Tempest class

Tempest class
HMS Tempest (N86) 1941
Overview
Type	Submarine T-Class
units	7th
Shipyard	Cammell Laird ( Birkenhead ) Scott's Shipbuilduilding ( Greenock ) Vickers-Armstrong ( Barrow )
Order	Royal Navy
1. Period of service
period of service	1939-1947
Technical specifications
displacement	surfaced: 1327  ts submerged: 1571 ts
length	83.36 m
width	8.11 m
Draft	3.60 m
Diving depth	90 m
crew	61 men
drive	Diesel engines : 2500  HP (1864  KW ) Electric motors : 1450 HP (1081 KW)
speed	surfaced: 15.75  kn (29  km / h ) submerged: 8.75 kn (16 km / h)
Range	popped up: 8000  NM (14816 km) at 10 kn submerged: 80 NM (148 km) at 4 kn
Bunker quantity	up to 132 ts
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 12 sea ​​mines

The Tempest class was the second sub-assembly of the British T submarine . The seven submarines were built between 1939 and 1942 and were used by the Royal Navy during World War II . The last boat in the class was scrapped in 1947.

Building history and structural features

see also: Building history of the T-Class and structural features of the T-Class

With the beginning of the Second World War, the restrictions of the London Naval Conference fell . The British Navy commissioned the production of another T-Class construction lot. The seven new units were identical in construction to the submarines of the first construction lot .

The first unit was laid down in November 1939. In 1940 six more keel layings followed. In 1941 five and two more units were put into service the following year.

Shipyards

see also: T-Class shipyards

The submarines were built at three different shipyards in England and Scotland .

Shipyard	units
Cammell Laird in Birkenhead (England)	3
Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. in Greenock (Scotland)	2
Vickers-Armstrong in Barrow-in-Furness (England)	2
	7th

Active units

see also: Active units of the T-Class

The first unit was added to the Navy in May 1941. By the end of the year, the number of units had been increased to five. In 1942 the last two boats were put into service. On the other hand, there were three losses. In 1943 two more submarines were lost, so that the Royal Navy only had two Tempest-class units at the end of the war, which were scrapped in 1947.

▪	January 1st	1939:	0		▪	November 8th	1942:	5
▪	July 1	1939:	0		▪	January 1st	1943:	4th
▪	September 1	1939:	0		▪	July 1	1943:	3
▪	January 1st	1940:	0		▪	10th of July	1943:	3
▪	9th April	1940:	0		▪	January 1st	1944:	2
▪	July 1	1940:	0		▪	6th of June	1944:	2
▪	January 1st	1941:	0		▪	July 1	1944:	2
▪	June 22	1941:	1		▪	January 1st	1945:	2
▪	July 1	1941:	1		▪	8th of May	1945:	2
▪	December 7th	1941:	5		▪	July 1	1945:	2
▪	January 1st	1942:	5		▪	15th of August	1945:	2
▪	July 1	1942:	5		▪	January 1st	1946:	2

Mission history

see also: History of the T-Class and Detailed History of the T-Class

Between 1941 and 1943, the submarines were mainly used in the Mediterranean against the maritime supply lines of the Axis powers , five boats being lost to submarines or sea mines of the Italian Regia Marina .

Operation Principal was one of the most spectacular missions in the Mediterranean . In January 1943, the HMS Trooper and the Triton-class boat HMS Thunderbolt transported several manned torpedoes of the Chariot-class off the port of Palermo . The mine divers were able to sink the Italian light cruiser Ulpio Traiano , which had recently been commissioned .

The HMS Trusty was ordered to the Asian theater of war as early as 1942 .

In September 1943, was HMS Thrasher on the operation source involved in the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway Altafjord by British midget submarines of class X was severely damaged.

After the Allied landings in French North Africa and the subsequent victories in the African war and in southern Europe, the two remaining submarines were only used in Asia.

HMS Trasher and HMS Trusty survived the war and were scrapped in 1947.

