germans for their activities in the Baltic. In addition to Horton’s impressive tally of destroyed warships and merchant vessels, Laurence managed to attack the High Seas Fleet as it sallied forth to support an effort by the German Army to take the Latvian capital of Riga. E1’s single torpedo hit on the battlecruiser Prinz Adalbert was not mortal, but caused enough damage to put her out of action for a while.

Therefore, the battleship admirals of the Royal Navy, who still hungered after subordinating piratical submariners to their battle fleets, tried to mould them into roles that were unsuitable. This came via two new types of submarine that posed a mortal danger to their own crews, though the plucky submariners tried to make them work.

It also saw the German fleet calling off its Latvian fire support mission due to fears that more enemy submarines might be lurking under the waves.

The K Class – in effect a submersible light cruiser - were driven by steam turbines and tasked with speeding ahead of the main battle fleet on the surface to find the enemy’s battleships, then dive to attack them.

The Kaiser even issued a decree that the battle fleet must, during any future Baltic forays, immediately withdraw to a safe port if there were signs of submarine activity nearby. While Germany and Austria’s U-boats may have been sinking prodigious amounts of merchant ship tonnage in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, the British score in those seas was less impressive.

However, by 1917 there were few freighters, or even surface warships of the enemy, to be found anywhere on the high seas.

The Ks were 338ft long, displaced 1,980 tons surfaced - five times the length and more than 18 times the displacement of Holland I - and 2,566 tons dived. The Ks each had a crew of between 50 and 60, were armed with a pair of 4-inch guns and a 3-inch anti-aircraft gun. Their standard fit was 18-inch torpedoes, with four tubes in the bow and one on each beam. They could manage 25 knots on the surface, but were difficult to control, and made nine knots dived. They suffered a number of accidents and fatalities, including colliding with each other and also other vessels at high speed.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

NASMITH AND THE DANE

artin Nasmith was appointed in command of E11, on 3 August 1914, which was the day before Britain and Germany went to war with each other. Nasmith achieved little during his patrols in the Heligoland Bight, although he did help pioneer a new role for submarines - picking up airmen whose aircraft had crashed into the sea. He also came close to sinking a submarine that September, though not a German one. Nasmith mistakenly attacked a neutral Danish boat around five miles off the Nakkehoved Lighthouse, one of E11’s torpedoes skimming by the stern of the surfaced Havmanden. Another scraped along the Dane’s keel, taking off some paint and ultimately hit rocks and exploded. Correctly guessing the invisible attacker believed his craft was German - Havmanden had recently been modified and now looked very similar to a U-boat Captain Baron Schaffalitzy de Muckadell ordered a large Danish naval ensign hoisted right to the top of the vessel’s radio mast. The incident received prominent newspaper coverage in Denmark and, once it was confirmed the guilty party was indeed a Royal Navy vessel, the British Ambassador issued a fulsome apology. In October 1914, E11’s three attempts to slip through the Kattegat and Sound into the Baltic were frustrated by patrolling German vessels. Nasmith’s luck got no better, for that December he had a golden opportunity to sink the German battleship Posen but the torpedo ran too deep. With E11 transferred to the Dardanelles, Nasmith eagerly seized the opportunity to finally prove himself. For more on Nasmith and E11 in the Dardanelles, see the main narrative. Top : Dunbar-Nasmith on submarine C7. Above : Crowd greeting the submarine HMS E11 on it’s return.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

JELLICOE’S WOULD-BE HUNTER-KILLER BOAT

he American-designed H Class submarines of the Royal Navy saw action in both world wars, though they soon proved a liability in the 1939-45 conflict and were relegated to training duties.

They were to be constructed in sections in the USA and shipped to Canada for assembly. Alternatively, suggested Jellicoe, the British could build H Class boats in the USA as merchant submarines ‘but so arrange the interior as to admit torpedo tubes being fitted at Halifax [Nova Scotia] after delivery.’

Their initial introduction into service for the British fleet came at a time of acute anxiety over the success of U-boats off North America. So concerned was Admiral Sir John Jellicoe in late 1916 – as he was about to take over as First Sea Lord – that he proposed secret procurement of a dozen H Class submarines to operate out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In that way they would, hopefully, become hunter-killers of enemy submarines.

The torpedo tubes would be produced in Britain and then sent across to Canada in a cargo vessel (hopefully avoiding U-boats). While H Class boats were put together in Canada and made transatlantic voyages to see war service in European waters - no concerted campaign against U-boats was ever mounted by them in North American waters.

Top : HM Submarine H4 at Brindisi, August 1916. Above : A British H-class submarine under construction. Right : Admiral Sir John Jellicoe.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

In January 1917 Cdr Francis Goodhart, who, as captain of E8 in the Baltic, had destroyed the German cruiser Prinz Adalbart, lost his life when trying to save 80 submariners and shipyard contractors trapped with him in K13.

Another bid to make the submarine into something battleship admirals could get their heads around was the M Class of three large boats. They were 296ft long and displaced 1,950 tons dived, with a surface speed of nine knots and a crew of 62. M1, M2 and M3 were each armed with a single shortened 12-inch gun previously mounted in pre-dreadnought battleships. Though having torpedoes, their primary role was to attack enemy merchant ships by using what was called the ‘dipchick manoeuvre’. This entailed surfacing with just the fin and the gun housing showing, to hurl a shell at the target and then swiftly disappear below the waves again.

The culprit for the episode was the submarine’s impractical design. When a K Class boat was running turbines on the surface funnels were erected to evacuate steam from the engine room.

Away from such attempts to make round pegs fit surface navy square holes, the green light was also given by the Admiralty to construct boats that could actually fulfil the anti-submarine role.

Ensuring they were properly struck down when dived was replete with potential Above : Cdr Francis Goodhart. for fatal error. That is what doomed K13, with water gushing into the engine room.

To follow the successful E Class boats there were the J Class and the L Class, the latter with four torpedo tubes in the bow, which enabled salvoes of torpedoes.

With the boat trapped on the bottom of the Gareloch, together with another officer Goodhart tried to escape in order to tell would-be rescuers to concentrate first on getting air down to the submarine via hoses. Goodhart was trapped in the boat’s wheelhouse and drowned but the other man made it. In all 32 people lost their lives while Goodhart was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal ‘for gallantry in attempting to save life from a submarine at the cost of his own life’.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

The great unfulfilled hope of submarine design in the latter part of the war was the R Class. This was an extraordinarily advanced type of boat that, as the world’s first purpose-built hunter-killer submarine, produced a dived performance that was not equalled or surpassed until the Second World War. Capable of up to 15 knots dived, it had an array of bowmounted hydrophones with which to detect, trail and then attack potential targets, but was introduced into service too late to show what it could do before war’s end.

Below : HMS M1 with a 12-inch battleship gun.

M1, M2 and M3 were each armed with a single shortened 12-inch gun previously mounted in pre-dreadnought battleships.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

Like the Germans, who used their U-boats to attack sea trade as a means to damage the ability of the Allies to carry on the war ashore, the British also sought to utilise submarines to outflank the stalemate on the Western Front.

In the 1920s there were calls for them to be outlawed entirely, mainly due to the unrestricted fashion in which the Germans had waged war on sea trade.

In the end both sides failed to secure the strategic effect desired via their submarines, but whose means of attacking unseen had horrified many people. In fact, it was the surface blockade mounted by the Royal Navy that strangled Germany’s sea trade, forcing it to capitulate on the Western Front as the civilian population at home starved. Nevertheless, the power of the submarine, was demonstrated during the First World War. Between 1914 and 1918, U-boats sank 5,000 merchant ships along with ten battleships, 13 cruisers and 21 destroyers. In return the Allies destroyed 178 U-boats, with 4,744 German submariners losing their lives. Lacking the same number of mercantile targets, the British sank 346 enemy merchant vessels. Eight British submarine captains accounted for 281 of them, with Nasmith also sinking four warships while Horton got three. Seventeen U-boats were destroyed by British submarines, though only Cdr Robert H.T. Raikes and Cdr Philip Philips sank more than one (two each, in fact). Overall, the impact of small vessels seen as unimportant at the beginning of the conflict was so great that it stirred up immense fear and loathing of what submarines might achieve in any future war.

Britain was one of the powers pushing for the end of submarines, but lost that fight in the early 1920s and so the Royal Navy’s submarines and their crews carried on with their trade, despite their occupation remaining extremely hazardous. With 58 British and Empire submarines lost during the war and 1,174 officers and ratings killed, the inter-wars years also had their share of tragedy. Thirteen British submarines were lost due to accidental sinkings, with 508 submariners and shipyard workers killed. Among the losses was the submarine HMS M2, which was modified post-war to carry a small floatplane inside a hangar. M2 was lost in early 1932, off the Dorset coast, most likely when the sea broke in through the hangar doors taking down M2 and her 60 men to a watery grave. Just months before the outbreak of the Second World War a torpedo tube fault saw the brand-new Triton Class submarine Thetis flooded and sink bows first in shallow waters off North Wales. The rescue effort was bungled while only three submariners and a dockyard worker managed to successfully use the escape chamber. Ninety-nine people in all - submariners, Admiralty officials, dockyard staff and others - lost their lives.

Below : HMS M2 modified post-war to carry a small floatplane.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

SUBMARINE VERSUS BATTLESHIP

... ‘extremely vulnerable to the mine and the depth charge, but is not an easy victim to the gun, the bomb or the torpedo.’

etween the wars, there was a general feeling that submarines must be abolished and among those wanting them gone were certain senior admirals of the Royal Navy. However, submarines did not disappear and so the top brass had to come to terms with their continued existence. The overall view of the Royal Navy can be ascertained via an early 1920s discussion paper, entitled ‘Battleship v. Submarine’, a document held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. In weighing up the validity of the various tools for Britain’s naval defence the paper judged submarines had ‘very poor mobility and powers of observation.’ It did concede ‘their offensive capabilities are high provided they can get to the right spot, their endurance is good. The characteristic of the submarine is its invisibility, which enables it to effect surprise.’ On the negative side the submarine was, so the paper maintained, ‘extremely vulnerable to the mine and the depth charge, but is not an easy victim to the gun, the bomb or the torpedo.’ It added: ‘The powers of invisibility of the submarine and its consequent power to effect surprise are considerably hampered by the development of listening devices which can locate the submarine by sound. The mine, the depth charge, and the listening device are most effectively and economically carried by the surface craft.’ The paper maintained that ‘the surface craft carrying listening device, mine and depth charge is the most effective reply to the submarine.’

Above : The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich holds a an early discussion paper on the subject. Top : British battleships and submarines participate in blockade of Germany, circa 1916.

However, the Naval Staff thought there was at least 15 years before submarines, mines and aircraft would become more effective – and in the meantime battleships would safely be able to counter the attacks.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

A NEW GLOBAL CONFLICT 1939-1945

ore Victoria Crosses and further sacrifice came during the Second World War. This time the British submariners saw action not only in the Atlantic and European waters, but also in the Indian Ocean and Pacific.

Forty-nine of the small U-Class boats were built from the late 1930s until 1943. Only 192ft long, and displacing 730 tons dived, with a submerged speed of ten knots and with four bow torpedo tubes, they were likewise not designed for long-range deployment.

Prominent among the vessels in which they took the war to the enemy were S-Class boats, which were designed to operate in the North Sea and Mediterranean, though some saw action in the Far East. Sixty-three of them were constructed from the early 1930s to 1944. They were reliable and sturdy submarines, with a crew of 36 officers and men. With an overall length of 202ft and displacing 935 tons dived, the S-boat had six torpedo tubes, though some built during the war were enlarged and given seven.

