HMS Otus (N92)
 HMS Otway, sister boat to HMS Otus | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Otus |
| Ordered: | 2 December 1926 |
| Builder: | Vickers-Armstrongs (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) |
| Laid down: | 31 May 1927 |
| Launched: | 31 August 1928 |
| Commissioned: | 5 Jul 1929 |
| Decommissioned: | March 1946 |
| Fate: | Scuttled near Durban, South Africa in 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Odin-class submarine |
| Displacement: | 1,781 tons surfaced 2,038 tons submerged |
| Length: | 283 ft 6 in (86.41 m) |
| Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m) |
| Propulsion: | Diesel-electric 2 × diesel engines, 4,600 hp 2 × electric motors, 350 hp 2 screws |
| Speed: | 17.5 kn (20.1 mph; 32.4 km/h) surfaced 9 kn (10 mph; 17 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 8,400 nmi (15,600 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) surfaced 70 nmi (130 km) at 4 kn (4.6 mph; 7.4 km/h) submerged |
| Test depth: | 300 ft (91 m) |
| Complement: | 53-55 officers and men |
| Armament: | • 8 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (6 bow, 2 stern) with 16 reloads • 2 × Lewis machine guns |
HMS Otus (N92) was an O-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers-Armstrongs of Barrow-in-Furness on 31 May 1927, launched on 31 August 1928[1] and commissioned on 5 July 1929.
Service history
Otus was first commissioned for service with the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station, and when the war broke out in 1939 she was deployed with the 1st Submarine Flotilla based at Alexandria with the Mediterranean Fleet. From July to December 1941 she was based in Malta from where she carried out interception patrols with the 1st Flotilla.[1]
During 1941 she carried out patrols off Azores in defence of HG convoys on passage to and from Gibraltar, and with HMS Olympus for patrol of Oran to intercept Vichy French battleship Dunkerque reported to about to attempt passage to France during Operation Principal.
On 14 Aug 1941 she was involved in a friendly fire incident, when the submarine HMS Talisman under the command of Lt.Cdr. M. Willmott, RN mistook her for an enemy submarine and fired several to torpedoes at her, approximately 140 nautical miles (260 km; 160 mi) north-west of Alexandria (position 32°41'N, 27°35'E).[2]
On 3 September 1941, under command of Lt. R.M. Favell, RN, Otus unsuccessfully fired a torpedo at an unidentified enemy armed merchant cruiser of 4000 tons, approximately 175 nautical miles (324 km; 201 mi) east of Valletta, Malta.[2]
During 1943 she was transferred to Simonstown, South Africa for purposes of anti-submarine training.[1]
During December 1944 she was nominated to be withdrawn from service. She was paid-off and transferred to Reserve status. During 1945 she was transferred to Durban, South Africa. HMS Otus was scuttled off Durban in September 1946.
Discovery of the wreck
The wreck was rediscovered during March 2013 by two deep sea specialist divers, Patrick Voorma and Allan Maclean, from the Calypso Dive Centre at uShaka Marine World, Durban approximately 8 kilometres (4.3 nmi) south-east of the Durban Harbour entrance, at an approximate depth of 100 m (330 ft).[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "HMS OTUS (N.92) - O-class Submarine". naval-history.net. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "HMS Otus (N92)". u-boat.net. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ Calypso Dive Centre, uShaka Marine World
Coordinates: 29°52′21″S 31°05′39″E / 29.87250°S 31.09417°E
External links
- U-Boat.Net. HMS Otus (N 92). Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- Naval History. HMS OTUS (N.92) - O-class Submarine. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- Submariners Association: O Class
- Naval History
- U-Boat.Net
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