HMS ''Perseus'' was a British built in 1929 and lost in 1941 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. This class were the first to be fitted with Mark VIII torpedoes. At the start of the war she was operating under the command of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Peter Bartlett on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

as part of the 4th Submarine Flotilla, together with the other members of her class. This continued until August 1940 when they were reassigned to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, where part of their duties were the ferrying of supplies between Alexandria and the besieged island of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. ''Perseus'' underwent a refit at Malta from October until April 1941. Attached to the 1st Submarine Flotilla based in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, and under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Edward Christian Frederick Nicolay DSO RN (see

Nicolay (family) Nicolay (de Nicolaÿ/Nicolaï) – refer to Nobility particle) is a European noble family of the Ancien Régime with its roots in the south of France at the early part of the 14th Century. There is however, evidence to suggest that its origins s ...

), she sank the 3,867-ton Italian tanker ''Maya'' south of

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...

on 5 September 1941, and on 2 October, the 2,086-ton merchant ship ''Castellon'' west of

Benghazi Benghazi () , ; it, Bengasi; tr, Bingazi; ber, Bernîk, script=Latn; also: ''Bengasi'', ''Benghasi'', ''Banghāzī'', ''Binghāzī'', ''Bengazi''; grc, Βερενίκη (''Berenice'') and ''Hesperides''., group=note (''lit. Son of he Ghazi ...

. It was as a result of these actions that Commander Nicolay was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

. ''Perseus'' sailed from Malta for Alexandria on 26 November 1941 with instructions to patrol waters to the east of Greece during her passage. She apparently torpedoed a ship on 3 December, but at 10 pm on 6 December she struck an Italian

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

off

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...

, north of

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

. Of the 61 on board, the only survivor was 31-year-old leading stoker John Capes, one of two non-crew members hitching a lift to Alexandria. He and three others escaped from the submarine using the Twill Trunk escape hatch in the engine room and wearing

Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus The Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus (also referred to as DSEA), was an early type of oxygen rebreather invented in 1910 by Sir Robert Davis, head of Siebe Gorman and Co. Ltd., inspired by the earlier Fleuss system, and adopted by the Royal Na ...

. However, only he survived the journey to the surface and the five-mile (8 km) swim to the island of Cephalonia, where he was hidden by islanders for 18 months before being smuggled in a

caïque A caïque ( el, καΐκι, ''kaiki'', from tr, kayık) is a traditional fishing boat usually found among the waters of the Ionian or Aegean Sea, and also a light skiff used on the Bosporus. It is traditionally a small wooden trading vessel, br ...

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

in Turkey. He was subsequently awarded a

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

. The wreck, at below the surface, was discovered and surveyed in 1997 by a dive team led by Kostas Thoctarides. The ''Perseus'' lies on the seabed with a starboard list. The only significant damage to the vessel is a crack on the port side near the bow, caused by the collision with the mine. The rest of the hull is in good condition. Her gun, her steering wheel, and everything else is in place. Her compasses, which are still working, show her last course. The escape hatch of the stern compartment is open. Divers found the anchor of an Italian mine close to ''Perseus''; which would appear to be the cause of her sinking. British authorities had assumed that this was the case, but it had never been confirmed. On 19 and 20 May 2000, memorial ceremonies were held in Cephalonia in honour of the ''Perseus crew. They were attended by relatives of the deceased (including John Capes' daughter), members of the Submarine Old Comrade's Association, locals who hid Capes, and a member of the caique crew who transported Capes to Smyrna (amongst others).

References

*
RN Subs HMS PerseusGreek Navy website with information on ''Perseus'' and the diving expedition that located the wreck

External links

HMS ''Perseus'' submarine
Video, 24 mins. Diving to the wreck site.
Υποβρύχιο Περσεύς - Διαφυγή από το Θάνατο (HMS ''Perseus'' submarine)
Video, 29 mins.
H.M.Submarine Perseus 2007 in ...
Video. Diver inside the wreck.
Royal Navy submarine "HMS Perseus", Kefalonia Island, Greece
Video, 1 min 26 secs. Dive on the wreck.
The Man Who Survived for 18 Months On an Island After His Submarine Sank
Video, 10 mins. {{DEFAULTSORT:Perseus (N36) Parthian-class submarines Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1929 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Lost submarines of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Shipwrecks of Greece Maritime incidents in December 1941 Ships sunk by mines