HMS Triton (N15)

HMS Triton (N15)

General data
Ship type :	Submarine
Ship class :	Triton class ( T class )
Navy :	Royal Navy
Builder :	Vickers-Armstrong ( Barrow )
Keel laying :	August 28, 1936
Launch :	October 5, 1937
Commissioning:	November 9, 1938
Whereabouts:	Missed since December 1940.
Technical specifications
Crew :	62 men
Displacement :	surfaced: 1330 ts submerged: 1585 ts
Length :	84.20 m
Width:	8.11 m
Draft :	3.60 m
Drive :	Diesel engines : 2500 HP (1864 KW ) Electric motors : 1450 HP (1081 KW)
Speed :	surfaced: 15.25 kn (28 km / h ) submerged: 8.75 kn (16 km / h)
Driving range :	popped up: 8000 NM (14816 km) at 10 kn submerged: 80 NM (148 km) at 4 kn
Fuel supply:	132 ts
Diving depth :	90 m
Armament
Artillery :	1 * 4 ″ L / 40 (102 mm) deck gun
Air defense :	3 * .303 ″ (7.7 mm) MG
Torpedoes :	10 * 21 ″ (533 mm) tubes 6 in the bow 2 in the bow external 2 amidship externally facing forward 16 torpedoes or 18 sea mines

HMS Triton (N15) was the prototype of the British Class T submarine . The first construction lot of the T-class is called the Triton-class after the submarine . The warship was used in the North Sea and the Mediterranean during World War II . The Triton has been missing in the Adriatic since December 1940 .

Building history and structural features

In the early 1930s, the British Navy requested a new class of ocean-going submarines. With the naval construction program of 1935, the construction of a prototype of the new class was commissioned at Vickers-Armstrong. As a result, the HMS Triton was laid down in 1936. The new design was launched the following year and was put into service in 1938. The prototype was followed by 14 units of the first, seven units of the second and 31 units of the third sub-assembly of the T-Class.

Comparison between prototype and series production

The series production was a little smaller than the HMS Triton :

	HMS Triton	Group 1 Triton class	Group 2 Tempest class	Group 3 Taciturn class
Crew:	62 men	←	61 men	63 men
Displacement (emerged):	1330 ts	1325 ts	1327 ts	←
Displacement (submerged):	1585 ts	1573 ts	1571 ts	←
Length over all:	84.20 m	83.97 m	83.36 m	83.30 m
Width (maximum):	8.11 m	←	←	←
Draft:	3.60 m	←	←	4.80 m
Engine power (surfaced with diesel engines):	2 times 1250 hp	←	←	←
Motor power (submerged with electric motors):	2 times 725 hp	←	←	←
Speed (surfaced):	15.25 kn	←	15.75 kn	←
Speed (submerged):	8.75 kn	←	←	←
Driving range (surfaced at 10 kn):	8000 NM	←	←	11000 NM
Driving range (submerged at 4 kn):	80 NM	←	←	←
Fuel supply:	130 ts	←	←	230 ts
Diving depth:	90 m	←	←	90 to 110 m
Deck gun:	102 mm / L40	←	←	←
Torpedo tubes:	10	←	←	11
Torpedoes:	16	←	←	17th
Sea mines:	18th	←	12	←

Mission history

Sinking of the HMS Oxley

Just like her sister boats , the Triton was used off the Norwegian coast when the war began in September 1939.

On September 10, the Triton appeared at 7:55 p.m. to recharge its batteries under cover of dusk and to patrol the ordered sector on the surface in a slow zigzag course. Commander LtCdr HP de C. Steel made sure that the sea was clear, handed over command and left the bridge with orders to notify him of any change in the situation. He was called back to the bridge at 8:45 p.m. when the bridge watch clearly saw an object in the direction of travel. Steel immediately ordered the speed to be increased and two torpedo tubes to be watered. He also requested the signal guest . In the meantime, the bridge watch identified the object as a surfaced submarine, but could not see what type it is, and certainly not which Navy it belongs to.

