HMS Sahib
Sahib on the surface
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Sahib |
Ordered | 23 January 1940 |
Builder | Cammell Laird, Birkenhead |
Laid down | 5 July 1940 |
Launched | 19 January 1942 |
Commissioned | 13 May 1942 |
Identification | Pennant number: P212 |
Fate | Sunk, 24 April 1943 |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | S-class submarine |
Displacement |
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Length | 217 ft (66.1 m) |
Beam | 23 ft 9 in (7.2 m) |
Draught | 14 ft 8 in (4.5 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surfaced); 120 nmi (220 km; 140 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) (submerged) |
Test depth | 300 ft (91.4 m) |
Complement | 48 |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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HMS Sahib was a third-batch
After an initial patrol in the
On 24 April 1943, Sahib sank a heavily protected Italian merchant; however, she was then attacked with
Design and description
The S-class submarines were designed to patrol the restricted waters of the
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 950-
The third-batch submarines were armed with seven
Construction and career
HMS Sahib was a third-group
Between 11 May and 24 June 1942, Sahib underwent a period of training, then departed for her first war patrol. She was ordered to operate off Northern Norway and protect the
On 3 August, Sahib, along with HMS Talisman set sail for Gibraltar. After six days at sea, she sighted the German submarine U-84 and launched five torpedoes at it; they missed, however, and Sahib surfaced and engaged the submarine with the 3-inch deck gun from a range of 5,000 yards (4,600 m). U-84's captain decided not to engage in a gunnery duel with the British submarine and dived before Sahib could fire more than three shells. Sahib arrived in Gibraltar on 14 August.[6]
Gibraltar
After conducting exercises off Gibraltar with HMS Lightning, Sahib conducted a short patrol in the Alboran Sea from 27 August to 1 September 1942. Sahib departed port on 6 September to conduct her third war patrol, off the west coast of Sardinia. On 12 September, she sighted the Italian vessel Ida S and attacked it with her deck gun after surfacing. The vessel's crew then abandoned their ship, leaving its sails set and engines running; Sahib boarded the ship and sank it with demolition charges.[8] Two days afterwards, Sahib fired a torpedo into the Italian harbour of Buggerru, Sardinia. The torpedo hit the port's mole, killing two and injuring several others. On 16 September, Sahib attacked an Italian fishing vessel with its deck gun and claimed to have sunk it; according to Italian sources it was heavily damaged but returned to port with two dead. Sahib returned to Gibraltar on 21 September.[6]
Malta
Between 2 and 9 October, Sahib transited to Malta, where she joined the 10th Submarine Flotilla. On 16 October, she commenced another war patrol, this time west of Greece. Sahib was attacked by enemy aircraft en route to her patrol area but was not damaged. On 22 October, Sahib launched four torpedoes at the heavy cargo/passenger ship Calino but missed, and was subsequently attacked with depth charges by the Italian Rosolino Pilo-class destroyer Antonio Mosto but escaped unscathed. Sahib ended her patrol in Malta on 26 October.[6]
On 3 November 1942, Sahib along with her
Sahib departed Malta on 7 December to patrol off Naples, Italy; her orders were changed five days later to patrol the Gulf of Tunis instead. On 14 December, northwest of Cape Bon, Tunisia, Sahib sighted the Italian merchant ships Honestas and Castelverde escorted by two Italian torpedo boats and several aircraft. Honestas was carrying 1,000 tons of ammunition and 50 vehicles; Sahib fired five torpedoes at it. One struck, and Honestas sank.[11] After evading the merchants' escorts, Sahib returned to periscope depth and spotted the other merchant, but it was blown up by another Royal Navy submarine, Unruffled, before Sahib could attack it. On 20 December, she attacked and damaged the Italian coastal trading vessel Ist no.23 with gunfire and torpedoes; the torpedoes however ran under the ship and did not explode. Ist no.23 was later taken in tow back to harbour. On 25 December, Sahib ended her patrol in Algiers, joining the 8th Submarine Flotilla.[6]
Algiers