Battle successes (selection)

see also: Detailed history of the T-Class

date
July 17, 1941	HMS Thrasher attacks the French fishing vessel Virgio Fidelis (129 GRT ) with on-board artillery in the Bay of Biscay off San Sebastian and severely damages it. The Virgo Fidelis then stranded and was abandoned as a total loss.
August 20, 1941	HMS Thrasher sinks the Greek sailing ship San Stefano with the deck gun off Cape Malea ( Greece ) .
October 28, 1941	HMS Thrasher sinks the Italian sailing ship Esperia (384 GRT) with artillery north-east of Benghazi ( Libya ) .
November 25, 1941	HMS Thrasher torpedoes and sunk 20 nautical miles east of Brindisi ( Italy ) at 40 ° 37 '  N , 18 ° 27'  O Italian freighter Attilio Deffenu (3510 BRT).
December 30, 1941	HMS Thorn torpedoes and sunk five nautical miles west of Cape Dukato at 38 ° 35 '  N , 10 ° 27'  O German tanker Campina (3032 BRT).
January 10, 1942	HMS Thrasher torpedoes and sunk 35 nautical miles north-east of Cape Dukato (Greece) at 38 ° 59 '  N , 19 ° 59'  O Italian freighter Fedora (5016 BRT).
January 28, 1942	HMS Thorn torpedoes and sunk off Cape Planka ( Yugoslavia ) at 43 ° 30 '  N , 15 ° 55'  O Italian tanker Ninuccia (4583 BRT).
January 30, 1942	HMS Thorn sunk near Premantura (Yugoslavia) at 44 ° 45 '  N , 13 ° 56'  O the Italian submarine Medusa (599  ts ).
March 2, 1942	HMS Turbulent sinks the Greek sailing ships Prodromos and Aghios Apostolos with the deck gun in the Thermaic Gulf .
March 3, 1942	HMS Turbulent sinks the Greek sailing ships Aghios Yonizov , Evangelista and Aghios Dyonysios with the deck gun in the Thermaic Gulf .
March 5, 1942	HMS Thorn sinks the Italian auxiliary patrol boat AS 91 / Ottavia (259 GRT) with the deck gun off the Greek island of Kefalonia .
March 13, 1942	HMS Turbulent sinks the Greek sailing ship Aghia Traio with on-board artillery off the Greek island of Mykonos .
April 7, 1942	HMS Turbulent sinks the Italian freighter Rosa M. (271 GRT) with the deck gun off Kotor (Yugoslavia) .
April 9, 1942	HMS Thrasher torpedoes and sunk 20 nautical miles west-south-west of Benghazi at 31 ° 49 '  N , 19 ° 42'  O Italian freighter Gala (1029 BRT).
April 13, 1942	HMS Thrasher torpedoes and sunk southwest of Benghazi at 31 ° 26 '  N , 18 ° 56'  O German military transport Atlas (2297 BRT). The Italian tug Pilo 210 (30 GRT) is sunk with artillery on board in the same sea area .
April 14, 1942	HMS Turbulent sinks the Italian sailing ship Franco (approx. 200 GRT) with the deck gun off Šibenik (Yugoslavia) .
April 16, 1942	HMS Turbulent torpedoes and sunk before Brindisi at 40 ° 50 '  N , 17 ° 37'  O Italian freighter Delia (5406 BRT).
May 14, 1942	HMS Turbulent sinks the Italian sailing ship San Giusto (243 GRT) with on-board artillery 10 nautical miles off Apollonia (Greece ).
May 18, 1942	HMS Turbulent torpedoes and sunk west of Benghazi at 32 ° 47 '  N , 18 ° 51'  O Italian freighter Bolsena (2384 BRT).
May 19, 1942	HMS Thrasher torpedoed and sank five nautical miles northwest of Monopoli (Italy) at 41 ° 1 ′  N , 17 ° 16 ′  E, the Italian freighter Penelope (1160 GRT).
May 29, 1942	HMS Turbulent torpedoes and sunk 70 nautical miles north-west of Benghazi at 33 ° 7 '  N , 19 ° 28'  O Italian destroyer Emanuelle Pessagno (1917 ts) and the Italian cargo ship Capo ARMA (3172 BRT).
June 4, 1942	HMS Trusty torpedoes and sunk in Malaya road at 7 ° 14 '  N , 98 ° 6'  O the Japanese cargo ship Toyohashi Maru (7031 BRT).
June 23, 1942	HMS Thrasher torpedoed and sunk the Italian transporter Sant Antonio (1480 GRT) in the Great Syrte at 31 ° 53 ′  N , 16 ° 35 ′  E.
June 24, 1942	HMS Turbulent torpedoed and sunk the Italian freighter Regulus (1085 GRT) five nautical miles west of Ghimenes in the Great Syrte .
June 29, 1942	HMS Thrasher torpedoed and sank north of Tobruk (Libya) at 33 ° 30 ′  N , 23 ° 30 ′  E, the Italian sloop Diana (1568 GRT).
August 3, 1942	HMS Thorn torpedoed and sank the Italian transporter Monviso (5322 GRT) eight nautical miles off Sidi Sueicha (Libya ).
August 6, 1942	HMS Turbulent destroys the wreck of the stranded Italian destroyer Strale (1225 ts) with torpedoes off Cap Bon ( Tunisia ) .
