HMS Triumph (N18)

HMS Triumph (N18) was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness and launched in 1938.

HMS Triumph
History
United Kingdom
NameTriumph
BuilderVickers Armstrong, Barrow
Laid down19 March 1937
Launched16 February 1938
Commissioned2 May 1939
IdentificationPennant number N18
FateSunk 14 January 1942
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeBritish T class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,090 tons surfaced
  • 1,575 tons submerged
Length275 ft (84 m)
Beam26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)
Draught16.3 ft (5.0 m)
Propulsion
  • Two shafts
  • Twin diesel engines 2,500 hp (1.86 MW) each
  • Twin electric motors 1,450 hp (1.08 MW) each
Speed
  • 15.25 knots (28.7 km/h) surfaced
  • 9 knots (16.6 km/h) submerged
Range4,500 nautical miles at 11 knots (8,330 km at 20 km/h) surfaced
Test depth300 ft (91 m) max
Complement59
Armament

Career

At the onset of the Second World War, Triumph was a member of the 2nd Submarine Flotilla. From 26–29 August 1939, the flotilla deployed to its war bases at Dundee and Blyth.[1]

Home waters

HMS Triumph's bow displaying mine damage from December 1939

On 26 December 1939, Triumph hit a German mine in the North Sea. She lost 18 feet (5.5 m) of her bow when it was blown off and her pressure hull was also damaged, but her torpedoes did not detonate. She managed to limp back home under the protection of fighter aircraft and destroyers, and was under repair at Chatham Dockyard until 27 September 1940.

Mediterranean

Operating in the Mediterranean from early 1941, Triumph sank the Italian merchants Marzamemi, Colomba Lofaro, Ninfea, Monrosa, the Italian auxiliary patrol vessels V 136 / Tugnin F, Valoroso, V 190 / Frieda and V 137 / Trio Frassinetti, the Italian tug Dante de Lutti and salvage vessel Hercules, the German merchant Luvsee, and the Greek sailing vessels Panagiotis and Aghia Paraskeva. She also damaged the Italian armed merchant cruiser Ramb III, the Italian tankers Ardor and Poseidone, the Italian merchant Sidamo and the German merchant Norburg

In June 1941 she sank the Italian submarine Salpa near northern Egypt.

Sinking

Triumph was also used for covert operations, such as landing agents in German-occupied areas. She was planned to be used as a rendezvous for commandos in Operation Colossus, but this had to be cancelled when the landing site became untenable. She undertook one such mission in December 1941, in which she successfully landed agents at Anti Paros, Greece on the 30th. She failed to pick up the agents as scheduled on 9 January, and was lost probably to a collision with a mine. All fifty-nine crew were lost.[2][3]

There is a memorial to her and her lost crew members in All Saints' Church, Lindfield, West Sussex.

References

Citations

  1. Rohwer, p.1
  2. Submarine losses 1904 to present day Archived 8 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine, RN Submarine Museum, Gosport
  3. "HMS Triumph (+1942)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 12 May 2023.

Sources

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