HMS Thunderbolt
Career (UK)
Builder:	Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead
Laid down:	21 December 1936
Launched:	29 June 1938
Commissioned:	26 October 1940
Fate:	Thetis sunk during trial dive 1 June 1939 Thunderbolt sunk 14 March 1943
General characteristics
Class and type:	British T class submarine
Displacement:	1,090 tons surfaced 1,560 tons submerged
Length:	275 ft (84 m)
Beam:	26 ft 6 in (8. Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British Shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries came about following the merger of Laird Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Design and development Design began in 1934 but was constrained by the 1930 London Naval Treaty restricting the total British submarine fleet to 52700 tons, 1 m)
Draught:	12 ft 9 in (3. 9 m) forward 14 ft 7 in (4. 4 m) aft
Propulsion:	Two shafts Twin diesel engines 2,500 hp (1. 86 MW) each Twin electric motors 1,450 hp (1. 08 MW) each
Speed:	15. 25 knots (28. 7 km/h) surfaced 9 knots (20 km/h) submerged
Range:	4,500 nautical miles at 11 knots (8,330 km at 20 km/h) surfaced
Test depth:	300 ft (91 m) max
Complement:	59
Armament:	6 internal forward facing torpedo tubes 4 external forward facing torpedo tubes 6 reload torpedoes 4 inch (100 mm) deck gun

HMS Thetis was a Group 1 T-class submarine of the Royal Navy which served under two names. Design and development Design began in 1934 but was constrained by the 1930 London Naval Treaty restricting the total British submarine fleet to 52700 tons, A submarine is a Watercraft that can operate independently below water as distinct from a Submersible that has only limited underwater capability The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Under her first identity, HMS Thetis, she commenced sea trials on 4 March, 1939. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth She sank during trials on 1 June 1939 with the loss of 99 lives. Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. She was salvaged, repaired and recommissioned as HMS Thunderbolt serving in the Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres until she was lost with all hands on March 14, 1943. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[1] This makes Thetis one of the few military vessels that have been lost twice with her crew in their service history, like the H. L. Hunley. History Hunley and two earlier submarines were privately developed and paid for by Horace Lawson Hunley, James McClintock, and Baxter Watson

HMS Thetis

Thetis was built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, England and launched on June 29, 1938. Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British Shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries came about following the merger of Laird Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. After completion, trials were delayed because the forward hydroplanes jammed, but eventually started in Liverpool Bay under Lieutenant-Commander Guy Bolus. A hydroplane (or hydro, or thunderboat) is a type of Motorboat used exclusively for racing Liverpool Bay is a Bay of the Irish Sea between north-east Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside to the east of the Thetis left Birkenhead for Liverpool Bay to conduct her final diving trials, accompanied by the tug Grebecock. As well as her normal complement of 59 men she was carrying technical observers from Cammell Laird and other naval personnel, a total of 103 men. The first dive was attempted on June 1, 1939 at about 14:00. Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The submarine was too light to dive, so a survey of the water in the various tanks on board was made. One of the checks was whether the internal torpedo tubes were flooded.

Lieutenant Frederick Woods, the torpedo officer, opened the test cocks on the tubes. The modern torpedo (historically called an automotive automobile locomotive or fish torpedo is a self-propelled explosive Projectile weapon launched above or below Unfortunately, the test cock on tube number 5 was blocked by some enamel paint so no water flowed out even though the bow cap was open. An enamel paint is a Paint that dries to an extremely hard usually glossy finish This combined with a confusing layout of the bow cap indicators - they were arranged in a vertical line with 5 at the bottom - 1,2,3,4,6, and then 5; and the shut position for tube 5 on the dial was in a different position to the other torpedo tubes - led to the inner door of the tube being opened. The inrush of water caused the bow of the submarine to sink to the seabed 150 feet below the surface.

An indicator buoy was released and smoke candle fired. By 1600 Grebecock was becoming concerned for the safety of Thetis and radioed the HMS Dolphin submarine base at Gosport. History The Rowner area of the peninsula was known to have been settled in Saxon times mentioned in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles as Rughenor (Rough bank or slope A search was immediately instigated. ^[2] Although the stern remained on the surface, only four crew escaped before the rest were overcome by carbon dioxide poisoning caused by the crowded conditions, the increased atmospheric pressure and a delay of 20 hours before the evacuation started. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single Ninety-nine lives were lost in the incident. In addition to the normal crew of 53, there were 26 Cammell Laird employees, another 9 naval officers, 4 Vickers-Armstrong employees and 2 caterers. Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in The crew waited before abandoning the vessel until it had been discovered by Brazen, a destroyer which had been sent to search for it and which indicated her presence by dropping small explosive charges into the water. HMS Brazen (H80 was a B-class Destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War II. In naval terminology a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance Warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, Convoy

The incident attracted legal action from one of the widows, who brought a claim of negligence against the shipbuilders, for not removing the material blocking the valve. ^[3] Unfortunately for her the Admiralty successfully invoked Crown Privilege (now termed Public Interest Immunity) and blocked the disclosure of the submarine's blueprints as evidence in court, on the basis that to do so would be detrimental to national security. Public Interest Immunity ( PII) is a principle of English Common law under which the English courts can grant a Court order allowing The case is one of interest in English law, as the judges in this case accepted the Admiralty's claim on face value with no scrutiny, a ruling later overturned.