The signal guest moored a contact signal three times with the signal lamp and waited for minutes for a response from the approaching submarine, but received no response. As Steel feared their own boat in front of the tube to have ordered it as a last attempt, a green light grenade fire. This signal was agreed between British submarines as a final warning. As there was still no response, Steel was left with no choice and ordered a torpedo attack at position 58 ° 30 ' N , 5 ° 30' E 28 nautical miles south-south-west of Stavanger . 58.5 5.5

At least one of the two launched torpedoes hit the unidentified object devastatingly. The submarine sank in a few minutes and pulled almost the entire crew (53) down with it. The bridge watch of HMS Triton was only able to save two survivors, including the commander of the submarine, from the cold sea, despite the risk of their own lives. During the rescue operation, the lieutenants Guy CI St.B. Watkins and Harry A. Stacey into the sea to help the drowning people. Watkins later became the final in command of the submarine.

After questioning the two castaways, it became clear that the commander's fears were justified. The sunk submarine was the British Oxley . The O-class boat had left its patrol area due to a navigation error and had unintentionally penetrated the Triton's sector .

A committee of inquiry absolved Steel of all guilt and declared that his actions were justified.

Oxley's Commander LtCdr Harold Godfrey Bowerman stated that his deck watch was likely to have reacted incorrectly to the light signals. When he was called on deck, he immediately wanted to fire a flare, but the launcher failed. A few seconds later the torpedoes would have struck and the subsequent explosion hurled him from the deck.

The incident was concealed from the public and explained as an explosion on the Oxley until the end of the war . After the war, a collision was given as the cause of the accident. The true circumstances of the friendly fire did not come to light until the 1950s.

After two S-class boats barely escaped a comparable catastrophe on September 14, 1939 , the Admiralty responded by increasing the distances between the patrol areas of British submarines from 4 to 16 nautical miles.

Further use in the North Sea and German invasion in Northern Europe

After the events in September 1939, the HMS Triton continued to be used in the North Sea. The patrols were almost uneventful until the beginning of April. Only on February 28, 1940, the submarine was able to sight the German blockade breaker Wangoni (7848 GRT) off Kristiansand and tried to stop him. The German ship escaped unscathed.

The Triton attacked on April 8, 1940 the day before the German invasion of Denmark and Norway , in Skagen , the German cruiser Emden , Lutzow and Blucher unsuccessfully with 10 torpedoes. The Royal Navy awaited the German operation and had stationed its submarines in advance along the expected approach routes of the invasion fleet.

On April 10, 1940, the Triton sank three German units in the Kattegat . At 57 ° 27 ' N , 10 ° 46' E , the transport ships Friedenau (5219 BRT) and Wigbert (3648 BRT) were torpedoed and sunk. Later at 57 ° 50 ' N , 11 ° 22' E, the auxiliary patrol boat V1507 / Rau 6 (356 GRT) was also sunk with torpedoes. 57.45 10.76666666666757.833333333333 11.366666666667

Operation in the Mediterranean and loss of the Triton

As a result of the Italian entry into the war on June 10, 1940, the HMS Triton was ordered into the Mediterranean.

On October 4, 1940, the British submarine torpedoed and sank the Italian freighter Franca Fassio (1858 GRT) near Genoa .

The HMS Triton left the base in Malta on November 28, 1940 for her last patrol. The southern Adriatic was intended as the operational area . On December 6, the submarine intercepted a distress signal from the Italian freighter Olimpia . Commander Lt. Watkins changed course to look for the steamer and intercept it. Since then there has been no further news from either the Olimpia or the Triton . The Royal Navy officially declared the submarine missing on December 18, citing a possible reason that it ran into a sea mine in the Strait of Otranto . The entire crew was killed. Another possible explanation is that the HMS Triton was sunk by the Italian torpedo boat Clio .

