The second HMS ''Tarpon'' (N17) was a T-class submarine of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. She was laid down by

Scotts Scotts or Scott's may refer to: Businesses and brands *Scott's (restaurant), in London *Scott's Food & Pharmacy, an American supermarket chain *Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, an American multinational corporation *Scott's Porage Oats, a Scottish bre ...

, Greenock and launched in October 1939. She is named after the large fish

Tarpon Tarpons are fish of the genus ''Megalops''. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae. Of the two species, one (''M. atlanticus'') is native to the Atlantic, and the other (''M. cyprinoides'') to the Indo-Pacific Oceans. Species a ...

; one species of which is native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific Oceans." Megalops atlanticus", www.fishbase.org, 11 February 2010.

Career

''Tarpon'' had a short career, serving in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

. She left

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 5 April 1940 for

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

in company with HMS ''Severn''. The following day they were ordered to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. On the 10th ''Tarpon'' was ordered to take up a new position. ''Tarpon'' was never heard from again. It is asserted that there is a combination of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

records which state that she was engaged by Schiff 40. The records show that ''Tarpon'' had attacked the

Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...

Schiff 40/''Schürbek'', but her first torpedoes had missed. The Q-ship picked up the ''Tarpon'' on her sonar and her periscope was sighted. The ship dropped numerous depth charges in a sustained counterattack that went on most of the morning. Finally a pattern of depth charges brought wreckage to the surface. The Q-ship remained on the scene until 0500 the next morning when it became clear the submarine had been sunk. ''Tarpon'' was reported overdue on 22 April 1940.

Wreck

The wreck was found and identified in the Danish part of the

, near the harbour town of Thyborøn, by a Danish commercial diver, Gert Normann Andersen of the company JD-Contractor and British marine archaeologist Dr

Innes McCartney Innes McCartney (born 1964) is a British nautical archaeologist and historian. He is a Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University in the UK. Career McCartney is a nautical archaeologist specializing in the interaction of shipwreck archaeology ...

in March 2016. The wreck was explored in a live TV program by Denmark's Radio on 28 August 2016. The submarine wreck was found with two torpedo tubes empty; confirming it likely they were fired in battle before her sinking. It is therefore still most likely she was then sunk by

depth charges A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use h ...

. The wreck is submerged in 40

metres The metre (British spelling Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable va ...

of water.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tarpon (N17) British T-class submarines of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Clyde 1939 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea Maritime incidents in April 1940 Submarines sunk by German warships