The U-Class, which each had crews of around 30 men, especially distinguished themselves in northern European waters and in the Mediterranean. The follow-on V Class was an improved version that was long, and also faster on the surface. The Triton Class saw distinguished service, particularly in the Far East, starting to join the fleet at the beginning of the war and continuing to be constructed throughout the conflict. Fifty-three were built.

Below : HMS Stonehenge.

Prominent among the vessels in which they took the war to the enemy were S-Class boats.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

As Rear Admiral Submarines he was tasked with reinvigorating a service demoralised by heavy losses in the North Sea and the Mediterranean.

With a crew of 48 men, the T-boats were 276 feet long, displacing 1,560 tons submerged. As with all British submarines in the conflict they had a deck gun, in this case a four-inch gun. Some British submarines had 3-inch deck guns. The Triton Class torpedo armament was impressive - six 21-inch internal torpedo tubes and five 21-inch external torpedo tubes. Running the Submarine Service for a period during the early years of the new global conflict was Max Horton. As Rear Admiral Submarines he was tasked with reinvigorating a service demoralised by heavy losses in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Horton was, as one staff officer put it, “a tiger” and oversaw a revival in fortunes. Prior to Horton’s arrival, the Service did score some successes, with U-36 the first German submarine destroyed by a British boat. On 4 December 1939, in the North Sea, Salmon (commanded by Lt Cdr Edward Bickford) fired two torpedoes, with one hitting and blowing the enemy boat apart. There were no survivors from the German vessel’s 40-strong crew.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

Salmon also carried out attacks on two German cruisers on 13 December 1939 - the Leipzig and Nurnberg - managing to damage both. The following day, lurking in the shallow waters of the Elbe estuary, Ursula fired a spread of six torpedoes at Leipzig as she and Nurnberg limped back to port. Ursula’s captain, Lt Cdr George Phillips, thought he sank Leipzig but was mistaken, even though two explosions shook his boat hard. A German destroyer attack forced him to dive before he could be one hundred per cent sure. When Phillips went back to the scene of the attack for a periscope look, German vessels appeared to be searching for survivors (who were actually from two small escort craft Ursula’s torpedoes had sunk). Thanks to the damage caused by Bickford’s hits the enemy cruisers were out of action for some months anyway. Both Bickford and Philips were awarded medals and accelerated promotion, with the good news of their exploits and rewards helping to lift the black cloud hanging over the Submarine Service. Sadly, Salmon along with Bickford and his crew were lost off Norway in July 1940, it is believed due to striking a mine. When the Germans invaded Norway in April 1940, Horton astutely placed and rotated patrolling submarines in the North Sea. Timely intelligence and good luck was key. Horton had already been asked to deploy submarines as part of Operation Wilfred, which aimed to sew mines in neutral Norwegian waters to make life unpleasant for iron ore ships sailing to Germany. Horton ordered all available submarines to sail and establish a patrol line across the Kattegat, Skagerrak, off important Norwegian ports (including Oslo and Christiansund) and Denmark. There were nineteen British submarines in all deployed. Horton felt confident the Germans would react to the mining of Norwegian waters and were intent on invading and he was proved correct. By 4 May British and Allied submarines had sent 75,869 tons of enemy shipping to the bottom in the North Sea and of the 21 vessels sunk, eighteen were merchant ships. Mines laid by two British boats and a French submarine sank a further 10,275 tons of enemy shipping in April and May. There were losses, too, off Norway, including Tarpon and Thistle both sunk on 10 April with no survivors.

Above : Admiral Sir Max Horton, 1943.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

MOVIE STAR SEND-OFF FOR THE SHARK

t was meant to be a morale-boosting send-off by a celebrity of stage, radio and silver screen. Yet, as Gracie Fields sang ‘Wish me Luck (as You Wave me Goodbye)’ from the upper deck of the submarine depot ship Maidstone, the combat hardened submariners of HMS Shark did not feel especially chipper.

torpedoes, but had yet to sink anything. Shark had experienced a few near misses of her own, including being depth-charged by enemy warships. Shark would on 6 July 1940 stage one of the most remarkable acts of defiance in the North Sea after relieving sister boat Sealion off Stavanger, Norway.

In the summer 1940, as the S Class submarine pulled away from Maidstone, moored on the River Forth off Rosyth Dockyard, Britain was facing its darkest hour following the Dunkirk evacuation. Submarines were one way of trying to hit back at the German occupiers of Continental Europe by sinking enemy shipping. As the movie star singer’s voice faded - along with the melting silhouette of the depot ship and dockyard in the early morning mist - Shark slid under the famous railway bridge and out into the North Sea. She was headed for yet another risky patrol, having already completed several and even fired a few

Hit by powerful enemy depth-bombs courtesy of the Luftwaffe - the first time the German air force had ever carried out such an attack against an enemy submarine - the Shark went into an uncontrolled dive. She recovered and was forced to surface, badly damaged and helpless. Her men staged a last stand with then 3-inch antishipping gun, a few rifles and a single machine gun against multiple enemy air attacks. Giving up the hopelessly unequal fight, the surviving crew were taken off by enemy vessels and Shark soon sank. An admiring German officer told Shark’s submariners after they came ashore in Norway: “You are all brave men, but bloody fools. I salute you.”

Above : HMS Shark. Left : Gracie Fields.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

Above : HMS Upholder was lost on patrol on 14 April 1942. Left : Lt Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn VC, DSO with his First Lieutenant, Lt J R D Drummond, both of HMS Upholder.

During the Second World War, when it came to Submarine Service efforts against enemy trade in European waters, the familiar problem of scarce opportunities persisted.

‘The Fighting Tenth’ endured and the brightest star of all the Malta-based submarine captains was Lieutenant Commander Malcolm David Wanklyn, who commanded HMS Upholder, destroying more enemy shipping than any other Allied submarine captain in the conflict. He sank close to 140,000 tons, and won the first VC awarded to a submariner in the Second World War.

Between the summer of 1940 and February 1942, British submarines, supported by Free French, Dutch and Norwegian boats, sent to the bottom just 36 enemy ships, totalling 90,000 tons.

During one patrol, while he and his crew weathered depthcharging by Italian destroyers – and with Upholder hiding on the seabed - Wanklyn reflected that it was at least better than being a civilian suffering under a Luftwaffe blitz.

They managed to damage a further 10,000 tons. Beyond the merchant ship tally, a trio of U-boats were destroyed by British submarines, which also damaged the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. In early August 1941 Severn was sent out to hunt and kill the Italian submarine Bianchi in the Bay of Biscay - and blew her apart with a single torpedo. In the Mediterranean it was a different story. The Submarine Service played an important role in countering the enemy’s bid to use the Afrika Korps and Italian troops to conquer North Africa and seize the Suez Canal. The principal thorn in the side of the Axis convoys to North Africa at this time was the ‘The Fighting Tenth’ submarine squadron based on the island of Malta. No Axis ships were sunk by its boats on convoy routes from Italy to North Africa in January 1942, but the British did not give up their attempts to sever the enemy’s logistical lifeline. The commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine, Grand Admiral Erich Raeder wanted Malta invaded and subjugated to eliminate this menace. However, Hitler feared such an assault would be very costly and said he would review the situation again once Egypt was conquered. In the meantime German and Italian air forces would carry on trying to subdue Malta and its submarine base.

Upholder’s 25th patrol would be her last before she sailed for Britain and an extensive refit when her men would also receive leave with their families. Together with sister submarine Urge, Wanklyn’s boat was tasked with waiting for enemy convoys going in and out of the Libyan port of Tripoli. He and his men would pay the ultimate price. Upholder was lost with all hands in April 1942, it is thought due to enemy air attack and depth charging. Another Mediterannean VC winner was Lt Cdr Anthony Miers who took Torbay into Corfu harbour in March 1942, sinking two enemy supply vessels, subsequently escaping the attentions of pursuing warships that dropped 40 depthcharges in 17 hours. However, the tide was about to turn, with the Afrika Korps finding itself running out of fuel, ammunition and reinforcements in no small part due to the depredations of Malta-based British submarines. Their efforts helped pave the way for the stunning Allied victory on land at El Alamein in late 1942.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

His record of success in command of various submarines since 1939 saw him sinking around 100,000 tons of enemy shipping while also using Turbulent’s gun to destroy three trains.

Above : HMS Turbulent was lost on patrol on 14 March 1943. Left : Commander John Wallace (Tubby) Linton, captain of Turbulent, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

The war against enemy sea trade in the Mediterranean continued, not least as waged by VC-winner Commander John Wallace (Tubby) Linton, captain of Turbulent. His record of success in command of various submarines since 1939 saw him sinking around 100,000 tons of enemy shipping while also using Turbulent’s gun to destroy three trains. In March 1943 Linton and his crew met their end, with Turbulent claimed by a mine, it is thought somewhere between Sardinia and Corsica.

When the boat was on the surface Seawolf ’s men endured terrible conditions while bridge watchkeeping. They had to be lashed to the periscope in angry seas, with spray turning to ice in the air, while a hot meal was impossible. Raikes and his men were reduced to eating the cold contents of tin cans. While Seawolf ’s men endured in the frozen High North, in the Far East their brother submariners coped with sweatbox conditions.

The Soviet Union was in the war on the Allied side by summer 1941 and required substantial military aid from the Allies, via Arctic convoys to Murmansk and Archangel. This presented an opportunity to operate submarines against the enemy’s own sea trade up and down the coast of Norway and to sink German warships when they dared to emerge from the fjords. Based at the Polyarnoe inlet, near Murmansk, one of the boats sent to operate from Russia was Seawolf, commanded by Lt Dick Raikes. His first sight of the Russian base in November 1941 was not exactly inspiring. As Seawolf sailed in Raikes found ‘the cold grey rocky sides of the Kola Inlet rose steeply from the cold sea, and they were snowcapped. The whole panorama was grey and white, with not even a building to break the bleakness of the scene.’ The conditions at sea were daunting and during one patrol - with the boat’s depth gauge frozen at reading 40ft - Raikes only realized his submarine was beyond crush depth when Seawolf ’s hull began to protest noisily.

One of the notable surface fights between a British submarine and a Japanese vessel occurred in February 1944. It was the savage conclusion to a successful few weeks for HMS Tally Ho, commanded by Lt Cdr Leslie Bennington. Tally Ho had opened her Far East account by sinking the 5,700 tons Japanese light cruiser Kuma on 11 January 1944, off Penang. Just over a month later Tally Ho was patrolling at dawn in the Malacca Strait, when a low, bulky silhouette was spotted in the mist. Bennington was sure it was an enemy submarine, sending three torpedoes away, Tally Ho dived and waited for explosions, hearing one just over two minutes after the third fish was fired. The hydrophone operator said the target’s propeller noise had vanished. Tally Ho had sunk the ex-Italian boat Reginaldo Giuliani, which had been pressed into German service after Italy’s surrender and renamed UIT-23. She had just begun a cargo voyage carrying rubber and tin bound for use by the German war industries.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

RETURN TO THE DARDANELLES

s the tide of war turned against the Germans on the Eastern Front in the Second World War, there was a plan to add another theatre of operations for the Royal Navy’s submarines. It was a familiar one from the First World War. After discussions with Marshal Stalin at the Tehran conference in late 1943, Winston Churchill issued a request for Royal Navy submarines to make a passage of the Turkish Straits and enter the Black Sea to attack enemy shipping.

On hearing of the British submarine’s successful attack, Adolf Hitler was driven into a rage. His U-boats were sinking nothing off Gibraltar, but the British were somehow able to sink ships off the Dardanelles.

