Armed merchant cruiser HMS Dunvegan Castle torpedoed “on this day” 27 August 1940

“On this day in history” 27 August 1940, Royal Navy armed merchant cruiser HMS Dunvegan Castle (Capt. H. Ardill) struck by 3 torpedoes from submarine U-46 (Oblt. E. Endrass) while escorting Convoy SL-43 (convoy commodore RAdm. J. C. Hamilton).

The first torpedo struck Dunvegan Castle at 21.47 aft of the bridge, but the ship remained underway. The second torpedo struck the engine room at 22.12 and the third torpedo stuck forward of the bridge at 22.51.

Dunvegan Castle foundered and caught fire, with 27 men (3 officers, 24 ratings) killed. Convoy escorts HMS Harvester (LtCdr. M. Thornton) and HMS Primrose (LtCdr. C. Sanders) took off 240 survivors.

HMS Primrose (K91) rescued survivors from Dunvegan Castle.

Dunvegan Castle sank in position 54°54N/11°W, 75-miles NW of Ireland.

German submarines at sea “on this day in history” 24 August 1939-44

“On this day in history” 24 August, the following U-boats were at sea:

1939 20
1940 14
1941 45
1942 99
1943 70
1944 69

“On this day in history” German submarine U-122 missing presumed lost, 1940

“On the day in history” 22 June 1940, German Type IXB submarine U-122 (KrvKpt. Hans-Günther Looff) missing presumed lost in the North Atlantic.

U-122’s last reported position was approx. 56.00N, 10.30W on 21 June 1940. The submarine was reported missing on 27 July 1940 after repeatedly failing to report its position.

It is possible that U-122 was lost due to a collision with SS San Felipe on 22 June 1940, but there is no record of a wreck.

All 49 officers and men aboard U-122 were lost.

“On this day in history” HM Submarine A12 placed in commission, 1908

“On this day in history” Royal Navy A-class submarine HMS A12 placed into commission.

Embed from Getty Images

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Getty seem to have captioned this photo “HMS Aurora A12,” but this is a mistake. The Aurora with pennant no. 12 was an Arethusa-class cruiser. Definitely not a submarine.

The A-class were the Royal Navy’s first submarines built to a British design. All thirteen submarines in the class were built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness.

Flotilla of A-class submarines, including HMS A12.

Already obsolete by the outbreak of war in 1914, A12 and the other submarines in her class were used for harbour defence and training. After the war, A12 was placed on the disposal list and scrapped at Ardrossan in 1920.

“On this day in hisstory” German submarines at sea during Battl of the Atlantic

German submarines at sea “on this day in history” 22 June during the Battle of the Atlantic.

1940 21
1941 41
1942 74
1943 99
1944 81
1945 2

The two U-Boats still at sea in 1945, more than six weeks after the official German surrender, were U-530 and U-977, both on their way to Argentina.

“On this day in history” Battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) commissioned into US Navy, 1944

“On this day in history” 11 June 1944, the Iowa-class battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) was commissioned into the United States Navy at the New York Navy Yard.

USS Missouri commissioning ceremony, 11 June 1944 (NH 96795).

“On this day in history” German submarines at sea during the Battle of the Atlantic

German submarines at sea “on this day in history” 11 June during the Battle of the Atlantic.

1940 18
1941 30
1942 75
1943 89
1944 96
1945 2

“On this day in history” German submarines at sea during the Battle of the Atlantic

German submarines at sea “on this day in history” 9 June during the Battle of the Atlantic.

1940 19
1941 32
1942 70
1943 85
1944 97
1945 2

A German U-Boat commander tracking a British merchant ship through his periscope during an attack on a convoy, 10-20 June 1942 (IWM HU 40239).

 

“On this day in history” Royal Navy battleship HMS Jupiter placed in commission

On this day in history 8 June 1897, the Royal Navy Majestic-class battleship HMS Jupiter was placed in commission.

HMS Jupiter anchored at Spithead, 1899.

Built by J & G Thomson, Clydebank, Jupiter was a pre-dreadnought battleship carrying main armament of four Vickers 12-inch Mk VIII guns mounted in twin turrets.

Vickers BL 12-inch Mk VIII naval gun.

Secondary armament included twelve QF 6-inch guns mounted in casemates and twelve QF 12-pounder guns.

Jupiter served with the Channel Fleet and took part in the Fleet Review for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and for Edward VII’s Coronation in 1902. During the First World War, Jupiter served in the Channel, the Mediterranean, and the Red Sea. She paid off at Devonport in 1916 to provide crews for new antisubmarine vessels and served the remainder of the war as an accommodation ship. Jupiter met her fate at the breaker’s yard in 1920.

HMS Jupiter, Brassey’s Naval Annual, 1902.

“On this day in history” German U-Boat losses, 8 June

German submarine losses “on this day in history” 8 June.

U-373 (Oblt. Detlef von Lehsten) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Liberator from No. 224 Squadron RAF. There were 4 killed and 47 survivors.

U-740 (Kptlt. Günther Stark) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Liberator from No. 224 Squadron RAF. All hands (51) lost.

U-970 (Kptlt. Hans-Heinrich Ketels) lost 8 June 1944. Sunk with depth charges by a Sunderland from No. 228 Squadron RAF. There were 38 killed and 14 survivors.