On 10 January 1943, Sahib departed Algiers to conduct another patrol, her seventh since her commissioning; she was to patrol the Gulf of Genoa. After patrolling for four days, Sahib torpedoed and sank the German merchant ship Oued Tiflet southwest of Savona, Italy. In the early morning of 20 January, Sahib bombarded an Italian seaplane hangar with her deck gun at Finale Ligure, Italy, but was forced to dive when coastal batteries opened fire upon Sahib. The next day, Sahib torpedoed and sank the German submarine U-301 west of Bonifacio, Corsica, in position 41°27′N 07°04′E / 41.450°N 7.067°E. According to Sahib's log the U-boat was first spotted proceeding on the surface early that morning at a distance of 4.5 miles (7.2 km). Sahib closed to 2.6 miles (4.2 km) and into a more favourable position before firing a full salvo of six torpedoes at five second intervals. Three minutes later three explosions were heard, a large cloud of smoke was seen and it was noted that radio transmissions stopped. Sahib closed and recovered the only survivor from the 46 crew, 19-year-old Fähnrich zur See Wilhelm Rahn. Lieutenant Ian Edward Fraser was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions aboard Sahib during the sinking of U-301.[12] Sahib continued patrolling until 25 January, when she returned to Algiers.[6]
Sahib's next patrol started on 5 February, with orders to operate off the Aeolian Islands, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. She attacked and damaged with gunfire the Italian vessels Francesco Padre and Santa Teresa no.233 off Capo d'Orlando, Sicily on 18 February, then on the 21st ended her patrol in Malta. She then returned to Algiers with supplies on 13 March.[6]
On 18 March 1943, Sahib commenced another patrol, north of Sicily. Six days later, she torpedoed and sank the Italian merchant Tosca west of Cape Calava, Sicily. On 27 March, Sahib closed in on the coastal town of Milazzo, and fired tree torpedoes into its harbour. The old merchant ship Sidamo carrying a cargo of salt, was hit twice and sank; another ship was slightly damaged. Sahib next attacked five sailing vessels with her deck gun on 30 March; she sank Santa Maria Del Salvazione and San Vincenzo and damaged two others. Sahib then returned to Algiers on 4 April.[6]
Last patrol and sinking
Sahib departed Algiers on 16 April, again to patrol north of Sicily; this was to be her last patrol. At midday on 23 April, Sahib sank the Italian tug Valente with gunfire south of Cape Vaticano. On 24 April 1943, Sahib sighted the Italian merchant ship Galiola 2 miles (3.2 km) off
Many of Sahib's former crew escaped from prison camps in September 1943 and hid in the countryside hills until the liberation of Italy by the Allies.[14]
Summary of raiding history
During her service with the Royal Navy, Sahib sank ten Axis ships for a total of 12,383 GRT as well as a German u-boat.[6]
Citations
- ^ Chesneau, p. 51
- ^ a b McCartney, p. 7
- ^ Bagnasco, p. 110
- ^ Chesneau, pp. 51–52
- ^ Akermann, pp. 341, 345
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l HMS Sahib, Uboat.net
- ^ "Definition of Sahib by Merriam-Webster". Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1942, September". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1942, November". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ Santoni 2005, pp. 257–258.
- ^ Rohwer, Jürgen; Gerhard Hümmelchen. "Seekrieg 1942, Dezember". Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ Best, p. 37
- ^ Heden, p. 240
- ^ Dethick, p. 194
References
- Akermann, Paul (2002). Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955 (reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing. ISBN 1-904381-05-7.
- Bagnasco, Erminio (1977). Submarines of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
- Best, Brian (2017). The Forgotten VCs: The Victoria Crosses of the War in the Far East during WW2. Oxford, UK. ISBN 978-1-52-671800-6.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Caruana, Joseph (2012). "Emergency Victualling of Malta During WWII". Warship International. LXIX (4): 357–364. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Dethick, Janet Kinrade; Corke, Anne M. (2018). Twixt the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-32-606320-7.
- Heden, Karl, Eric (2006). Sunken Ships, World War II: U.S. Naval Chronology Including Submarine Losses of the United States, England, Germany, Japan, Italy. History Reference Center: Branden Books. ISBN 0-82-832118-3.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - McCartney, Innes (2006). British Submarines 1939–1945. New Vanguard. Vol. 129. Oxford, UK: ISBN 1-84603-007-2.
- Santoni, Alberto (2005) [1972]. Il vero traditore. Il ruolo documentato di Ultra nella guerra del Mediterraneo [The Real Traitor. Ultra's Documented role in the Mediterranean War]. Milan: Ugo Mursia Editore. pp. 257–258. ISBN 8-84-253329-7.