It was hoped such a move would show Stalin the British were trying their utmost to help their Soviet ally out, along with the resumption of convoys to Murmansk and Archangel. The Turks, who were, after all, still neutral, would almost certainly detect the British submarines even if they tried to sneak through the Straits while dived. A Foreign Office official suggested Turkey might be persuaded to turn a blind eye. On the other hand it might take violent exception to the venture. Despite stubborn opposition from the Submarine Service to the idea as an unwanted distraction, mission orders were issued to Beirut-based boats. Fortunately, Stalin - who might have been worried about British submarines showing up the Red Navy said he didn’t need them after all. Royal Navy boats did already operate close to Turkey and in the waters of enemy occupied Greece, in the Aegean. One such was the mine-laying submarine Rorqual, which made her mark when she used torpedoes to sink the enemy tanker Wilhelmsberg (carrying badly needed Romanian oil to German forces in Greece) in early July 1943. Commanded by Lennox Napier, the Rorqual was directed to a deadly rendezvous with the target vessel in the approaches to the Dardanelles. This was thanks to intelligence gleaned from deciphered German signals.

Above : HMS Rorqual setting out on patrol from Algiers.

On 7 July 1943, as Rorqual made her attack, the sea ‘was glassy calm and the Wilhelmsberg was escorted by Italian destroyers Turbine and Monzanbano, German auxiliary submarine chasers UJ-2102 and UJ-2014, and fast patrol boats, all with aircraft cover. Rorqual was counter-attacked by escorts with 16 depth charges and forced to go deep, exceeding her maximum diving depth of 200 feet.’ However, Rorqual made it home safely. On hearing of the British submarine’s successful attack, Adolf Hitler was driven into a rage. His U-boats were sinking nothing off Gibraltar, but the British were somehow able to sink ships off the Dardanelles.

Quotes taken from the timeline of events for Rorqual in the Mediterranean, June 1941 to December 1943, as published in ‘HMS Rorqual’, compiled by Christopher Napier. Courtesy of the Friends of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

Ten days later Tally Ho engaged in the close quarters scrap with a Japanese torpedo boat, exchanging gunfire and being depth-charged while the enemy swung its stern around to chew Tally Ho up with propellers.

By the end of 1944 there were 40 British submarines in the Far East and frustration was growing among their crews. With not much of any significance left to sink, even guns were not being used so much.

Diving with damaged ballast tanks and escaping, Bennington wondered if his boat would surface again, but his fears were unfounded and Tally Ho set course for her home base in Ceylon.

There was one more amazing feat to come in which a salvo of torpedoes was devastating to the foe. On the night of 4 June intelligence was received by Trenchant, commanded by Lt Cdr Arthur Hezlet, of an enemy heavy cruiser making a run from Singapore to Batavia carrying 1,200 troops.

In the meantime the Japanese reported they had sunk a British submarine and Tally Ho’s passing was duly mourned, but this turned to cheers when she sailed in. Tally Ho was soon back in action after repairs while the Otori Class torpedo boat Kari – her aforementioned assailant - also needed major work, but would be sunk by the American submarine Baya in July 1945.

Trenchant lurked at the northern end of the ten-mile wide Banka Strait, close to the Klippen Shoal - in dangerously shallow water, but with a narrow yet deep channel that an enemy cruiser might use to head north. Hezlet spotted Ashigara six miles away to the south, steaming at an estimated 17 knots and waited until the range was closed down to around 3,000 yards. Firing eight torpedoes in a spread, Hezlet hoped at least five would strike the target.

HMS Storm, under the command of Lt Cdr Edward Young, was a veteran Far East gunslinger. An S Class boat commissioned in July 1943, having conducted a patrol off northern Norway to shake things down, Storm began her voyage to the Far East, reaching Ceylon on 27 December.

Keeping the periscope up, Hezlet saw the first hit, which threw a water plume 40ft high into the sky. Another four struck in quick succession, Ashigara disappearing behind a huge amount of smoke.

Between March and November 1944 Storm engaged in numerous surface attacks, but remained lucky and battled through. During one such engagement, the submarine’s 3-inch gun fired more than 150 shells and got so hot it jammed while the ammunition for the Oerlikon cannon and the Vickers machine guns ran out. After one of the Storm’s punchy patrols the Commanderin-Chief Eastern Fleet, Admiral Sir James Somerville - well known for humorous signals - flashed his congratulations to Young, remarking the enemy ‘must have thought you were a typhoon.’

With her periscope being shot at by Ashigara’s anti-aircraft guns, Trenchant swung around to fire two torpedoes from the stern tubes. They skimmed past the mortally wounded cruiser. To save herself Ashigara attempted to run aground on the Klippen Shoal, but rolled over and sank.

Below : HMS Storm (P233) Royal Navy S class submarine.

Between March and November 1944 HMS Storm engaged in numerous surface attacks.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

X-craft were in action around the world, including to cut enemy seabed communication cables off Saigon and Hong Kong. They managed to secure the hatch, with Lt Robert Aitken and X7’s other two crew deciding on an escape attempt using breathing apparatus. Lt Aitken was the only one to succeed and on being picked up was taken to join Place, Cameron and the others aboard Tirpitz. Cameron and Place would each be awarded the VC for their heroic endeavours. X-craft were in action around the world, including to cut enemy seabed communication cables off Saigon and Hong Kong. Then there was XE3 and XE1, commanded by Lt Ian Fraser and Lt John Smart respectively, which were sent to attack the Japanese heavy cruisers Takao and Myoko at Singapore on the night of July 31/August 1 1945. Already damaged by American submarine attacks in late 1944 the two enemy vessels hid behind anti-submarine nets in shallow waters. They had to be destroyed if possible as it was feared their 8-inch guns might bombard British and allied troops making an assault to liberate Singapore. Sliding under Takao took nerves of steel, with the risk of being spotted at any moment, but Fraser calmly manoeuvered his craft under the cruiser and dropped its single slab explosive charge. XE3’s diver, Leading Seaman James Magennis exited the boat to place limpet mines on the Takao’s hull. When the empty mine container affected XE3’s ability to slip away on an even keel Magennis went out and released it. Unable to drop her charge under Myoko, XE1 deposited her slab next to Takao.

Top : A Commanding Officer in an X-craft at the Hydroplane controls. Above : HMS XE8 sister boat of HMS XE3.

Among the most intrepid British submariners were those who served in the X-Craft mini-submarines. One of their most famous exploits was an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz in September 1943 as the German behemoth skulked in a Norwegian fjord.

The Japanese cruiser was rendered even more inoperable by the subsequent explosions with Fraser and Magennis flown home after the atom bombs were dropped on Japan to both receive the VC. The great struggles under the sea of the 20th Century were settled primarily in deep oceans, relying on cutting edge technology and intelligence-gathering to provide the decisive edge.

X6, commanded by Lt Donald Cameron, and X7, commanded by Lt Godfrey Place, performed the attack on Tirpitz. X6 got through the anti-submarine net and slid under the Tirpitz, Cameron judging he had made it when his boat bumped into the battleship‘s hull. Dropping his two slab-like explosive charges, Cameron then surfaced X6 to scuttle her. The four crew of X6 were taken prisoner, put aboard Tirpitz, and subjected to interrogation but gave nothing away. X7 also managed to drop charges under Tirpitz, then sneaked out from under the enemy vessel. The four explosions that lifted the 50,000 tons Tirpitz six feet out of the water also damaged X7. After several attempts to surface, Place tried one more time and was able to exit the boat safely, but X7 had poor buoyancy and started taking in water, sinking before the others could get out.

In the Atlantic during the Second World War, the British penetration of Enigma ciphers, along with innovative operational analysis, plus increasingly effective convoy escort groups - all combined with far-reaching air power and devastatingly efficient new anti-submarine weapons combined with detection devices - laid waste to the U-boats. Out of 40,000 young men sent to sea in German submarines during the Second World War around 30,000 would die, a truly horrific casualty rate and far higher than the opposition.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

Of the 630 U-boats lost to enemy action while on patrol, British and Dominion forces destroyed 521 of them (with 275 sunk by the Royal Navy alone).

Obtaining an accurate target bearing via Venturer’s hydrophones on 9 February, Lauders closed the range to 3,000 yards. He fired four torpedoes, one after the other - a ‘hosepipe’, with 17-seconds between each one - aiming to intercept the U-boat’s anticipated track.

In all, 88 British submarines were lost during the Second World War and 3,142 men killed. British submarines sank 84 enemy merchant vessels in waters off northern Europe. In the Mediterranean they sent 361 to the bottom and in the Far East a further 48, along with countless small vessels. They sank six enemy cruisers, 16 destroyers and 112 assorted other Axis war vessels. The Royal Navy’s submarines destroyed 35 of the enemy’s. John Roxburgh, a future Cold War boss of the Submarine Service, claimed two of those U-boats. His first was the Italian submarine Remo, which had tried to disrupt the Allied landings on Sicily in July 1943.

U-864 dodged three of the torpedoes, but crossed paths with the fourth and was blown apart. It remains the only incident of its kind in history. The idea of one submarine hunting another, while both were dived would in the decades to come provide attack boats in a new undersea confrontation with their primary goal. A submarine construction race - seeking to gain the upper hand on the foe via increasingly sophisticated and powerful vessels, some with the power to devastate cities with their nuclear-tipped missiles - would also be a major feature of the future contest.

Remo opted for a surface attack, which proved most unwise, as United (Roxburgh’s then command) was lurking nearby and sent a spread of four torpedoes the Italian boat’s way, at a range of just 500 yards.

In all, 88 British submarines were lost during the Second World War and 3,142 men killed.

The shock wave as Remo blew up rocked United. Roxburgh took in the scene via his periscope as the stern of the Remo pointed up vertically into the sky, propellers still turning. He later recalled that he experienced ‘no elation’ at what he saw but actually ‘a momentary awe.’ United surfaced and among the four survivors she picked up was the commander of the Italian submarine Lt Cdr Salvatore Vassello. He remained aboard for the rest of the patrol, treating the British sailors to some of his excellent cooking. Roxburgh was not finished. By April 1945 he was in command of Tapir, which detected and trailed U-486 north-west of Bergen while both boats were dived. When U-486 surfaced Tapir fired a salvo of torpedoes. The German submarine and her entire crew of 48 were wiped out by a gigantic explosion. On Christmas Eve 1944, the same U-boat had torpedoed a troopship carrying around 2,000 American troops across the English Channel, with more than 800 soldiers and civilian mariners losing their lives. Within a few days U-486 also sank a British frigate and damaged another. However, the most famous submarine versus submarine engagement of the Second World War for the Royal Navy occurred in early February 1945. It involved HMS Venturer, which was commanded by Lieutenant James Launders who, in the same boat, had on 11 November 1944 destroyed U-771 off Norway. Four months later Launders was directed by British naval intelligence to lie in wait for U-864 off the island of Fedje, to the north-west of Bergen. The target was on a mission to take special materials - including jet engines and missile components - to Japan and had to be stopped.

