HMS ''Unbeaten'' was a U-class

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

, of the second group of that class, built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 22 November 1939 and was commissioned on 10 November 1940. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name ''Unbeaten''.

Career

''Unbeaten'' spent much of her career operating in the Mediterranean, where she sank the Italian sailing vessel V 51 / ''Alfa'', the Vichy-French merchant ''PLM 20'', the and the German submarine . She also claimed to have sunk two sailing vessels with gunfire on 15 July 1941 at Marsa Zuag roads, Libya, but Italian sources only confirm damage to one fishing vessel. ''Unbeaten'' also lightly damaged the Italian merchant ''Vettor Pisani'' on 16 March 1942. She also unsuccessfully attacked the Italian merchant ''Silvio Scaroni'', the Italian troop transport ''Esperia'' and a large Italian troop transport, thought to be either ''Oceania'' or ''Neptunia''.HMS Unbeaten
uboat.net

Sinking

After a refit in Chatham, and subsequent workup, ''Unbeaten'' was attached to the Third Submarine Flotilla in Scotland. Having sailed from

Holy Loch The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there afte ...

on her last patrol, ''Unbeaten'' completed Operation Bluestone, landing an agent in Spain near Bayona. She then completed her patrol in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

and was returning to the United Kingdom when she went missing. It is believed that she was probably attacked and sunk in error by a Royal Air Force Wellington of No. 172 Squadron, Coastal Command in the Bay of Biscay on 11 November 1942. She was lost with all hands.Submarine losses 1904 to present day
, RN Submarine Museum, Gosport

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unbeaten (N93) British U-class submarines Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1940 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Friendly fire incidents of World War II Maritime incidents in November 1942 Ships sunk by British aircraft Submarines sunk by aircraft