HMS Parthian (N75)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | |
| Laid down: | 30 June 1928 at Chatham |
| Launched: | 22 June 1929 |
| Commissioned: | 13 January 1931 |
| Decommissioned: | |
| Fate: | Sunk in the Mediterranean Sea between 6-11 August 1943. Probably mined off Brindisi. |
| Struck: | |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1475 tons surfaced 2040 tons submerged |
| Length: | 260 feet |
| Beam: | 28 feet |
| Draught: | 13 feet 8 inches |
| Propulsion: | Admiralty Diesel 4400 BHP,
Electric motors 1530 HP. |
| Speed: |
17.5 knots surfaced, 9 knots submerged |
| Range: | 8,500 nautical miles at 10 knots surfaced |
| Complement: | 59 (6 officers, 47 ratings) |
| Armament: | One 4 inch gun,
2 machine guns, 8 x 21 inch torpedo tubes (6 at the bow and 2 at the stern) |
| Motto: | |
HMS Parthian, pennant number (N75) was the lead boat of the 6 Parthian class submarines all launched in 1929. The Royal Navy submarine was sunk in 1943 during the Second World War. The submarine was nicknamed Peanut, from the identity letters PN painted on the fin.
Parthian spent most of her Second World War service in the Mediterranean. On the outbreak of the Second World War, she was stationed with the China Fleet, but was transferred to Alexandria in May 1940. She sunk the Italian submarine Diamante near Tobruk on 20 June 1940. By the end of the year she had been attached to the 8th Submarine Flotilla based at Malta.
It also sank the Vichy French submarine Souffleur off Beirut on 25 June 1941, during the combined British/Free French campaign to occupy Syria and Lebanon. Parthian underwent a refit in the USA from late 1941 until March 1942 before returning to the Mediterranean, where she carried out supply operations between July and October to Malta carrying aviation fuel and ammunition. To increase her cargo capacity, one of the batteries was removed and no reload torpedoes carried. In May 1043 the submarine sank a number of Italian sailing vessels in the Aegean Sea.
The submarine left Malta on 22 July 1943 for a patrol in the southern Adriatic. She was diverted to a patrol area off Otranto on 26 July, and diverted again on 28 July. The submarine was signalled on 6 August leave the patrol area but the signal was not acknowledged. Parthian failed to arrive at Beirut, where she was due on 11 August. It is likely that she was sunk by a naval mine near Brindisi.
See HMS Parthian for other ships of this name.
[edit] References
- HMS Parthian (N 75). Uboat.net. Retrieved on December 1, 2006.
- HMS Parthian. Barrow In Furness Branch of the Submariner's Association. Retrieved on December 1, 2006.
- The HMS Parthian P-class British submarine off Brindisi 1943. Abysso. Retrieved on December 1, 2006.