Above : Lt J S Launders DSC RN, on commissioning of Venturer at Holy Loch, 20 August 1943. Top : HMS Venturer P68.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

COLD WAR, FALKLANDS AND THE GULF

aving started the 20th Century as a tiny craft sometimes posing more of a danger to its crews than to anyone or anything else - the Cold War saw titanic rivalry between East and West provoking a quantum leap in development of the submarine. Nowhere was the cutting edge of science more crucial than in the face-off beneath the waves and gaining knowledge was one of the key prizes. For, across the span of the Cold War, from the late 1940s to 1991, espionage lay at the heart of British submariners’ activities – whether striving to record the distinctive sound signatures of Soviet submarines and surface ships, or eavesdropping on, and covertly observing, missile tests and other military and naval activities. To know an enemy’s vulnerabilities - and capabilities without them realising you had gained that insight was the ultimate prize. It awarded the possessor a killer edge. On what was arguably the most dangerous line of confrontation, where war conditions prevailed, nobody was a more formidable deep cover agent than the Royal Navy submariner.

By 1969, the Soviet Union was operating 375 submarines, 60 of them nuclearpowered. By contrast in 1969, the Royal Navy had 45 submarines, with just eight of them nuclear-powered.

The Americans fielded more submarines than the British, but the Royal Navy’s boats, while fewer, made contributions far greater than their numbers might suggest. And the struggle for supremacy was far from clear-cut. At various times the Russians appeared to have the upper hand in a military-technical competition extending from the deep oceans to outer space. It was far from easy for the British - struggling with economic and industrial woes in the late 1960s and into the 1970s - to keep up with the gargantuan investment put into submarine construction by the Russians and Americans. By 1969, the Soviet Union was operating 375 submarines, 60 of them nuclear-powered. By contrast in 1969, the Royal Navy had 45 submarines, with just eight of them nuclearpowered. At the same time the Americans fielded a force of 156 submarines, mixed diesel and nuclear. By 1977 the US Navy operated only three diesels, with 115 nuclear-powered boats in commission. The Russians had by then reduced their submarine force to 340, but had increased the number and quality of nuclearpowered boats. The Soviets seemed to be rapidly gaining parity with NATO naval forces, while retaining their numbers advantage. A major worldwide exercise in 1975 had seen them simultaneously deploy 200 surface ships and around 100 submarines. In the 1980s the Russians were determined to gain strategic weapons superiority, deploying SS-20 missiles on mobile land-based missile launchers that could destroy Western cities with virtually no warning. They also sent to sea new submarines, such as the Typhoon and Delta IV that could strike the West with their ballistic missiles without ever leaving so-called ‘bastions’ in the Arctic. These were protected by formidable attack submarines of the Victor III, Alfa and Akula classes.

Above : K-3 the first nuclear submarine of the Soviet Union. Opposite : HMS Dreadnought.

Even so, by maintaining the pressure of submarine construction competition, the West forced the Soviet Union’s leadership to prioritise their own sea-based nuclear forces, diverting the best people and funds into the effort and away from establishing a sound civilian industrial base or fairer society. - 45 -

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SMOKE ON THE WATER

ometimes problems arrive at the most inopportune moment, such as when HMS Valiant was trailing a Soviet submarine in the Mediterranean during the 1970s. On silent running as matter of necessity – trying not to alert the Russians of her presence – the last thing the British SSN needed was a loud flood alarm activated when a sea water pipe burst.

Sonar operators in the Valiant warned her captain the Russian was coming at them, apparently with the intention of taking advantage of their boat’s vulnerability. Valiant used her radio to contact a nearby US Navy destroyer, which chased the Russian away. After the Cold War the British learned from the captain of the Soviet boat that, in fact, he was coming with an offer of assistance, rather with ill intent.

Carrying out an emergency surfacing, Valiant switched immediately to diesel generators to power her life support systems and for propulsion, the nuclear reactor being ‘scrammed’ (shut down). All the noise inevitably attracted the Russian submarine to take a look behind her. Through his periscope the Soviet boat’s captain saw the silhouette of a NATO submarine, apparently wreathed in smoke pouring from the fin. He thought Valiant was on fire. Above : HMS Valiant.

CONQUEROR’S CRAZY RUSSIAN

MS Conqueror was one of only three British nuclear-powered submarines to be built at the Cammell Laird yard in Birkenhead. The other two were the Polaris ballistic missile boats Renown and Revenge.

Detecting a British SSN moving in to expel his boat from the Clyde Channel, the Russian captain did not withdraw gracefully, bringing his boat right around in a Crazy Ivan and charging straight at Conqueror. A collision was only narrowly avoided.

An Improved Valiant Class, Conqueror was laid down in December 1967, launched in August 1969 and completed in November 1971. The following year, by then a fully commissioned boat, she was diverted to chase away a Russian Victor Class SSN that had the audacity to sneak into the Clyde itself. Conqueror had already been deployed at short notice to conduct surveillance on a small vessel suspected of smuggling arms across the Irish Sea to the IRA. Seabed sensors then detected a Russian submarine approaching the west coast of Scotland, so Conqueror was pulled off that assignment.

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Above : HMS Conqueror.

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

The first of the UK’s nuclearpowered submarines, launched by Her Majesty The Queen on Trafalgar Day 1960.

During that remarkable era of undersea rivalry the submarines were one thing, but it was the quality of people that made the difference in providing an operational cutting edge. Britain’s submariners were, arguably, the best of the lot and had a good example to follow. Their peers - whether admirals, squadron captains or senior ratings - had seen action in the Second World War, including the incredible example of the Victoria Cross winners whose exploits were popularised in the well-thumbed popular history books of boyhood. However, by contrast with their well-known heroes, the Cold War submariners spent the peak years of their careers in comparative obscurity, reflecting the highly secret nature of their work.

The first Dreadnought had fought the Spanish at the Battle of the Armada in 1588, her name springing from the notion that she, and her men, would ‘fear God but dread naught’. In the atomic age it was perhaps open to question that Man still feared God, though Britain hoped the submariners who took this war vessel out to joust with the Soviets would have no mortal opponent to fear. The advent of nuclear power in the Royal Navy certainly saw incredible feats of seafaring. HMS Valiant, the secondBritish nuclear-powered submarine, in 1967 notched up a continuous voyage of 12,000 miles, from the UK to Singapore in just 28 days.

So it was, that in the shadows of the Cold War undersea contest submarines changed from predators primarily engaged in attacking surface vessels to specialising in hunting other submarines and carrying nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.

Just over three years earlier, though, Dreadnought had achieved an incredible 3,140 miles dived out of 3,421 clocked up during a high-speed transatlantic crossing between Gibraltar and Norfolk, Virginia.

What enabled them to become the new capital ships of the leading navies were nuclear reactors giving them unlimited power and endurance under the sea. Hence the first of the UK’s nuclear-powered submarines, launched by Her Majesty The Queen on Trafalgar Day 1960, was named HMS Dreadnought, in honour of the early 20th Century battleship that had also been revolutionary in her day. The new Dreadnought had a crew of 113 men, was 265ftlong, displaced more than 4,000 tons dived and could do almost 30 knots dived, with six bow torpedo tubes. She was also a remarkable product of Anglo-American co-operation.

When Britain hit snags in producing its own submarine nuclear powerplant the USA offered to jump start things with a Westinghouse reactor, leading to Dreadnought (commissioned in April 1963) having an American ‘back’ end and a British ‘front end’.

In 1967/68 Warspite, the third British SSN, recorded the longest submerged run achieved by a Royal Navy submarine (6,000 miles dived), from the Gulf of Guinea to somewhere north of Mauritius (on her way to Singapore). Aside from boosting the prestige of the Submarine Service and gaining good publicity, such voyages had an operational relevance. They helped test the technological and human boundaries. In a time of hot war the boats would hopefully be able to deploy for many weeks at a time, remaining hidden and ready to strike.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

With the construction of SSNs well underway, a programme to create ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) for Britain was also launched, itself becoming an astonishing feat. Rear Admiral Hugh Mackenzie was head of the Submarine Service, when he received a telephone call in late December 1962. At the other end of the line - using the ‘scrambler’ to preserve secrecy - was the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Caspar John, informing Mackenzie that he was about to have a change of career. Mackenzie gave a hesitant affirmative to the suggestion that he took the helm of the project to create the UK’s new sea-based deterrent force. The First Sea Lord suggested he mull it over during the weekend. Mackenzie realised it was a responsibility of national importance and, reluctant though he was to resign as Flag Officer Submarines (FOSM), knew that he would have to say yes. Going up to London for lunch with the First Sea Lord, Mackenzie was whisked into a meeting with Lord Carrington, the First Lord of the Admiralty.

A single Polaris missile contained more destructive power than the entire British battle fleet of the First World War. Carrington told him it was absolutely vital the Polaris deterrent was at sea within five years. A massive project - which included not only delivering a working weapons system but also all the shore infrastructure at Faslane submarine base in Scotland, plus crew selection and training – was achieved on time. Lead boat Resolution (deployed on her first patrol in June 1968) was followed by Repulse, Revenge and Renown and each carried 16 Polaris missiles. A single Polaris missile contained more destructive power than the entire British battle fleet of the First World War. Rather than 15-inch guns that delivered a shell on target up to 30 miles away, the UK’s Polaris missile would ultimately, in its final variant, achieve a range of 2,875 miles. In service the 390ft-long, 8,400 tons (dived) Polaris submarine had two crews of 143 men. The Starboard Crew would stand by at home in Faslane getting everything ready to oversee maintenance when the Port Crew brought the boat back in. While the latter had shore leave with their families, the submariners of the Starboard Crew would complete the maintenance and then take the submarine out to relieve the deployed SSBN. While the SSNs were quick movers, seeking out Soviet submarines - sometimes to ensure the ‘bombers’ could exit and return to Faslane without interference - life aboard a SSBN was somewhat more sedate.

Top : Vice Admiral Sir Hugh Mackenzie with Roy Mason, Minister Of Defence at Cammell Lairds. Polaris Submarine Renown which is being built can be seen in the background. Above : HMS Resolution during trials in the Atlantic, 1967.

Maintaining a steady two or three knots, the Polaris boats liked to hide in very quiet patches of ocean. They listened for other vessels and gave them a wide berth, the aim being to keep things as boring as possible while maintaining their silent vigil. That didn’t mean the boat’s crew were not active - all submarines run drills to ensure they are ready if the call to action comes, and/or can swiftly deal with a hydraulic failure, mechanical or others problems. They also train relentlessly in damage control, to fight fires and handle floods. The strategic weapons side of SSBNs means they also run missile drills, just in case the order to launch is received, not something anyone wants to happen for real. A Cold War deterrent patrol would last on average eight weeks, with the nuclear shield maintained around the clock 365 days a year by the three in-commission boats. The fourth Polaris boat was usually in deep refit to rectify major wear and tear.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

THE BANANA-SHAPED BOAT

unning a mature diesel-electric submarine like Alliance (first commissioned in 1947) in the late 1960s and early 1970s required the Navy to apply regular TLC, so after six weeks of running at sea she would usually spend two weeks in dockyard hands at Devonport. However, in January 1968 Alliance suffered a serious (and humiliatingly public) incident of self-harm by running aground on the Bembridge Ledge off the Isle of Wight. When the tide retreated Alliance was left high and dry, just a few hundred yards from the shore. A local life boat soon arrived and drinkers at the nearby Crab and Lobster Inn were able to sup their pints and take photographs of the exposed submarine. The story goes that that when the local life boat skipper hailed the submarine’s captain, asking what his next move would be, he received the response: ‘Take up farming!’

