HMS ''Tetrarch'' (N77) was a T-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

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 F ...

. She was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

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, Barrow and launched in November 1939.

Career

In common with many of her class, ''Tetrarch'' saw extensive service in the key naval theatres, Home waters, serving in the

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

and off the French and Scandinavian coasts, and 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 ...

Home waters

''Tetrarch''s first success came in May 1940 when she torpedoed and sank the German submarine chaser UJ B / ''Treff V'' in the Skagerrak. She also sank the Danish fishing vessel ''Terieven'' and the German tanker ''Samland'', and captured the Danish fishing vessel ''Emmanuel'', which was taken to Leith as a prize.

Mediterranean

''Tetrarch'' was assigned to operate in the Mediterranean in late 1940. She sank the Italian merchants ''Snia Amba'', ''Giovinezza'' and ''Citta di Bastia'', the Italian tanker ''Persiano'', the Italian sailing vessels V 72/''Fratelli Garre'', V 113/''Francesco Garre'' and ''Nicita'', and the Greek sailing vessel ''Panagiotis Kramottos''. She also damaged the German merchant ''Yalova'' and claimed to have damaged a sailing vessel in the Aegean. ''Tetrarch'' also carried out an unsuccessful attack on the Greek tanker ''Olympos''.

Sinking

''Tetrach'' sailed from

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 ...

on 26 October 1941 for a refit in Britain, via

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. She failed to arrive in Gibraltar on 2 November and was declared overdue. Her route passed through a known minefield. On Monday 27 she communicated with ''P34'', which was in the same area. This was the last contact with the submarine. She is presumed lost to Italian mines off Capo Granditola, Sicily, Italy in late October 1941. Norman Walton, who later became the sole survivor of the sinking of had visited the ship prior to its sailing to celebrate the birthday of a member of the Tetrarch, and upon realising it had sailed, he leapt off the ship and swam back to shore. His name had been added to the ships roll as it left port, and after the ship vanished his parents were mistakenly notified he was

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...

Notes

References

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External links

Interview with Ronald Mills, who commanded HMS ''Tetrarch'' from 1940 to 1941
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tetrarch (N77) British T-class submarines of the Royal Navy Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1939 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom Lost submarines of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in October 1941 Submarines lost with all hands Ships sunk by mines