HMS P32 (1940)

History
Builder:	Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down:	30 April 1940
Launched:	15 December 1940
Commissioned:	3 May 1941
Fate:	Struck a mine, 18 August 1941
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 2 Paxman Ricardo diesel generators + electric motors 615 / 825 hp
Speed:	11.25 knots (20.8 km/h) surfaced 10 knots (19 km/h) submerged
Complement:	32
Armament:	Four bow internal 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 8 - 10 torpedoes One - 3-inch (76 mm) gun

HMS P32 was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness.

The submarine left Malta on 12 August 1941 for a patrol area near Tripoli. Six days later, she sighted a small Italian convoy of five merchant ships protected by destroyers and torpedo boats heading towards the port. P32 and two other U-class submarines attempted to attack the convoy. HMS P33 was almost certainly sunk in the attempt, whilst HMS Unique managed to sink an Italian merchant ship, SS Esperia two days later.

P32 was not in a good position to make an attack, and so attempted to improve it by running underneath a moored minefield. Believing that she had cleared the minefield, the commanding officer, Lieutenant D.A.B. Abdy ordered the submarine to rise to periscope depth to resume the attack. A mine, either part of the minefield, or laid by an allied aircraft, exploded against her port side and flooded the portion of the boat forward of the control room, killing the eight crew members in that part of the vessel. The submarine developed a severe list and sank to the seabed.

Most of the 24^[1] survivors retired to the engine room to attempt a DSEA escape. However Abdy, the coxswain Petty Officer Kirk, and ERA Martin attempted to escape using the conning tower. Martin was killed in the attempt but the other two men survived and were picked up by an Italian ship. No other crew members survived. Abdy and Kirk were exchanged for Italian prisoners of war in 1943. The wreck was discovered in 1999; it lies about 15 nautical miles (28 km) east-north-east of Tripoli, at a depth of about 200 feet (61 m).

Footnotes

References

• "HMS P32". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2007-01-28. 
• "Submarine losses 1904 to the present day". RN Submarine Museum. Archived from the original on 2007-01-02. Retrieved 2007-01-28. 
• "H.M. Submarine P.32". Britsub.net. Retrieved 2007-01-28. 
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 
• Hutchinson, Robert (2001). Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Day. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-710558-8. OCLC 53783010. 

British U-class submarine  Royal Navy First group Undine Unity Ursula Second group Umpire Una Unbeaten Undaunted Union Unique Upholder Upright Urchin Urge Usk Utmost Third group Ultimatum Ultor Umbra Unbending Unbroken Unison United Universal Unrivalled Unruffled Unruly Unseen Unshaken Unsparing Unswerving Untamed Untiring Uproar Upstart Usurper Uther Vandal Varangian Varne Vitality Vox P32 P33 P36 P38 P39 P41 P47 P48 P52   Other operators  Royal Danish Navy Springeren  Free French Naval Forces Curie  Royal Hellenic Navy Amphitriti Xifias  Royal Netherlands Navy Dolfijn  Royal Norwegian Navy Uredd Ula  Polish Navy Dzik Sokół  Soviet Navy V-2 V-3 V-4 Preceded by: T class Followed by: P611 class List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy

Coordinates: 33°2′N 13°10′E / 33.033°N 13.167°E / 33.033; 13.167