When the tide retreated Alliance was left high and dry, just a few hundred yards from the shore. Due to the danger of Alliance toppling over, the boat’s crew were removed to safety by helicopter, but returned in time for Alliance to catch high tide the next day and be floated off. The submarine had suffered some damage, which was inevitable with no water to support her creaking structure. After floating off, and with some assistance from other vessels, after making deeper water, Alliance made her own way to Gosport. Thereafter, as one of her later captains remarked, the Alliance exhibited ‘a slight banana shape.’ Above : HMS Alliance runs agound off the Isle of Wight.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

THE END OF THE TOT

hen it was proposed that the centuries old tradition of sailors receiving a daily tot of rum was to be axed in 1970, Dr. Reginald Bennett - MP for Gosport and Fareham, and a former Fleet Air Arm medical officer - was a lightning rod for discontented sailors. His constituency included HMS Dolphin, home of the Submarine Service, among other establishments and Bennett claimed submariners were among those who had bent his ear. During a heated Parliamentary debate prior on the proposal, he told his fellow MPs that he had never known an issue to arouse such strong feelings. ‘I represent a constituency which, more than any other, has been plunged in gloom and horror by this iniquitous decision,’ he confessed, according to Hansard. The prospect of losing the tot had left the naval ports and their surrounding districts ‘in a state of depression.’

MP for Ilford North, Tom Iremonger, a former Royal Naval Reserve officer who had seen action in the Second World War with both the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy, was equally distressed. ‘The rum ration is more than the drink itself. It is more than a tradition. It is a ritual, and it is very important for morale that rituals should be maintained.’ William Wilkins, MP for Bristol South, who had served aboard Q-Ships in the First World War and then was a stoker in the Navy during the 1939 – 1945 conflict, said that he deplored the decision. He did concede the Navy was now ‘in a highly automated age.’ The risk of tipsy sailors accidentally firing a missile with a slip of the finger was surely one of the things that prompted the move to stop issuing the tot. Below : On board HMS Dreadnought a junior rate is issued with his daily tot of rum.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

Costing £55 million to construct, Repulse would be the longest serving of the Polaris boats, conducting 40 patrols before coming back in for the last time in May 1996. A total of 229 patrols were conducted by the Polaris SSBNs, all of them without detection and providing the UK with a Continuous at-sea Deterrent (CASD). The deterrent baton was in the early 1990s picked up by HMS Vanguard, the first of four new 450ft-long, 16,000 tons (dived) ballistic missile submarines armed with the Trident D5 missile. They continue to maintain a seamless and undetected CASD for the UK and NATO allies. The same could not be said for the Soviet Navy’s ‘bombers’ back in the Cold War, which were often trailed by NATO boats, not least courtesy of the UK’s second generation Swiftsure Class SSNs. The Swiftsures were frequently on the cutting edge of the effort in Arctic waters and in the 1980s were joined by the even more capable Trafalgar Class SSNs. Both those types of boats – six Swiftsures and seven Trafalgars by 1990 commissioned in all - could clock up formidable speeds dived, though only 30 knots was admitted. They were also designed to go very deep. Bearing in mind the average Second World War era British submarine had a crush depth of a few hundred feet, the 5,000 tons (dived) Swiftsures and Trafalgars allegedly could stand depths of 1,000 ft (though exact figures are not available). The crews varied between 116 and 130, sometimes including supplementary intelligence-gathering specialists. Torpedoes remained the main armament - advanced, hardhitting wire-guided weapons with speeds of 40 knots plus. Laying mines was also possible. Below : HMS Conqueror returns to Faslane in July 1982.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

Yet it fell to the older, improved Valiant Class SSN HMS Conqueror to make history during the 1982 Falklands conflict. Conqueror, whose captain was Commander Chris Wreford-Brown, was notified she would be required to deploy on 31 March. Intelligence sources indicated an invasion of the South Atlantic islands, whose sovereignty the Argentines contested with Britain, was about to happen Conflict was a distinct possibility and so - as would have been familiar to Second World War-era submariners embarking on a war patrol - food was packed into every nook and cranny of Conqueror. There was enough for her crew of 103 for 72 days, though it would all be tinned from week four onwards. Fresh bread would be made throughout the patrol, depending on what was happening at the time. Noisy food mixers and other paraphernalia in the galley could only be run when there was no concern about enemy sonar picking up the racket. Conqueror sailed from the Clyde on 4 April and less than a month later would make global news headlines when she sank the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano, to prevent an attack on the British task force. It was the first, and so far only, time in history that a nuclear-powered attack submarine has used torpedoes to sink another vessel during a war. Conqueror would not return to the UK until early July. When she came alongside at Faslane the submarine flew a skull and crossboned flag, a sign of a successfully completed war mission. It hailed back to Max Horton’s initiation of the tradition during the First World War after sinking the Hela and S116. The men of Conqueror had no idea of the global impact made by their feats off the Falklands. They only found out when Conqueror surfaced on the way home to make a rendezvous with a naval helicopter. A package of newspapers was winched down, along with some mail. The newspaper headlines ‘were quite a shock ,’ admitted Cdr Wreford-Brown.

“When we heard that more than 300 had died there certainly was a sense of regret aboard Conqueror. They were, after all, fellow sailors just like us” Commander Chris Wreford-Brown 1982

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

‘We simply had no idea there was such a fuss. Going to war and the eventual tracking down and sinking of the Belgrano were what I had trained to do for 13 years in the Navy. ‘When we heard that more than 300 had died there certainly was a sense of regret aboard Conqueror. They were, after all, fellow sailors just like us’. Of the three primary players in the Cold War undersea contest - the USA, the Soviet Union and Britain - it was the last that most relied on diesels to do dangerous work the other two handed over to nuclear-powered boats. The Royal Navy’s diesels would carry on shouldering the burden of the main undersea effort against the Russians well into the 1960s, but it was their last period at the very tip of the spear. They actually took the NATO lead in the Arctic lair of the Russian Bear after a British admiral in the late 1940s laid out how the Soviets could best be handled in the new conformation at sea.

In the late 1950s, Lieutenant Commander Alfie Roake, a veteran of the Arctic convoy runs during the Second World War, was appointed captain of Turpin. One deployment under Roake’s command saw Turpin’s hatch shut on 21 October 1959 and it was not opened again for 39 days. The boat spent most of her time carefully husbanding water and air while evading the Soviets.

Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Oliver wrote in a 1949 paper that, in time of war, British submarines should find and destroy Russian submarines close to their home bases in the Kola Peninsula, rather than let them break out into the Atlantic.

On returning to Gosport from such intelligence-gathering missions the diesels got no recognition at all – the senior officers Roake reported to declined to even acknowledge where he had been or what his boat had been doing.

To do that, Britain needed submarines capable of operating silently and unseen in the Barents Sea. They must also have the speed, endurance and intelligence-gathering capabilities necessary to get a firm grip on the kind of foe they might have to kill should things turn hot.

The men of the Super-Ts were sworn to secrecy and warned not to discuss their patrols with anyone, not even their families and loved ones.

Therefore, eight of the newer Triton Class boats, starting with HMS Taciturn, were taken in hand for major modifications between 1950 and 1956. They had a whole new section inserted containing two more electric motors and a fourth battery. It gave the Super-Ts, as they became known, a submerged top speed of up to 18 knots, but only for a short period. Their guns were removed and they also acquired a streamlined casing. A large fin enclosed the bridge, periscopes and masts. Space was also made internally for specialist intelligence-gathering equipment. Alongside the Super-Ts the Royal Navy continued to operate other Second World War-era diesels, with 16 Amphion Class boats – which had a length of 280ft, dived displacement of 1,620 tons and six bow 21-inch torpedo tubes - receiving similar design improvements. The Submarine Service’s initial effort against the Soviets in northern waters saw the Super-Ts and their crews carrying the burden and taking plenty of risks. They endured marathon deployments during which both men and boats were pushed to the limit.

Above : British T class submarine HMS Turpin.

The Royal Navy’s remodelled A-Class boats were in autumn 1962 drawn into the Cuban Missile Crisis - which saw the Russians place nuclear-tipped missiles on the Caribbean island communist state, within striking distance of the USA. That dangerous episode saw the world on the brink of nuclear war until the Soviets withdrew the missiles, but the participation of British submarines was unacknowledged. Both HMS Astute and HMS Alderney were actually ordered to sea on war patrols from their home base at Halifax, Nova Scotia. They joined a picket line attempting to detect Soviet submarines heading south for Cuba, trailing them if possible and marking them for potential destruction. In the end, while the British submarines pulled extended war patrols they did not find themselves at war. Halifax-based British boats continued their patrols, also conducting training missions under ice that surely tested everybody’s nerve to breaking point. To the forefront of everybody’s minds was, of course, a desire for a dieselelectric boat to have a polynya - an area of open water - nearby at all times. To run out of battery power when trapped under the ice - with no means to expel diesel engine

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

POST-WAR LONG PATROL

Warspite would notch up a remarkable 112 days on patrol, with 88 of them submerged. This was a fortnight longer than any other British submarine had by then achieved.

ven with the fighting between Britain and Argentina ending in June 1982, the situation in the South Atlantic would remain tense for some time. Submarine patrols were mounted by the Royal Navy not only off the Falkland Islands but also the Argentine mainland, the latter in order to monitor naval bases and coastal airbases. One of the assigned submarines was Sceptre, but that boat suffered a serious leak in the primary coolant circuit of her reactor while lurking in waters off the Rio Gallegos airbase. The surveillance mission had to be abandoned and when it became clear Sceptre would need a British dockyard to sort the problem out, she headed home. This left Warspite on station - having already been there for some weeks – until the next submarine was ready to deploy from the UK. Warspite would notch up a remarkable 112 days on patrol, with 88 of them submerged. This was a fortnight longer than any other British submarine had by then achieved.

When she sailed back into Faslane in mid-March 1983, Warspite sported model penguins on her outer casing, in honour of the South Atlantic patrol. Her fresh and frozen food was almost gone - just three herrings left – and two lemons remaining in the fruit category. The crew were mainly reduced to a diet of steak and kidney pudding with tinned tomatoes.

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Above : Overhead view of the Royal Navy nuclear fleet submarine HMS Warspite at sea.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

fumes and suck in fresh air via a hatch or snorkel - would mean a lingering death.

The diesels would, though, twice be drawn away from their Cold War patrol areas to engage in daring hot war operations.

Yet, with the Russians sending their early ballistic missile submarines under the ice in the Gulf of St Lawrence, in order to be within range of targets in the USA, the British diesels had to acquire the skill of under-ice operation. They were relieved of that extremely risky task once the new nuclear-powered boats entered service.

Onyx, under the command of Lieutenant Commander A.P. Johnson, conducted a marathon 116-day patrol during the Falklands conflict, operating unsupported 8,000 miles from the UK. Though Lt Cdr Johnson has never commented in detail on his submarine’s tasks, it is believed Onyx landed Special Boat Service (SBS) troops on various raids.

The proof of the nuclear pudding was the SSN Dreadnought’s remarkable adventure under the ice in March 1971, to surface at the North Pole.

Her captain drew on periscope and shallow water navigation skills he had learned during the notoriously demanding Perisher submarine command course, which all British submarine captains to this day must pass.

Between the end of the 1950s and late 1960s, the Royal Navy produced the excellent Porpoise (eight built) and Oberon (13) diesel boats, which enabled the Super-Ts and the modified A-Class vessels to be phased out.

They did not fail him, or his crew. On her return to Gosport, every ship in the harbour sounded sirens and hundreds of sailors cheered the tired old Onyx home. The last of the Royal Navy’s O-boats was retired in 1993, though there had been a final opportunity to show their worth during the 1991 Gulf War.