Commanders

According to Cdr. Hugh Patrick de Crery Steele (June 7, 1938 - November 24, 1939)
According to Cdr. Edward Fowle Pizey (November 24, 1939 - August 18, 1940)
Lt. Guy Claud Ian St Barbe Slade Watkins (August 18, 1940 - December 18, 1940)

Web links

Commons : HMS Triton - collection of images, videos and audio files

HMS Triton on uboat.net ( engl. )
Submarine losses of the Royal Navy (Engl.)
British submarines during World War II (Engl.)

literature

Erminio Bagnasco: Submarines in World War II , Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart, 5th edition 1996, ISBN 3-613-01252-9
Robert Hutchinson: KAMPF UNDER WASSER - Submarines from 1776 to today , Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart, 1st edition 2006, ISBN 3-613-02585-X
Peter Padfield: Der U-Boot-Krieg 1939-1945 , Ullstein Taschenbuchverlag, Munich, 2000, ISBN 3-548-24766-0

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b The author means with Triton class the HMS Triton and the remaining 14 units of the first assembly of the T class. In the literature, the term Triton class is sometimes used to describe the entire T class.
↑ Hutchinson and Bagnasco do not provide any information on the launching of the T-class submarines. The information on launch runs comes from uboat.net .
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net gives 59 men for the crew strength of the 1st assembly group. Robert Hutchinson gives 62 men for the 1st assembly group. Erminio Bagnasco reports 56 men.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net gives 1090 GRT for the above water displacement of all assemblies . In addition, uboat.net specifies HMS Triton 1095 BRT for the prototype . Hutchinson gives 1325 ts . Bagnasco specifies 1330 ts for the HMS Triton and 1326 to 1327 ts for the 1st assemblies.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net gives 1575 GRT for the underwater displacement of all assemblies. In addition, the uboat.net specifies HMS Triton 1579 BRT for the prototype . Hutchinson gives 1573 ts for the 1st assembly. Bagnasco specifies 1585 ts for the HMS Triton and 1523 to 1575 ts for assembly groups 1 and 2.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net specifies 275 ft (83.82 m) for the length of all assemblies . Hutchinson gives 83.97 m for the 1st assembly. Bagnasco specifies 84.20 m for the prototype HMS Triton and 83.60 m for the 1st and 2nd assembly groups.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net makes no statement about the width. Hutchinson gives 8.11 m for all assemblies. Bagnasco gives practically the same value for all submarines with 8.10 m.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net and Hutchinson make no statement about the draft. Bagnasco gives 3.60 m for the first two assemblies.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net and Bagnasco give an overwater speed of 15.25 kn for all assemblies. Hutchinson also specifies 15.25 kn for the 1st assembly.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net and Bagnasco indicate an underwater speed of 9 kn for all assemblies. Hutchinson gives 8.75 kn for all assemblies.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net gives no information about the above water range. Hutchinson gives 8,000 nautical miles for the first and second assembly and 11,000 nautical miles for the third. He also mentions that the submarines of the first assembly HMS Torbay and HMS Trident also had a range of 11,000 nautical miles. Bagnasco gives 8000 nautical miles for the first and second assembly.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net and Bagnasco make no statement about the underwater range. Hutchinson gives 80 nautical miles for all assemblies.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net and Hutchinson do not give any information about the fuel supply. Bagnasco, who only differentiates between two assemblies and the prototype HMS Triton , writes that many boats of the second assembly were rebuilt and their fuel oil bunkers were enlarged from 132 to 230 ts.
↑ ^a ^b The uboat.net and Bagnasco make no statement about the diving depth. Hutchinson gives 90 m.
^ HMS Oxley in uboat.net
↑ Hugh Patrick de Crery Steele in uboat.net (engl.)
↑ Edward Fowle Pizey in uboat.net (engl.)
↑ Guy Claud Ian St Barbe Slade Watkins in uboat.net (engl.)

Remarks

↑ HMS is the abbreviation for His / Her Majesty's Ship and the name prefix of British ships. HMS means His / Her Majesty's Ship . Triton is the name of an ancient Greek sea god .

