HMS Cachalot (N83)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Cachalot |
| Builder: | Scotts, Greenock |
| Laid down: | 12 May 1936 |
| Launched: | 2 December 1937 |
| Commissioned: | 15 August 1938 |
| Fate: | sunk 30 July 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,810 tons surfaced 2,157 tons submerged |
| Length: | 293 ft (89 m) |
| Beam: | 25 ft 6 in (7.8 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft 10 in (5.1 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 shaft, Diesel (3300 hp) plus electric (1630 hp) |
| Speed: | 15.5 knots surfaced 8.75 knots submerged |
| Complement: | 59 |
| Armament: | 6 x 21 in torpedo tubes (bow) 12 torpedoes 1 x 4 inch deck gun 50 mines |
HMS Cachalot (N83) was the one of the six ship class of Grampus-class mine-laying submarine of the Royal Navy. She was built at Scotts, Greenock and launched 2 December 1937. She served in World War II in home waters and the Mediterranean. She was rammed and sunk by the Italian torpedo boat Generale Achille Papa on July 30, 1941.
Contents |
[edit] Career
In August, 1940, Cachalot torpedoed and sank the German submarine U-51 in the Bay of Biscay and in September the German auxiliary minesweeper M 1604 / Österreich hit a mine laid by Cachalot and sank.[1]
She was assigned to operate in the Mediterranean in 1941.
[edit] Sinking
Cachalot left Malta on July 26, bound for Alexandria and instructions to look out for an escorted tanker heading for Benghazi. At 2 o’clock on the morning of 30 July a destroyer was spotted heading towards Cachalot, forcing the submarine to dive. On returning to the surface the submarine was attacked by the Italian destroyer. Cachalot attempted to dive again but the upper hatch jammed, and the Italian destroyer rammed her. The crew scuttled the ship as they abandoned her and all personnel except for a Maltese steward were picked up by the destroyer.[2].
[edit] References
- ^ HMS Cachalot, Uboot.net
- ^ Submarine losses 1904 to present day, RN Submarine Museum, Gosport
- Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy, Rev. ed., London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
[edit] External links
- HMS Cachalot from uboat.net
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