HMS United (P44)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 HMS United underway in Plymouth Sound |
|
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | U-class submarine |
| Name: | HMS United |
| Builder: | Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down: | 25 February 1941 |
| Launched: | 18 December 1941 |
| Commissioned: | 2 April 1942 |
| Fate: | scrapped February 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: |
Surfaced - 540 tons standard, 630 tons full load Submerged - 730 tons |
| Length: | 58.22 m (191 ft) |
| 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 max surfaced 10 knots max submerged |
| Complement: | 27-31 |
| Armament: |
4 bow internal 21 inch torpedo tubes - 8 - 10 torpedoes 1 - 3 inch gun |
HMS United (P44) was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name United.
[edit] Career
She spent most of the war in the Mediterranean, where she sank the small Italian merchant Rostro, the Italian auxiliary submarine chaser V 39/Giovanna, the Italian destroyer Bombardiere, the French merchant Ste Marguerite (the former Norwegian Ringulv), and the Italian merchant Olbia. Whilst covering the Allied invasion of Sicily, United spotted the Italian transport submarine Remo on the surface. She launched four torpedoes, one of which hit the Remo amidships, sinking her within a few minutes. Only four survived, the three who were on the conning tower (amongst them the CO, Captain Vassallo), and Sergeant Dario Cortopassi who was able to come up from the control room. United also sank the Italian transport ship Rosolino Pilo, which had already been damaged in a previous attack by motor torpedo boats.
She also damaged the Italian tanker Petrarca, and further damaged the Italian merchant Ravenna. The Ravenna had been grounded after air attack and a fire on 29 September 1942. She also attacked the damaged Italian light cruiser Attilio Regolo, but missed her. The Attilio Regolo had lost her bow due to an attack the previous day by HMS Unruffled.
United survived the war and was scrapped at Troon from 12 February 1946.
[edit] References
- HMS United (P 44). uboat.net.
- Undaunted to Unity. British submarines of World War II.
- 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.
- Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day, by Robert Hutchinson
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