August 17, 1942	HMS Turbulent torpedoes and damaged 12 miles south west of Pylos (Greece) at 36 ° 35 '  N , 21 ° 34'  O Italian transporter Nino Bixio (7137 BRT). There are around 2000 prisoners of war on board the Italian ship, over 300 of whom were killed in the attack.
August 19, 1942	HMS Turbulent torpedoed and damaged the Italian tanker Pozarica (7751 GRT) off Andikythira (Greece ).
September 4, 1942	HMS Thrasher torpedoes and sunk 40 nautical miles north of Tobruk at 32 ° 44 '  N , 24 ° 11'  O Italian freighter Padenna (1589 BRT).
September 5, 1942	HMS Traveler torpedoed and sank the Italian freighter Albachiara (1245 GRT) 15 nautical miles off Ras-El-Tin (Libya ).
October 8, 1942	HMS Turbulent sinks the German freighter Kreta (1013 GRT) with the deck gun off Ras al Hilal (Libya) .
October 12, 1942	HMS Thrasher sunk with the deck gun 15 nautical miles east of Cape Drepano ( Chalkidiki ) at 39 ° 56 '  N , 24 ° 17'  O a Greek sailing vessel.
October 13, 1942	HMS Thrasher sunk 10 nautical miles south west of Cape Pinnes ( Athos ) at 40 ° 1 '  N , 24 ° 10'  O a sailing vessel with a deck gun.
October 19, 1942	HMS Thrasher sunk before Stampalia (Greece) at 36 ° 43 '  N , 26 ° 41'  O Italian tractor Roma (130 BRT) with the deck gun.
October 20, 1942	HMS Thrasher torpedoes and sunk between the Greek islands Rhodes and Simi at 36 ° 26 '  N , 27 ° 54'  O Italian freighter Lero (1980 BRT).
November 11, 1942	HMS Turbulent torpedoed and sank 10 nautical miles northeast of Capo Carbonara ( Sardinia ) at 39 ° 10 ′  N , 9 ° 39 ′  E the German auxiliary submarine tender Benghazi (1554 GRT).
November 18, 1942	HMS Trusty torpedoes and damaged near Penang ( Malaya ) at 6 ° 21 '  N , 99 ° 5'  O Japanese troop transport Columbia Maru (5617 BRT).
December 29, 1942	HMS Turbulent torpedoes and sunk east of Capo Ferrato (Sardinia) at 39 ° 17 '  N , 9 ° 41'  O Italian freighter Marte (5290 BRT).
January 3, 1943	HMS Thunderbolt and HMS Trooper transport several manned Chariot torpedoes in front of the port of Palermo, which are sinking the Italian light cruiser Ulpio Traiano there .
January 11, 1943	HMS Turbulent torpedoed and sank the Italian freighter Vittoria Beraldo (547 GRT) off Kotor .
February 1, 1943	HMS Turbulent torpedoes and sunk off Cape San Vito ( Sicily ) at 38 ° 13 '  N , 12 ° 50'  O Italian freighter Pozzuoli (5345 BRT).
February 5, 1943	HMS Turbulent torpedoed and sank the Italian tanker Utilitas (5342 GRT) off Palermo (Sicily ).
March 1, 1943	HMS Turbulent sinks the Italian freighter San Vincenzo (865 GRT) off Paola (Italy ).
March 10, 1943	HMS Trooper torpedoes and sinks the Italian tanker Rosarion (5468 GRT) four nautical miles off Punta Milazzo (Sicily ).
March 17, 1943	HMS Trooper torpedoed and sank the Italian freighter Forli (1525 BRT, ex French Sebaa ) south of Naples (Italy ).
July 29, 1943	HMS Trooper torpedoes and sunk south of the road from Otranto at 39 ° 48 '  N , 18 ° 43'  O Italian transport submarine Pietro Micca (1371 ts).
September 5, 1943	HMS Trooper sinks a sailing ship with the deck gun off the Greek island of Skiathos . The trooper reports the damage to two other enemy units.
September 23, 1943	HMS Thrasher and HMS Truculent drag along with four S-Class -U-boats six midget submarines of class X in front of the Alta Fjord in northern Norway, where as part of the operation source , the German battleships Tirpitz and Scharnhorst to be mined. The Tirpitz was badly damaged and was no longer operational until March 1944.
January 1945	HMS Thrasher sinks 11 Japanese sailing ships with artillery off the west coast of Siam .
March 16, 1945	HMS Thrasher sinks a Japanese sailing ship with the deck gun off Burma .
March 18, 1945	HMS Thrasher sinks a Japanese sailing ship with the deck gun off the west coast of Burma.
March 19, 1945	HMS Thrasher sinks three Japanese sailing ships with the deck gun off the west coast of Siam.
June 22, 1945	HMS Thrasher sinks three Japanese sailing ships with the deck gun off the west coast of Siam.
July 25, 1945	HMS Thrasher sinks a Japanese sailing ship with the deck gun north of Malakka Strait.
July 27, 1945	HMS Thrasher sinks four Japanese coasters and a sailing ship with the deck gun in the northern part of Malakka Street .