[T-Klasse_vs_Triton-Klasse-1] The author means with Triton class the HMS Triton and the remaining 14 units of the first assembly of the T class. In the literature, the term Triton class is sometimes used to describe the entire T class.

[Stapellauf_der_T-Klasse-2] Hutchinson and Bagnasco do not provide any information on the launching of the T-class submarines. The information on launch runs comes from uboat.net .

[Besatzungsstärke-3] The uboat.net gives 59 men for the crew strength of the 1st assembly group. Robert Hutchinson gives 62 men for the 1st assembly group. Erminio Bagnasco reports 56 men.

[Überwasserverdrängung-4] The uboat.net gives 1090 GRT for the above water displacement of all assemblies . In addition, uboat.net specifies HMS Triton 1095 BRT for the prototype . Hutchinson gives 1325 ts . Bagnasco specifies 1330 ts for the HMS Triton and 1326 to 1327 ts for the 1st assemblies.

[Unterwasserverdrängung-5] The uboat.net gives 1575 GRT for the underwater displacement of all assemblies. In addition, the uboat.net specifies HMS Triton 1579 BRT for the prototype . Hutchinson gives 1573 ts for the 1st assembly. Bagnasco specifies 1585 ts for the HMS Triton and 1523 to 1575 ts for assembly groups 1 and 2.

[Schiffslänge-6] The uboat.net specifies 275 ft (83.82 m) for the length of all assemblies . Hutchinson gives 83.97 m for the 1st assembly. Bagnasco specifies 84.20 m for the prototype HMS Triton and 83.60 m for the 1st and 2nd assembly groups.

[Schiffsbreite-7] The uboat.net makes no statement about the width. Hutchinson gives 8.11 m for all assemblies. Bagnasco gives practically the same value for all submarines with 8.10 m.

[Tiefgang-8] The uboat.net and Hutchinson make no statement about the draft. Bagnasco gives 3.60 m for the first two assemblies.

[Überwassergeschwindigkeit-9] The uboat.net and Bagnasco give an overwater speed of 15.25 kn for all assemblies. Hutchinson also specifies 15.25 kn for the 1st assembly.

[Unterwassergeschwindigkeit-10] The uboat.net and Bagnasco indicate an underwater speed of 9 kn for all assemblies. Hutchinson gives 8.75 kn for all assemblies.

[Aufgetauchte_Reichweite-11] The uboat.net gives no information about the above water range. Hutchinson gives 8,000 nautical miles for the first and second assembly and 11,000 nautical miles for the third. He also mentions that the submarines of the first assembly HMS Torbay and HMS Trident also had a range of 11,000 nautical miles. Bagnasco gives 8000 nautical miles for the first and second assembly.

[Getauchte_Reichweite-12] The uboat.net and Bagnasco make no statement about the underwater range. Hutchinson gives 80 nautical miles for all assemblies.

[Brennstoffvorrat-13] The uboat.net and Hutchinson do not give any information about the fuel supply. Bagnasco, who only differentiates between two assemblies and the prototype HMS Triton , writes that many boats of the second assembly were rebuilt and their fuel oil bunkers were enlarged from 132 to 230 ts.

[Tauchtiefe-14] The uboat.net and Bagnasco make no statement about the diving depth. Hutchinson gives 90 m.

[HMS_Oxley-16] HMS Oxley in uboat.net

[Hugh_Patrick_de_Crery_Steele-17] Hugh Patrick de Crery Steele in uboat.net (engl.)

[Edward_Fowle_Pizey-18] Edward Fowle Pizey in uboat.net (engl.)

[Guy_Claud_Ian_St_Barbe_Slade_Watkins-19] Guy Claud Ian St Barbe Slade Watkins in uboat.net (engl.)

[HMS_Triton-15] HMS is the abbreviation for His / Her Majesty's Ship and the name prefix of British ships. HMS means His / Her Majesty's Ship . Triton is the name of an ancient Greek sea god .