The Porpoise Class were 290ft long, with a displacement of 2,450m tons dived and submerged speed of 17 knots. The O-boats, with a length of 295ft, a displacement of 2,410 tons dived and capable of 17 knots submerged were considered among the best diesel-electric patrol submarines ever built. Both classes had six bow mounted 21-inch torpedo tubes and two stern ones. They had crews of around 70 men. There were still Cold War patrols and even war missions for the diesels. To counter the Soviet naval presence in the Baltic the Royal Navy sent in Oberon and Porpoise boats. As the 1970s ended, Oberons were making at least two forays a year into the Baltic, though the UK Government has never confirmed such deployments happened.

Opossum and Otus carried out covert operations not dissimilar to the alleged activities in the Baltic against the Soviets. It has been claimed that during coalition efforts to evict Iraqi occupiers from Kuwait the O-boats landed SBS reconnaissance teams on the coast to scout out enemy defences. As with diesel boat missions in the Baltic, those undertaken by the intrepid Otus and Opossum off Kuwait have never been officially confirmed by the UK Government or the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

ONYX boarded SAS and SBS special forces personnel and supported them during a series of operations.

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British submarines were now fully stitched into military-politico operations – abandoning some of their stealthy solo operator habits to hit key targets by using data sent via satellite Internet links.

Above : HMS Astute.

TODAY AND THE FUTURE

bsent a world war between Russia and the West did not mean people serving in, or working with, the Submarine Service avoided paying the ultimate price. Between 1945 and 2012 there were 450 submariners of all ranks, and also civilians, killed due to various causes. They included 152 men lost in the diesel-electric submarines Sidon, Affray and Truculent.

In 1999 Splendid fired cruise missiles at Serbian targets during NATO’s campaign to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, so making the Royal Navy the second fleet, after the US Navy, to fire TLAM in anger. On 13 October 2001, the Triumph and Trafalgar fired TLAMS from the Arabian Sea to hit Al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan as retaliation for the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the USA.

In the immediate aftermath of the Cold War, the urgent need to hunt other vessels disappeared during the early-tomid 1990s as the Russian Navy’s submarines were largely confined to base. A new role beckoned as the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) became the weapon of choice for Western democracies to punish terrorists or rogue regimes in the Middle East, North Africa and Balkans, via carefully targeted strikes.

Turbulent and Splendid again unleashed cruise missiles in March 2003, against regime targets in Iraq as a massive coalition invasion sought to defang Saddam Hussein once and for all.

The boats of the UK were several times to the fore in such post-Cold War operations, striking up to 1,000 miles inland via TLAM. British submarines were now fully stitched into military-politico operations – abandoning some of their stealthy solo operator habits to hit key targets by using data sent via satellite Internet links.

Next on the target list of despots toppled with the assistance of a missile-firing Royal Navy submarine was Muammar Gaddafi. Triumph, operating in waters off North Africa, fired a dozen Tomahawks at targets as part of the opening phase of NATO’s campaign to prevent the Libyan dictator slaughtering his own people.

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HISTORY OF THE SUBMARINE SERVICE

The following year he warned: “new Russian Federation Navy capabilities such as cruise missiles submarines, frigates and helicopters, along with better trained crews, mark their steady recovery as a tool of national policy on a hemispheric scale.” The use of submarines by the Russians to conduct strikes with Kalibr cruise missiles against rebels in Syria in 2015 part of Moscow’s strategy to project power into the eastern Mediterranean, while shoring up the regime of Bashar AlAssad - was a warning of things to come. New Improved Kilo Class diesel submarines and surface warships are the conventional weapons platforms of choice for President Vladimir Putin and such vessels have this year bombarded cities in Ukraine via Kalibr strikes. Above : HMS Turbulent.

Meanwhile, after the 1990s construction pause, the Russians are also turning out powerful new nuclear-powered submarines, as are the British, Americans, French, Indians and Chinese. Brazil will also soon be a nuclear-powered submarine operator, while other nations continue to enhance their conventional submarine flotillas.

Britain in the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks on the USA aimed to continually deploy a submarine on station east of Suez. The assigned unit used its periscope and other sensors to try and detect terrorists and their weapons being transported between Asia, Africa and Arabia (and vice versa). There were also covert surveillance and reconnaissance missions to carry out. For example, working alongside boats of allied nations - such as the USA, Holland and France British submarines tracked mother ships of pirates preying on merchant trade passing through the Indian Ocean. During the first two decades of the 21st Century this was a job primarily carried out by the Trafalgar Class SSNs. In recent times the new Astute Class boats - with a dived displacement of 7,400 tons the largest attack submarine ever built for the UK, each with a crew of around 100 men and women – have begun to head out around the world, with HMS Astute calling at Perth, Australia in 2021. She reportedly provided an unseen escort for the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth on the RN flagship’s first global deployment. Possessing formidable cuttingedge sensors, and with six 21-inch torpedo tubes capable of firing torpedoes and TLAM, so far four Astutes are in commission. Three more are to join them by 2026.

An £85 million contract ‘to support early design and concept work on that Royal Navy’s next generation of [attack] submarines’ was awarded to BAE Systems at the end of 2021. At the same time, in Barrow - where young Lt ArnoldForster gazed less than enthusiastically on the tiny cigar-shaped, HMS Holland I more than 120 years ago Dreadnought Class SSBNs are being built. With a dived displacement of 17,900 tons, they are bigger than any previous submarine constructed for the Royal Navy and will seek to maintain the UK nuclear deterrent well into the 21st Century.

Meanwhile, Russian submarines are again deploying frequently into the Atlantic and Mediterranean. They have even tried (and failed) to shadow the UK’s Trident missile boats - successors to the Polaris vessels of the Cold War era as they exit or return to HM Naval Base Clyde. In 2016 Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone - at the time commanding NATO maritime forces in European waters - revealed that there was “more activity from Russian submarines than since the days of the Cold War.”

Meanwhile, the Australia-United Kingdom-USA (AUKUS) alliance aims to share submarine technology and help Australia build eight new hunter-killer submarines. That ambitious project may evolve in tandem with a new class of British attack boats to replace the Royal Navy’s current Astute Class SSNs, called the SSNR.

Meanwhile, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine arguably generating the most dangerous challenge to international peace and security since 1945, the role of the UK’s continuous-at-sea independent nuclear deterrent is sharply back in focus for the first time since the collapse of the Berlin Wall some thirty years ago. Meanwhile, as it has done since the inception of Submarine Service, the human element, of course, remains key. A willingness to be stealthy, deep running guardians still resides within the men and women of the Submarine Service, for all the hazards their life under the sea poses.

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The Dreadnought Class will replace the existing Barrowbuilt Vanguard fleet and will be the Royal Navy’s biggest, most powerful and technically advanced submarines when they begin to enter service in the early 2030s.

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RNRMC: EMBRACING THE SUBMARINE FAMILY

he Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) exists to value and support every sailor and marine and their families for life. Its operational ethos is founded on the concept of community and family, which is nowhere better illustrated than in its approach towards providing help and assistance to serving and veteran submariners and their families. The Submarine Service was established over 120 years ago, it is a close-knit community recognising the comraderie, rigour and risk in operating beneath the waves in other words the ‘Submarine family’. The decision by the RNRMC, the Royal Navy’s Submarine Service and a host of Submarine Service Charity Organisations to work more closely together to establish the RNRMC Submarine Family (RNRMC -SMF) was a sensible next step for all participants to share experience and best practice for the common good.

The creation of RNRMC-SMF marked the first occasion when the different charity members of the Submarine Family began working together to facilitate support from RNRMC with the shared management of RNRMC-SMF designed to the bolster the efficiency and effectiveness of RNRMC’s benefits and other support programmes for submariners young and old and their families. In addition to welfare support, RNRMC-SMF also looks to maintain the submarine ethos, maintain morale and provide a single focus for the development and preservation of Submarine Service heritage for the benefit of current, veteran and indeed future generations of submariners and their families. The emergence of RNRMC-SMF, also stemmed from RNRMC’s traditionally high levels of support for the submarine service and submariners, which in the period 2017 to 2021 amounted to over £700,000 covering a broad variety of areas including:

Representatives from the Submarine Family charities included the Submariners’ Association, We Remember Submariners, the Perisher Club and the Friends of the Submarine Museum. According to the RNRMC Chief Executive Adrian Bell, the Submarine Family demonstrate how communities “can and are helping themselves…the Submarine Family model may influence how other specialisations and the RNRMC will evolve in developing closer ways of working across the sector”. - 58 -

• Major grants for AV Equipment upgrades on HMS Vanguard, HMS Triumph & HMS Talent; • An event to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Continuous At-Sea Deterrent in 2019; • Christmas Stockings for personnel deployed on operations over the festive period; • Grants to submariners facing isolation/ lockdown restrictions throughout 2020-2021 to help boost morale; • Frontline Welfare Grants to submariners.

SPONSORED FEATURE - RNRMC

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

The £700,000, however, did not include the transformative funding provided to the Drumfork Community Centre regeneration project commenced in 2018, and formally opened by HRH The Princess Royal in January 2020. The RNRMC was a prime funder of the overall £2 million project, including the Drumfork Park Play Area for which it met the entire £265,000 cost. Located near Faslane, the Centre had served submariners’ families for over 50 years, but was badly in need of renovation and modernisation – not only as a leisure, sports, play and nursery facility for submariners’ families, but also as a focal point for emotional and practical support, particularly during long periods of separation.

RNRMC HONOURED TO SUPPORT SUBMARINER MEMORIAL “RNRMC is honoured to be amongst those organisations which have supported the creation and dedication of the Submariner Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum”, says RNRMC Chief Executive Adrian Bell.

“I am convinced it will not only play a very important role as a place of remembrance and solace for members of Submarine Family, but also act as a powerful reminder for all visitors of the special challenging duties and dangers faced by submariners in both war and peace.” Adrian Bell RNRMC Chief Executive

Above : The impressive new Drumfork Children’s Playpark.

MORE INFO & DONATIONS Information about grant applications and donations can be made via either the RNRMC website or direct from the respective SMF Board organisations. Donations, direct debits and/or bequests can be made direct to the RNRMC specifying donations are specifically for the ‘Submarine Service’ or ‘RNRMC-SMF.’ For more information please visit

WWW.RNRMC.ORG.UK

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CREATING A FITTING MEMORIAL

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CREATING A FITTING MEMORIAL

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CREATING A FITTING MEMORIAL The Submariner Memorial Appeal was set up to create a memorial fit to honour and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Silent Service, explains Alice Farrow.

ilitary service brings a unique set of demands on personnel and their families, especially in the Royal Navy and, in particular, the Submarine Service where long periods of separation from loved ones are common and communications can be challenging.

“We needed a place where people could come in peace and quiet to think about their loved ones; recognising the huge sacrifice of the families that are left behind – and helping to bring our community closer together”

Since the Second World War some 450 submariners have lost their lives in service with the losses before, during and after the world wars totalling over 5,000. Yet, until now, there has been nowhere that families, friends, and shipmates of the fallen could seek some peace in the face of tragedy.

Commander Tom Herman OBE RN

Indeed, according to Commander Tom Herman OBE RN, Project Officer of the Submariner Memorial Appeal, “for too long we have ignored or underplayed the sacrifice of our people with so many Submariners lost without their resting place being known”.

Members of the public of all ages were encouraged to draw up plans for the memorial. The appeal also partnered with the Sea Cadets, encouraging nearly 15,000 Sea Cadets from 400 units around the country to participate

The prizes were £100 for each of the category winners and £1000 for the overall winner, with runners up receiving £50 and a number of entries awarded Highly Commended certificates. The winners were invited to attend the dedication of the memorial to be performed by HRH Prince William, Commodore-in-Chief Submarines.