Losses in World War II

see also: T-Class losses

During the Second World War, five of the seven units put into service were lost to the enemy in the Tempest class.

boat	date	comment
HMS Tempest	February 13, 1942	HMS Tempest was badly damaged in the Gulf of Taranto by the Italian torpedo boat Circe 30 nautical miles northeast of Crotone at 39 ° 15 '  N , 17 ° 45'  E with depth charges and onboard artillery. The Italians tried to tow the floating wreck. However, the submarine sank during the evacuation.
HMS Thorn	August 6, 1942	HMS Thorn attacked an Italian convoy on August 6, 30 nautical miles southwest of Gavdos at 34 ° 25 '  N , 22 ° 36'  E. The submarine was discovered and attacked by an airplane. Subsequently, the Italian torpedo boat Pegaso attacked several times with depth charges, which probably caused the submerged Thorn to be sunk. The submarine was declared missing on August 11th. There were no survivors.
HMS Traveler	December 12, 1942	HMS Traveler left Malta on November 28th to patrol the Gulf of Taranto. She was also supposed to scout out the port of Taranto . The submarine was declared missing on December 12th. The Traveler was probably the victim of a mine hit on December 8th. There were no survivors.
HMS Turbulent	March 12, 1943	HMS Turbulent has been officially missing since March 23, 1943. Presumably she was sunk on March 12th near La Maddalena by Italian torpedo boats with depth charges. Another possibility would be a mine hit. The entire crew was killed.
HMS Trooper	October 17, 1943	HMS Trooper left Beirut on September 26th to patrol the Dodecanese in the Aegean Sea . Since then there has been no news of the submarine. The trooper was declared missing on October 17th. Presumably she ran into a sea mine near Leros . There were no survivors.

Boats of the type

Between 1939 and 1942, seven submarines of the second batch of the T-class were built in three shipyards. Of these, five units in the Mediterranean were lost to enemy action between 1942 and 1943. The remaining two submarines were decommissioned shortly after the end of the war and scrapped in 1947.

HMS Thrasher
Builder:	Cammell Laird (Birkenhead)	No:	N37
Keel laying:	November 14, 1939	Launch:	November 28, 1940
Commissioning:	May 14, 1941	End of duty:
The Thrasher (a species of bird) was used in the North Sea and East Asia. The submarine was decommissioned after the end of the war and scrapped in Briton Ferry (Wales) in March 1947.
HMS Tempest
Builder:	Cammell Laird (Birkenhead)	No.:	N86
Keel laying:	January 6, 1940	Launch:	June 10, 1941
Commissioning:	December 6, 1941	End of duty:	February 13, 1942
The Tempest (English storm ) was used in the Mediterranean. The submarine was sunk by an Italian torpedo boat after only 3 months of service.
HMS Traveler
Builder:	Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Greenock)	No.:	N48
Keel laying:	January 17, 1940	Launch:	August 27, 1941
Commissioning:	April 10, 1942	End of duty:	December 12, 1942
The Traveler (English traveler , see also Traveler ) was used in the Mediterranean. The submarine has been missing since December 1942.
HMS Thorn
Builder:	Cammell Laird (Birkenhead)	No.:	N11
Keel laying:	January 20, 1940	Launch:	March 18, 1941
Commissioning:	August 26, 1941	End of duty:	August 6, 1942
The Thorn (English thorn , see also Thorn ) was used in the Mediterranean. The submarine was sunk on August 6, 1942 near Crete by an Italian torpedo boat.
HMS Trusty
Builder:	Vickers-Armstrong (Barrow in Furness)	No.:	N45
Keel laying:	March 15, 1940	Launch:	March 14, 1941
Commissioning:	July 30, 1941	End of duty:
The Trusty (English. Faithful , reliable ) was used in the Mediterranean and East Asia. The submarine was sold as scrap in January 1947 and scrapped in Milford Haven, Wales in July 1947 .
HMS Turbulent
Builder:	Vickers-Armstrong (Barrow in Furness)	No.:	N98
Keel laying:	March 15, 1940	Launch:	May 12, 1941
Commissioning:	December 2, 1941	End of duty:	March 12, 1943
The Turbulent (English stormy ) was used in the Mediterranean. She has been missing in the Mediterranean since March 23, 1943. Presumably she was sunk by Italian ships on March 12, 1943.
HMS Trooper
Builder:	Scott's Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Greenock)	No.:	N91
Keel laying:	May 7, 1940	Launch:	March 5, 1942
Commissioning:	August 29, 1942	End of duty:	October 17, 1943
The trooper (English soldier ) was used in the Mediterranean. She has been missing in the Mediterranean since October 17, 1943. It was presumably sunk by a mine hit around October 10th.

