HMS Umpire (N82)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down: | 1 January 1940 |
| Launched: | 30 December 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 10 July 1941 |
| Fate: | Sunk in collision 19 July 1941 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: |
Surfaced - 540 tons standard, 630 tons full load Submerged - 730 tons |
| Length: | 60 m (196 ft 10 in) |
| Beam: | 4.90 m (16 ft 1 in) |
| Draught: | 4.62 m (15 ft 2 in) |
| Propulsion: |
2 shaft diesel-electric |
| Speed: |
11.25 knots (20.8 km/h) max surfaced 10 knots (19 km/h) max submerged |
| Complement: | 31 |
| Armament: |
4 bow internal 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes - 8 torpedoes 1 - 3-inch (76 mm) gun |
HMS Umpire (N82) was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built at Chatham Dockyard and sunk in an accident nine days after commissioning with the loss of 22 men.
The submarine was sunk whilst en-route from Chatham to join the 3rd Submarine Flotilla at Dunoon, under the command of Lieutenant Mervyn Wingfield.[1] From Dunoon she was to carry out a single working-up patrol in the North Sea before heading to the Mediterranean.[2] She stopped overnight at Sheerness and joined a convoy headed North. The submarine developed an engine fault and fell behind. The convoy passed a Southbound convoy around midnight whilst about 12 nautical miles (22 km) off Blakeney, Norfolk, with the two convoys passing port to port. This was unusual since ships would normally pass starboard to starboard. No ships showed any lights because of the risk from German E-boats.[2] However, an armed escort trawler, Peter Hendriks in the southbound convoy accidentally struck Umpire and sunk her in 18 metres of water.[3]
Four crew members were on the bridge when the submarine sank - Wingfield, the navigator and two lookouts. However only Wingfield survived in the cold water to be picked up by the trawler. Several other personnel also survived, escaping from the sunken wreck using the conning tower or the engine room escape hatch, the majority wearing DSEA. ERA Killen received a British Empire Medal for leaving the submarine wearing DSEA to check for obstructions around the engine room hatch and then returning to the engine room to assist the other crew members in escaping. He remained in the engine room until everyone else there had escaped.[2]
The wreck is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ HMS Umpire (N 82). Uboat.net. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ a b c Edward Young. One of Our submarines. Wordsworth Editions Limited, 46-59. ISBN 1-85326-681-7. Young was on board the submarine when it sank
- ^ Submarine losses 1904 to present day. Royal Navy Submarine Museum. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
- ^ Protected Wrecks in the UK. Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
[edit] External links
- The wreck of HMS Umpire. John Liddiard Underwater. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
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