Its ethos is very much in keeping with the objectives of the newly-created organisation “The Submarine Family” described by Commodore of the Submarine Service Commodore Jim Perks CBE RN elsewhere in this publication. According to Appeal Treasurer, Captain Richard Blackwell RN, the memorial recognises the role of families for the first time “as it is they that keep everything going on the home front whilst their spouses do their work as submariners”. Actor and Submariner Memorial Appeal supporter Colin Firth, who starred in “Kursk: The Last Mission”, adds “so many of our lost submariners have no graves - a fitting memorial at the National Arboretum will give those left behind a place to gather and grieve”. The Submariners Memorial Appeal, set up as a Charity with a Board of Trustees from across the submarine community, took an early decision to raise awareness of the project through a national competition.

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THE WINNING ENTRIES

In the Under 11 Category : 10 yearold Heather Dent from Ulverston, who was “very, very proud to be selected.” Heather’s brother is a serving submariner and her father works for BAE. The judges particularly liked the tunnel aspect of her design giving the impression that people were inside a submarine.

In the 11-18 Category : Zoe Perowne from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. Zoe’s grandfather is a retired submariner and Zoe is a Sea Cadet serving in TS Dauntless, Gosforth. The judges liked the connection between boat and dolphin within the wave. “The dolphins symbolise the souls lost at war and becoming free and part of the oceans in which they served and perished” she explained.

The competition was open to all as a way of getting the message out not only to submariners, past and present, and their families as well as stakeholders, such as industry, but to a broad constituency of people of all ages who may have links to submariners, however distant. And the high response levels proved its value.

In the Over 18 Category and the overall winner : The Groves Family. Grandfather and Father are both retired submariners and the son and his girlfriend are currently both serving in boats - read the full story of the Groves family bid in the following article.

“In the centre, the lone submariner gazes upwards. The ubiquitous shape of the submarine fin has the advantage of being instantly recognisable, a shape that could be easily spotted and identified within the plethora of monuments at the National Memorial Arboretum.

The winning ideas were then interpreted by three professional designers all of whom produced interesting and beautiful designs, but remarkably different. However, there was unanimity amongst trustees that Paul Day’s sculpture captured the essence of what they wanted the memorial to project - Churchill’s iconic words about no other group of service personnel facing “grimmer perils”, a frieze showing the families waiting for their loved ones to return and then the lone figure looking up towards the surface – a distillation of powerful emotions and images which also gets the message of sacrifice and service across to people with little knowledge of submarines. “I’m delighted that one of the winning designs was created by submariners” says sculpture Paul Day. “This design resonated with me instantly. By mirroring that design, I imagined visitors walking through a somewhat confined space - suggesting those constraints upon movement that dictate life onboard. - 62 -

CREATING A FITTING MEMORIAL

“I decided to sculpt vertical wave forms within the interior of my design, not only to evoke that obvious, primary element in which submarines exist: that of seawater; but also to echo the other, less obvious wave - also critical to the operational life of the submarine - sound waves. “This is the so-called “Silent Service”. Thus, detection or avoiding detection - and consequently that necessary element of surprise - are determined by how silently the craft can move through water.” The original appeal aimed to raise £300,000 to design and install the memorial, but the remarkable outcome ran beyond £450,000 with the balance destined to be used for maintenance and related costs. Captain Blackwell described the original cost as “daunting”, articularly amidst the Covid crisis, but “industry stepped up to the mark, as did other charities and livery companies which contributed very generously”.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

The original appeal aimed to raise £300,000 to design and install the memorial, but the remarkable outcome ran beyond £450,000 with the balance destined to be used for maintenance and related costs. The Appeal has also been closely supported by HMS Oardacious, the Submarine Service’s Atlantic Rowing Team, which was established to provide mental health and wellbeing support to the Submarine Family. In December this year the team will take part in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge with some of their funds going towards the Submariner Memorial.

Moreover, people at every level dug deep, including veterans, serving submariners and others throughout and beyond the Submarine Family as the Appeal took on the feel of a “people’s campaign” with donors raising funds in myriad different ways from cycling both above ground and under water, running the London Marathon dressed as a submarine, baking, writing, painting and much more.

BREAKING GROUND

he Ground-Breaking Ceremony was held on 6th September 2021 at the National Memorial Arboretum. The turf was cut by 100-year-old Diana Mayes and HMS Vigilant’s Chef Jack McHugh. Diana’s first husband was 25 year old Lt Gordon Noll who was CO of HMS Untamed, which was lost with all hands in the Clyde in May 1943. Diana Mayes said:

“At last the bravery and fortitude of HMS Untamed’s young crew, who faced dangers not of their making, can be recognised. And my heartfelt gratitude to and pride in all submariners.”

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MAKING THE MEMORIAL

aul Day describes the process of making the Memorial as follows:

“I started with drawings on paper to sketch out various ideas. There followed a period of design work in three dimensions on small-scale maquettes using clay. “Once the final design had been given approval by the Committee, I went on to make a more elaborate scale model using fine grade plasticine. “The Memorial was then built up at full-size using carved blocks of polystyrene as a core material which were subsequently covered in clay and modelled to create the surface detail.

“Once this full-size mock-up was complete, the process of mould-making and bronze casting could commence. The silicone rubber moulds copy in negative the precise shape and detail of the full-scale model. These moulds were then used to make a wax copy of the whole memorial. “The wax was then cut into pieces and invested in plaster prior to firing in a kiln at high temperature. Once the new plaster moulds were fully fired then molten bronze could be poured into them, thus creating the final castings. These were assembled to create the finished Memorial.

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THE GENERATION GAME Former Submarine Commander and Submariner Memorial Appeal Trustee Captain Mike Davis-Marks explains how the Groves Family won the overall competition for the submariner memorial design.

hris Groves is a recently retired Royal Navy submariner now working at Qinetiq as the Head of Underwater Business Development (Submarines). When Chris noticed the call out for entries to a national competition to design a new submariner memorial to be installed at the National Memorial Arboretum, he could not resist the temptation to rope in a few other members of the Groves family. For his father, Adrian, is also a retired submariner, whilst his son, Nick, and son’s girlfriend, Emma, are both serving submariners too. The four became five, when another submariner’s son, Si Ellis, joined the intrepid team.

Right from the start, the team, collectively known as the Groves Family, wanted a memorial that would be unique to the submarine service and thought that a design that showed the fin of a submarine breaking through the Arctic ice would have real impact. Their submission impressed the judges as it touched on four highly relevant and thought-provoking themes - agelessness, symbolism, inclusiveness and experience. Firstly, they imagined a memorial that wasn’t anchored to a specific point in time, noting that the history of the Royal Navy’s Submarine Service is long and illustrious, and wanted the memorial to remain timeless – able to represent submariners past, present and future with equal gravity.

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CREATING A FITTING MEMORIAL

ADRIAN GROVES

CHRIS GROVES

NICK GROVES

Secondly, they aspired to a memorial that acknowledged the unique environment in which submarines operate and couldn’t be mistaken for any other branch of the Services. They also wanted the memorial to reflect the sacrifices made by everyone connected with the submarine service - as submariners go to sea, they leave behind partners, parents, children and friends. These people are the constants that maintain their home world ready for their return; or to deal with the aftermath if they do not. Finally, they created a design that would give visitors a deeper sense of a submariner’s life below the surface – a gently empathetic experience that aided their contemplation and focused their mind away from the outside world. Though the submariner link bonded them together, the fab five brought a wealth of diverse experiences to the design table. Adrian joined the RN in 1960 as an Artificer Apprentice, going on to serve with HMS Eastbourne, Blackpool, Lincoln and Forth. In 1974 he joined submarines, initially on HMS Opportune, then HMS Neptune and on to the staff of Flag Officer Submarines in Northwood. His son, Chris served 28 years in diesel, SSN and SSBN submarines. He commanded HMS Torbay and his last role was as Captain responsible for Submarine Sea and Shore Training. He remarks: “I am hugely proud of belonging to three generations of submariners. Dad and I both completed our Part 3 training on HMS Opportune, and Nick did his Part 3 in HMS Victorious (Port), which I had previously navigated. I remain committed to the Submarine Service through my current work as the President of the Gosport Branch of the Submariners Association, and a committee member of the Friends of the Submarine Museum.”

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

EMMA YEARLING

SI ELLIS

Though the submariner link bonded them together, the fab five brought a wealth of diverse experiences to the design table. Chris’s son (and Adrian’s grandson), Nick joined the Royal Navy in 2013 as an aspiring Submarine Warfare Officer. Obtaining his coveted Dolphins in 2016, Nick has gone on to navigate HMS Vengeance on the longest SSBN patrol in history, as well as HMS Victorious through a very busy and constrained programme amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Nick’s girlfriend, Emma Yearling was sponsored by the RN to study Electrical and Electronic Engineering at University, joining in 2012 and volunteered for SMs whilst at BRNC. In 2014, she earned her Dolphins onboard HMS Vigilant before becoming the Tactical Weapons Engineering Officer onboard HMS Victorious. Emma has worked in Operations Support in Northwood and now works in Flag Officer Sea Training. Si Ellis made up the fifth member and is an established design consultant of more than 25 years, and founder of EllisJames Creative. His company has a particular focus on supporting the defence sector with creative support services. He remarks: “Mum, dad, three uncles and an aunt all served in the RN. Dad served on frigates, diesel subs and ultimately, as Chief Petty Officer on the carrier, HMS Eagle. I simply can’t imagine going beneath the waves for days, weeks or months at a time, but honoured beyond measure to have a hand in creating a memorial to the dedication and bravery of British submariners.”

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THE SUBMARINER ETHOS

WHAT MAKES A SUBMARINER? Courage, compassion and self-confidence feature amongst the qualities that make up a submariner, but, argues former submarine commander Tom Herman, the most important quality is professionalism - knowing the boat, its systems and what to do in any emergency, without orders, whatever your personal role.

or the last 20 or so years I have had the pleasure to be involved with the Friends of RN Submarine Museum at Gosport (the museum is now part of the National Museum of the Royal Navy). Before that I served in boats for all my seagoing career, commanding two of them – HMS Opossum, a diesel submarine, and HMS Renown, a nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered boat). And at home I have a fair-sized collection of books on all matters submarine. In short, I see myself as a submariner, so I should be qualified to answer the question ‘What makes a submariner?’

First impressions stick. Captain, later Admiral of the Fleet, Sir Roger Keyes was the Inspecting Captain of Submarines from 1910 into the First World War. In his memoirs published in 1934 he recorded his first impression: “Unless the captain has the absolute confidence of his crew, unless the crew is trained to the highest pitch, and the machinery and weapons maintained in a state of efficiency, you will not have a first-class submarine…. They were the salt of the earth and I felt very proud when I found myself in command of a [sic] personnel, knitted by the nature of their service into such a band of good comrades.” - 68 -

THE SUBMARINER ETHOS

This is the view of a seasoned and senior officer’s first encounter with the pioneer submariners. My first impression was from the other end of the telescope. I joined my first boat for three weeks’ submarine experience during my summer holiday from university. I was a Sub Lieutenant at the time and had already spent some time at sea in an aircraft carrier and in a minesweeper, but nothing prepared me for a diesel submarine. I joined at Portland. The boat was going to be spending its time describing fixed patterns underwater for surface ships to use as training targets for their sonar and command teams. It might sound simple, but the Channel is a very busy seaway – not just merchant ships, but also many fishing vessels and yachts. Add to this shallow water, strong tides and poor weather, it was (and still is) a very challenging environment.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

“Unless the captain has the absolute confidence of his crew, unless the crew is trained to the highest pitch, and the machinery and weapons maintained in a state of efficiency, you will not have a first-class submarine….” Admiral Sir Roger Keyes 1934

Then we were at sea. Dim lighting or no lighting, little headroom or no headroom, lots of noise or no noise. Everywhere people, gauges, switches, levers, instruments of indeterminate nature, but clearly huge complexity. And the smells, the damp, the cold, nowhere to stand without being in the way, nowhere to sleep except on a camp bed on top of a torpedo. The butter tastes of diesel, the tea tastes of diesel; the senses become overwhelmed. There was no way I would want to join this service. Give me fresh air, starched linen, gleaming cutlery and a gin before dinner any time.

