HMS Olympus (N35)
HMS Olympus taking in supplies in Manoel Creek, Grand Harbour, Malta, December 1941
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Olympus |
Builder | William Beardmore and Company |
Laid down | 14 April 1927 |
Launched | 11 December 1928 |
Commissioned | 14 June 1930 |
Identification | Pennant number: N35 |
Fate | Sunk by mine off Malta, 8 May 1942 |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Odin-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 283 ft 8 in (86.5 m) |
Beam | 19 ft 11 in (6.1 m) |
Draught | 16 ft 1 in (4.9 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Complement | 53-55 officers and men |
Armament |
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HMS Olympus was an
Service
From 1931 to 1939 Olympus was part of the 4th Flotilla on the
On 8 May 1942 Olympus struck a mine and sank off Malta in approximate position 35°55'N, 14°35'E. She had just left Malta on passage to
During the War Olympus was adopted by the Town of Peterborough as part of Warship Week. The plaque from this adoption is held by the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth.[2]
Discovery
Although a team of divers from the United Kingdom and Malta had claimed discovery of the wreck in 2008,[3] its identity was not confirmed until a team from the Aurora Trust was able to re-locate the wreck in 2011 and capture images with a ROV later in the year. The wreck sits upright in 115m of water and is largely intact.
Malta authorities gave the trust permission to announce the confirmation on 10 January 2012.[4]
References
- ^ a b Chalcraft, Geoff. "Junon to Oxley : Olympus". British Submarines of World War II. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ^ Warship Weeks: Adopting Naval Vessels in World War Two | Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Archived 7 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Powell, Mark (9 May 2008). "HMS Olympus found off Malta in 115m". uboat.net. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
- ^ Clark, Cammy (10 January 2012). "Key Largo divers discover sub in Mediterranean, solve WWII mystery". Miami Herald. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
Bibliography
- D.K. Brown - Nelson to Vanguard, Chatham Maritime Press ISBN 1-86176-136-8
- Caruana, Joseph (2012). "Emergency Victualling of Malta During WWII". Warship International. LXIX (4): 357–364. ISSN 0043-0374.