One further fatality occurred during salvage operations, when Diver Petty Officer Henry Otho Perdue died from "the bends" on 23 August 1939. A Petty Officer is a noncommissioned officer or equivalent in many navies. Decompression sickness (DCS, the diver’s disease, the bends, caisson disease is the name given to a variety of symptoms suffered by a person Events 79 - Mount Vesuvius begins stirring on the feast day of Vulcan the Roman god of fire Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. On Sunday 3 September Thetis was intentionally grounded ashore at Moelfre Bay, Anglesey. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius History There are numerous Megalithic monuments and Menhirs present on Anglesey testifying to the presence of mankind in prehistory It was the same day that war was declared. Human remains that had not already been removed by the salvage team were now brought out to a Naval funeral, with full honours.

The Thetis disaster was in marked contrast to the successful rescue of the survivors of USS Squalus, which had sunk off the coast of New Hampshire just a week previously. Sinking of Squalus and recommissioning On 12 May, following a yard overhaul Squalus began a series of test dives off Portsmouth New Hampshire New Hampshire ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America.

In 1997 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a radio play about the Thetis disaster. The play was called Close Enough To Touch and was written by Liverpool writer Fred Lawless. Fred Lawless is a British television & radio scriptwriter and theatre playwright The play was also broadcast on BBC Radio Merseyside and the BBC World Service. BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC Local Radio service for the English metropolitan county of Merseyside and north Cheshire.

HMS Thunderbolt

The crew of Thunderbolt and their 'Jolly Roger' flag, after a patrol in the Mediterranean

The submarine was successfully salvaged and repaired, being commissioned in 1940 as Thunderbolt under the command of Lt. The Jolly Roger is the name given to any of various Flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates The flag most usually identified as the Jolly Roger today HMS Thetis Thetis was built by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, England and launched on 29 June 1938 Commander Richard Crouch.

During the next 18 months she saw service in the Atlantic: In December 1940 she was on patrol in the Bay of Biscay and on the 15 December she encountered and sank the Italian submarine Tarantini. Cantabrian Sea redirects here Not to be confused with Biscay Bay Newfoundland and Labrador or Biscayne Bay. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of The Regia Marina ( Italian Royal Navy) dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification.

In the autumn of 1942 Thunderbolt was converted with her sister ships Trooper and P311 to carry two "Chariots" (a type of manned torpedo) and their crews for operations against Axis shipping in harbour, and was transferred with them to the Mediterranean in December 1942. Career Trooper spent most of her short career serving in the Mediterranean. Naming The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill had minuted the Admiralty on 5 November 1942 19 December and again on 27 December saying that all submarines Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes were secret naval weapons of World War II.

Their first mission, Operation Principal, was undertaken in December 1942, the three boats taking their charges to targets around the Mediterranean. Britain's commando frogman force is now the SBS, which is part of the Royal Marines. Thunderbolt's objective was shipping in Cagliari, but the operation was not a success, and P311 was lost at La Maddalena, her intended target.

A second operation against Palermo harbour in January 1943 was more successful. Palermo ( Sicilian: Palermu, Greek: Panormus, al-Madinah during Muslim rule is a historic City in On the 2-3 January the manned torpedoes entered the harbour and mined the ships there, sinking the cruiser Ulpio Traiano and the freighter SS Viminale. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Design The design was fundamentally a light almost unarmoured hull with a large power plant and cruiser style armament

A further mission to Tripoli harbour took place on 18 January. Tripolis ( Arabic: طرابلس Ṭarābulus - also طرابلس الغرب Ṭarā-bu-lus al-Gharb Libyan vernacular: Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor This was to prevent the Axis using blockships to neutralize Tripoli harbour, which was about to be occupied by the British Eighth Army. The Eighth Army was one of the best-known formations in World War II, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns It was a British

Thunderbolt was sunk on 14 March 1943 off Cap St Vito by the Italian corvette Cicogna^[4], which had detected her and attacked with depth charges. Events 1489 - The Queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells her kingdom to Venice. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A corvette is a small maneuverable lightly armed Warship, originally smaller than a Frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft, although many All hands were lost and the sub settled to the bottom in 1,350 metres of water.

The Thetis Clip

The torpedo tubes on British submarines were afterwards equipped with a Thetis clip, one of the modifications introduced as a result of the accident. This is a latch which allows a torpedo tube door to be opened no more than a small amount in case it is open to the sea at the bow end. Once it is clear that no flooding will occur the latch can be released and the door fully opened.

External links

• Report on the events surrounding the the Thetis disaster of 2 June 1939 held at the National Archives of the United Kingdom

See also

• List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
• List of wars and disasters by death toll (worldwide)
• List of disasters (by subject)
• Public Interest Immunity - the litigation over the accident played a key role in development of the law

Notes and references

• Stephen Roskill, The War at Sea 1939-1945 Vol II (1956) ISBN (none)
• Submarines, War Beneath the Waves, from 1776 to the Present Day, by Robert Hutchinson ISBN 978-0060819002
• Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben (2006). Captain Stephen Wentworth Roskill, CBE, DSC, FBA, DLitt ( 1 August 1903 - 4 November 1982 James Joseph Colledge (born 1908 was a noted naval Historian, author of Ships of the Royal Navy, the standard work on the fighting ships of the British Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy, Rev. For a list of ships of the Royal Navy, see List of Royal Navy ships. ed. , London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475. The OCLC Online Computer Library Center is according to its website a "nonprofit membership computer library service and research organization dedicated to the public purpose  
• C. E. T Warren & James Benson. James William Benson (1945 - October 10 2008 was the founder of Spacedev, a commercial satellite and satellite component development company and Benson Space Company The Admiralty Regrets. . . George G. Harrap & Co Ltd 1958
• Close Enough To Touch, radio play written by Fred Lawless for BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service 1997