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Above : The casing party. Below : HMS Renown with helicopter.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

THE SUBMARINER ETHOS

A shout of hydraulic burst, an alarm, the boat takes on a steep angle, the lights go out, people moving round fast, the ventilation stops, the lights come back, orders passed to and fro over the loudspeakers. And then everything back to normal, people getting on with their routines as if nothing had happened. Always tired, either on watch, eating or catching a few brief moments of sleep. Water coming down the conning tower, freezing and soaked on the bridge, the concentration dived: “Keep your eyes on the periscope,” “Watch the trim”, “Don’t lose the snort.” After three weeks I left the boat with relief, promising myself never to set foot in a submarine again. And yet, and yet …

So what makes a submariner? Courage, compassion and camaraderie? Yes. Self-reliance and self-confidence? Yes. A sense of duty and an understanding of the importance of the mission? Yes. But, above all else, it is professionalism. To earn the coveted submarine badge – the dolphins – a person must know their boat, its systems and what to do in any emergency, without orders, whatever their personal role. It all comes down to that. Captain and cook – both submariners first. It is as true today in the latest of the 8,000-ton nuclearpowered cruise-missile-armed Astute Class boats as it was when Keyes wrote of the 500-ton HMS D1, the cutting edge in 1910. In peace or war this is the only way a boat and its crew will survive. This is what makes a submariner.

As the weeks passed and memories bedded in, my feelings changed. The spirit onboard had been something I had never experienced before: the way everyone knew the boat and seemingly everything about it; the competence, yet the way rank hardly seemed to matter, informal without being casual; the humour which dispelled doubt; the encouragement given to the less experienced; the reprimands immediately put behind; and the feeling of unity against a common enemy – the sea!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR A former submarine commander, Tom Herman is Submarine Flotilla Secretary helping to bring serving and retired submariners together. He is a member of the Submariner Memorial Appeal Board

Below : HMS Superb (front) HMS Turbulent (rear) and 2 RAF Nimrods at the North Pole May1988.

Two years later I volunteered for boats and never looked back.

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ROLL OF HONOUR

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

VICTORIA CROSS SUBMARINERS

LT N.D. HOLBROOK VC

LT CDR E.C. BOYLE VC

LT CDR M.E. NASMITH VC

LT R.D. SANDFORD VC

Command of Submarine B11 at the Dardanelles

Command of Submarine E14 in Sea of Marmora.

Command of Submarine E11 in Sea of Marmora

Command of Submarine C3 off Zebrugge & Ostend

LT CDR G.S. WHITE VC

CDR A.C.C. MIERS DSO VC

CDR J.W. LINTON DSO VC

Command of Submarine Torbay off Corfu

Command of Submarine Turbulent off Sardinia

Command of Submarine E14 off Dardanelles

PO T. GOULD VC With Lt Roberts VC removed bombs from casing of Submarine Thresher off Crete

LT CDR M.D. WANKLYN DSO VC Command of Submarine Upholder off Sicily

LT I.E FRASER RNR VC

LS J. MAGENNIS VC

Command of Midget Submarine XE.3 off Straits of Johore Singapore against Takao

Affixed full outfit of Limpet mines on the Japanese Battle Cruiser Takao

LT P.S.W. ROBERTS VC Removed bombs from casing of Submarine Thresher off Crete

LT B. PLACE VC

LT D. CAMERON RNR VC

Command of Midget Submarine X6 off Norway against Battlship Tirpitz

Command of Midget Submarine X7 off Norway against Battlship Tirpitz

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour “in the presence of the enemy” to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

THE SUBMARINE FAMILY

TOGETHERNESS IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD Commodore Jim Perks CBE Royal Navy, Commodore Submarine Service and Chair of the Submarine Family Board, introduces The Submarine Family launched this year to help and assist serving and retired submariners and their families, as well as support commemorative and heritage activities.

he Submarine Service is over 120 years old. Imagine what it must have been like for the families of those pioneering submariners. Their loved ones were setting out into the unknown in vessels that were at the cutting edge of technology yet barely able to survive the harshness of their environment. Lack of communication and separation were things that naval families were well used to, but the added factor was the fear of the unknown and this must have raised the normal worry and stress of naval service, in peacetime

let alone in war. Whilst time has moved on, service in submarines still has lengthy periods of separation with no communications and still the fear of the unknown: “where are they, what are they doing, are they in danger?” In these circumstances families draw together for mutual support; to see their submariners off, to help each other whilst they are away and to welcome them back home or in the worst circumstances to mourn together. Our new memorial recognises this huge sacrifice made by our families and this year we have also launched a new organisation to help in good times and bad: The Submarine Family.

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THE SUBMARINE FAMILY

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

The Submarine Family is for serving and retired submariners, their families and supporters. It is free to join though we do encourage joiners to make donations as they are able. It brings together the strengths of the Submariners Association, The Friends of the RN Submarine Museum and We Remember Submariners under the umbrella, and with the full support, of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity. The money raised by the members donations and other activities will be spent in four key ways : • Camaraderie. To support projects and activities which bring our family together to draw strength from each other when needed and for adventure, friendship and enjoyment at other times. • Compassion. To support those of our family in times of hardship largely through support to The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust, The Royal Naval Officers Charity and The Naval Children’s Charity but also directly if needed. • Commemoration. To support acts of remembrance and assist with care of the many memorials around the country dedicated to submariners. The Family will own The Submariner Memorial once it has been dedicated. • Heritage. To raise fund to protect the Royal Navy’s submarine heritage, to enhance collections and improve the way our story is told to others.

Whilst time has moved on, service in submarines still has lengthy periods of separation with no communications and still the fear of the unknown: “where are they, what are they doing, are they in danger?” It also has background reading for those new to our Family including advice about what to do in preparation for your submariner’s deployment, tips for coping whilst they are away and an explanation of the homecoming procedure. If in doubt there is a contact section where we can provide further advice. Finally, the website is home to our Online Book of Remembrance. This tribute to those 5960 people who did not return from patrol gives their names and as much detail as we have about how their boat was lost or how they lost their lives. Family and friends will be able to add detail to their loved one’s story with comments and photos so the book grows and becomes a living document.

There is an online shop at www.royalnavyshop.co.uk/ collections/submarinefamily which will sell a growing range of our merchandise and in the future we hope to have physical shops in the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth and in the centre of Helensburgh.

The Submarine Family is the way forward for our service and our people – if you are reading this then you qualify to join. Like in all the best families we will help each other through the good and the not so good knowing that we are stronger together.

One strength of The Submarine Family is that is brings a strategic thrust to our fundraising allowing the entire community to focus on whatever the priorities of the day are. For example, looming over the horizon is a plan to turn HMS Courageous, a Cold War nuclear powered boat, into the centrepiece of a new museum in Devonport. This is a 10-year project which will need fundraising and volunteer support at various stages.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

To make this and other projects work good communications are essential and The Submarine Family website www.submarinefamily.uk is the powerhouse behind this. The website is the place you go to join, to find out about events, read updates on projects, sign up for newsletters and more. It has a Help and Support section which contains quick reference information which you need in a crisis, for example if someone becomes seriously ill whilst your submariner is deployed.

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Cdre Jim Perks joined the Royal Navy as a Writer, commissioning in 1988. Opting for submarines, he ultimately commanded HMS Sceptre. He later became Commander of the Submarine Flotilla and Commodore of the Submarine Service and in 2020 received the CBE.

Opposite : Families gather once again to welcome home submarine crews. Above : The “Dolphins” badge, issued to all British submariners on completion of training. It is worn on the upper left breast.

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

THE ART OF SUBMARINES

eet Georgina Bown, the artist behind the magnificent mono-print based on sculptor Paul Day’s Submariner Memorial, which Georgina so generously allowed the Submariner Appeal to adorn the front cover of this commemorative publication marking the Memorial’s dedication.

This obsession with structure, power, scale and a menacing presence has been turned into a series of powerful Monotype artworks. Georgina works mainly with the drawing technique of Monoprinting which she has adapted and mastered over recent years. Submarines are depicted out of water or suspended making them powerless and vulnerable which she finds intriguing.

Since graduating from Chelsea School of Art, Georgina has successfully engaged with many types of artistic expression from various printing/drawing techniques to large scale metal sculpture – in the latter case assisted by her welding skills.

Georgina has generously donated the original of her Submariner Memorial print - entitled Silent Service - to Faslane Naval Base.

Based near the East Lothian coast in Scotland, her proximity to the sea helped trigger a fascination-turned-obsession with the monolithic metal structures of submarines.

For more information about Georgina’s work please visit www.georgina-artist.co.uk

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THE ART OF SUBMARINES

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

Above : Sub-Space 1. Left : Submariner Memorial cover Silent Service mono-print. Below : Minefield 2.’ Work in progress. May 2020. Opposite : Sub-Stitution 2.

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SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

REFLECTIONS

REFLECTIONS Texts of reflection read out at the Submariner Memorial Dedication Ceremony 18 May 2022

This is normal for me By Jacob, age 12 Never Such Innocence * This is normal for me, but some people don’t know how it feels. It can get rough sometimes, children tease because I’m different. Dad is not there. I watch the sea for him, I stand still and stare. This is normal for me, but it might be different if you stayed around a lot. Christmas, birthdays, holidays, New Year’s, when we have been apart. Missing someone so much I have no words for being so sad. Separation and silence. This is normal for me, counting days until you are gone, No mark on the calendar to count down your return. You had to leave me in hospital. I knew you had to go. You do such a good job, and you were hurting too I know. This is normal for me, it would help if you knew how it feels. To feel special, to be part of my family and community. Every time I see you, I am filled with such joy. You’re important to me, you’re important to everybody, our country. I still watch the sea. This is normal for me.

* Never Such Innocence is a charity which aims to give children and young people across the world a voice in conflict.

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REFLECTIONS

SUBMARINER MEMORIAL

The Prayer of a Veteran There is a time to cherish those we knew… O Lord, it is with gratitude we remember the submariners of the past, both those living and those who have been called to higher service. We give thanks for all those who pioneered new technologies, and especially those who lost their lives doing so. Look mercifully on those who did not return from patrol in time of war, those whose friendship we treasured and on whom we all relied, and we pray for the families that mourn them still.

Reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

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YOU MAY NOT HAVE HE ARD OF THE

BUT

14,000 OF YOUR SHIPMATES ALRE ADY HAVE ...

That’s our current worldwide membership, growing daily with 250 branches, and spanning the age range from 18-100+. Special Interest Groups to include rugby, cricket, motorcycling, model-making, classic cars and much more. We are a family of serving personnel, veterans, relatives, and supporters of our Royal Navy, enjoying the same shared values, benefits and discounts!

ROYAL-NAVAL-ASSOCIATION.CO.UK

ONCE NAVY, ALWAYS NAVY Registered charity No. 266982

REMEMBRANCE AND LEGACY

Submariner Memorial

Articles inside

COMMODORE SUBMARINE SERVICE

THE EARLY YEARS

ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET

HRH THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE