P211 HMS

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john sefton
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Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 1:59 pm

P211 HMS

Post by john sefton » Fri Sep 21, 2012 9:10 pm

Name: HMS P 211
Renamed: HMS SAFARI on 1st February 1943; Builder: Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead; Laid down: 5 June 1940; Launched: 18 November 1941; Commissioned: 14 March 1942; Fate: Sold to be broken up for scrap; sunk on tow to ship-breakers on the 8 January 1946
General characteristics:
Displacement: 814-872 tons surfaced, 990 tons submerged, Length: 217 ft (66 m), Beam: 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m), Draught: 11 ft (3.4 m), Speed: 14.75 knots surfaced, 8 knots submerged, Complement: 48 officers and men, Armament: 6 x forward 21-inch torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, one three-inch gun (four-inch on later boats), one 20 mm cannon, three .303 in machine gun
Honours and awards: Sicily 1943, Mediterranean 1943
HMS SAFARI, launched in November 1941, was one of the third group of British S-class submarines built by Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead. So far she has been the only ship to bear the name SAFARI.
SAFARI was sponsored by the citizens of Dereham, Norfolk - the sum of £250,339 being raised during a "Warship Week".
Career
This name had not previously been used by the RN and under command of a renowned submariner, Commander Ben Bryant achieved considerable fame during service in the Mediterranean to which area she was deployed in April 1942 on completion of work-up. Initially she carried out patrols from Gibraltar in the course of which she sank 4 supply ships.
Later she was transferred to the 10th Flotilla at Malta and was deployed in both the Adriatic and central Mediterranean where she sank two more ships before taking part in the allied landings in North Africa to intercept any enemy attempt to interfere with the operation. This submarine continued her successes in 1943 when she sank 10 supply ships in the course of patrols to intercept shipping to and from North African ports. In July 1943 she was used as a navigational beacon for US assault convoys on passage to Sicily.
She spent most of World War II in the Mediterranean Sea where she was highly successful.
She sank:
The Italian sailing vessels ADDA, AUSONIA, EUFRASIA, ELEONORA ROSA, STEFANO M and NASELLO. The Italian merchants PERSEO, TORQUATO GENNARI, VALSAVOIA, LOREDAN, ENTELLA, ISONZO, PEPPINO PALOMBA and SALEMI. The German transport HANS ARP. The Italian ships BICE, ANIELLO, SOGLIOLA and GEMMA. The German barge F 346. The Italian auxiliary minesweepers ROSINA S NO. 295/BELLA ITALIA, NO. 47/AMALIA, FR 70/LA COUBRE and R 106 /ONDA. The Italian fishing vessel S. FRANCISCO DI PAOLA A.. The Italian tanker ISONZO. The German transport ship KT-12. The German barges MARIA AND PAULA. The Italian armed yacht MARGHERITA. The Italian pilot vessel F 50/SILVIO ONORATO. The Italian minelayer DURAZZO
SAFARI also damaged the following:
The Italian merchants TIGRAI, ENEO, and LIV (the former Norwegian LIV). An unknown sailing vessel. The Italian merchant VEGLIA (the former YUGOSLAVIAN KOSOVO). The damaged ship was later salvaged but declared a total loss. The Italian auxiliary patrol vessel F 139 / CONSTANTINA. The damaged Italian ship was declared a total loss. Attacked two and sunk one unidentified German transports which were unloading equipment on a North African beach, one torpedo that missed its mark continued up the beach and destroyed a Tank.
SAFARI also launched unsuccessful attacks on the Italian merchant CAP FIGALO and the German controlled French tanker CHAMPAGNE. SAFARI also attacked the Italian submarine BRONZO.
On 19 October 1942 HMS UNBROKEN had torpedoed and damaged the Italian merchant TITANIA. The TITANIA was taken in tow by the Italian destroyer ASCARI, but was sunk early the next day by SAFARI.
On 8 January 1946 she was being towed to the breaker's yard to be scrapped when she sank in heavy seas with no crew on board. Today she is a popular site for divers in the English Channel, she lies on a rock seabed at a depth of 44 m. Her brass conning tower has been removed, as has the nose cone, so the bow caps (outer doors of the torpedo tubes) are visible
Sources: Wikipedia. http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono ... Safari.htm. http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3430.html.
Attachments
P211.jpg

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