literature

• Erminio Bagnasco: Submarines in World War II . 5th edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-613-01252-9
• Robert Hutchinson: Fight Under Water - Submarines from 1776 to the Present . 1st edition. Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-613-02585-X
• Anthony Preston: The History of the Submarines . German edition. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1998, ISBN 3-86070-697-7
• Peter Padfield: The Submarine War 1939-1945 . Ullstein Taschenbuchverlag, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-548-24766-0

Web links

Commons : Tempest class  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• T-Class on uboat.net (English)
• British Submarines of Wold War Two (English)

Remarks

1. ↑ The overview only shows the relationship between departures due to accidents or enemy action and additions due to new buildings. Shipyard stays for overhaul or modernization are not considered. As a result, the number of real operational submarines was lower.

Footnotes

1. ↑ The uboat.net specifies “1090 GRT ” for the above water displacement of all assemblies  . Hutchinson gives 1327 ts for the 2nd and 3rd assemblies  . Bagnasco specifies 1326 to 1327 ts for assemblies 1 and 2.
2. ↑ The uboat.net specifies “1575 GRT” for the underwater displacement of all components. Hutchinson gives 1571 ts for the 2nd and 3rd assemblies. Bagnasco specifies 1523 to 1575 ts for assembly groups 1 and 2.
3. ↑ The uboat.net specifies 275  ft (83.82 m) for the length of all assemblies . Hutchinson gives 83.36 m for the 2nd assembly. Bagnasco gives 83.60 m for the 1st and 2nd group.
4. ↑ 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.
5. ↑ The uboat.net and Hutchinson make no statement about the depth. Bagnasco gives 3.60 m for the first two assemblies.
6. ↑ The uboat.net and Bagnasco make no statement about the diving depth. Hutchinson gives 90 m for all classes.
7. ↑ The uboat.net gives 61 men for the crew strength for the 2nd and 3rd assemblies. Robert Hutchinson gives 61 men for the 2nd assembly. Erminio Bagnasco gives 56 men for the 1st and 2nd assembly group.
8. ↑ The uboat.net and Bagnasco give an overwater speed of 15.25 kn for all assemblies. Hutchinson specifies 15.75 kn for the two later assemblies.
9. ↑ The uboat.net and Bagnasco indicate an underwater speed of 9 kn for all assemblies. Hutchinson gives 8.75 kn for all assemblies.
10. ↑ The uboat.net does not give any information about the above water range. Hutchinson gives 8,000 nautical miles for the first and second assembly . Bagnasco gives 8000 nautical miles for the first and second assembly.
11. ↑ The uboat.net and Bagnasco make no statement about the underwater range. Hutchinson gives 80 nautical miles for all assemblies.
12. ↑ 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. Hutchinson's 2nd assembly corresponds to the 3rd assembly described here.
13. ↑ ^{a b} The sources are contradicting the sinking of the Ulpio Traiano . Robert Hutchinson, www.wlb-stuttgart.de , regiamarina.net ( Memento from May 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) and schiffswrackliste.de give the 2./3. January 1943. www.marinearchiv.de gives the 2nd / 3rd June 1943, which is unlikely because the HMS Thunderbolt was lost in March.
14. ↑ ^{a b} Information about Operation Source ( Memento from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) at www.schlachtschiff.com
15. ↑ Medusa ( Memento from August 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on regiamarina.net. (engl.)
16. ↑ Italian transport submarines ( Memento from December 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on regiamarina.net (English)
17. ↑ The uboat.net gives no concrete information about the loss of the HMS Traveler and only mentions the loss declaration of December 12th, 1942. Hutchinson gives December 8th, 1942 as the time of the presumed mine hit. www.rnsubmus.co.uk , home.cogeco.ca ( Memento of March 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) and the English language Wikipedia give December 4, 1942 as the date of the loss.
18. ↑ 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 .