HMS Proteus (N29)
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Proteus
Ordered7 February 1928
BuilderVickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down19 July 1928
Launched22 August 1929
Completed17 June 1930
Commissioned5 May 1930
Decommissioned30 June 1944
FateScrapped at Troon, Feb-Mar 1946
NotesUsed for patrol mainly within the Mediterranean Sea.
General characteristics
Class and typeParthian-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,788 long tons (1,817 t) surfaced
  • 2,040 long tons (2,070 t) submerged
Length289 ft (88 m)
Beam30 ft (9.1 m)
Draught15 ft 11 in (4.85 m)
Propulsion
  • Diesel-electric
  • 2 Admiralty diesel engines, 4,400 hp (3,300 kW)
  • 2 Electric motors, 1,530 hp (1,140 kW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed
  • 17.5 knots (20.1 mph; 32.4 km/h) surfaced
  • 9 kn (10 mph; 17 km/h) submerged
Range8,500 nmi (15,700 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Complement53
Armament
NotesPennant number: N29

HMS Proteus was a Parthian-class submarine designed and built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering in Barrow-in-Furness for the Royal Navy. She was laid down on 18 July 1928, launched on 22 August 1929 and completed on 17 June 1930.[1] Like other submarines in her class she served on the China Station before the war. In the Second World War, mainly based at Alexandria in the Mediterranean, Proteus sank 15 enemy vessels and damaged several others during her service.

Wartime service

In July 1939, Proteus began a refit at Singapore Naval Base. After trials, she arrived in Hong Kong in January 1940 where she carried out her first war patrol, before being ordered to the Mediterranean on 2 April, arriving in Alexandria on 3 May.[2] On 4 July 1940 in the aftermath of the British attack on Mers-el-Kébir, On 9 August, Proteus was damaged in collision with an Admiralty tug at Malta; local repairs allowed her to complete patrols in the Straights of Messina and the coasts of Calabria and Libya, but in November she was ordered back to Britain for a refit at Portsmouth Naval Base which lasted until July 1941. After trials, Proteus went to Holy Loch where she was fitted with radar equipment, followed by a period of training, trials and exercises.[2]

The Jolly Roger flag of Proteus in 1942; the bars symbolise enemy ships sunk by torpedo, the stars denote ships sunk by gunfire, and the crossed can openers record surviving a ramming by an Italian torpedo boat which damaged itself in the process.

In September 1941, Proteus returned to the Mediterranean, operating from Malta in patrols off Greece, before mechanical problems forced a move to Alexandria for repairs. Returning to active patrols in late October, her sinking of the troop transport ship Ithaka on 10 November[2] is thought to be the first radar guided submarine attack.[3] In the early hours of 8 February 1942 off the Greek island of Lefkada, Proteus sighted a dark shape astern, thought initially to be an enemy submarine. After firing with her stern tubes, Proteus turned to fire with her bow tubes, realising too late that it was a surface warship, later identified as the Italian torpedo boat Sagittario, which was on a collision course. Turning towards the ship, Proteus narrowly avoided being rammed, but her extended hydroplane caused a large gash in the torpedo boat's bow plating.[2]

After a total of fourteen war patrols in the Mediterranean, the last cut short by engine problems, Proteus was ordered to return to Britain in September 1942. After a lengthy refit at Devonport Naval Base which completed in May 1943, she was assigned to training duties, mainly in the River Clyde area, which continued until she was decommissioned on 30 June 1944.[2]

HMS Proteus was the longest surviving Parthian-class submarine and the only Parthian class submarine to survive the war. Proteus had a total of nine commanders during the war.

Ships sunk by Proteus[2]
Date Ship Flag Tonnage Notes
10 November 1941 Ithaka  Nazi Germany 1,773 GRT Troopship; 507 German soldiers of which 469 drowned
8 December 1941 PI 908 / Giorgios  Greece Caïque
5 January 1942 Città di Palermo  Kingdom of Italy 5,413 GRT Armed Merchant Cruiser; crew of 150 and 600 troops, 300 rescued
28 March 1942 Galilea  Kingdom of Italy 8,040 GRT Troopship; 1275 on board, 284 rescued
30 March 1942 Bosforo  Kingdom of Italy 3,648 GRT Freighter; 103 on board, 90 rescued
5 May 1942 KAL 95 / Evangelistria  Greece 21 GRT Sailing vessel
30 May 1942 Bravo  Kingdom of Italy 1,570 GRT Freighter; 41 on board, 39 rescued
31 May 1942 Gino Allegri  Kingdom of Italy 6,836 GRT Freighter; 21 rescued
4 August 1942 SYR 267 / Marigula  Greece Caïque
4 August 1942 VOL 239 / Panagia  Greece Caïque
6 August 1942 Unknown  Greece Caïque
7 August 1942 PI 948 / Agios Georgios  Greece Caïque
7 August 1942 Wachtfels  Nazi Germany 8,467 GRT Freighter
8 August 1942 Unknown  Greece Caïque

References

  1. ↑ Bryce, J. (13 June 2011). "HMS Proteus". www.worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "HMS Proteus (N 29) - Submarine of the P class". uboat.net. Guðmundur Helgason. February 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  3. ↑ "Commander Jeremy Nash, submarine commander involved in hazardous wartime actions around the Greek islands and in the South China Seas – obituary". Daily Telegraph. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.

Bibliography

  • 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: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-962-6.
  • Caruana, Joseph (2012). "Emergency Victualling of Malta During WWII". Warship International. LXIX (4): 357–364. ISSN 0043-0374.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • McCartney, Innes (2006). British Submarines 1939–1945. New Vanguard. Vol. 129. Oxford, UK: Osprey. ISBN 1-84603-007-2.
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