World War Two Archives - Page 19 of 38

British Submarine HMS P712

The captured Perla, at anchor in Beirut harbour, Syria 17 July 1942

British Submarine HMS P712

HMS P712 was a Perla-class submarine captured by the Royal Navy during World War Two and subsequently operated by them.

Perla was the lead ship of her class of submarines built for the Italian Regina Marina. On June 6, 1942, Perla launched two torpedoes at the British corvette HMS Hyacinth. Both missed and Hyacinth counter attacked with depth charges. Suffering serious damage, Captain Ventura ordered her to surface and be scuttled. Damage to the Kingston Valves caused by the attack meant that she flooded very slowly. This provided time for the British to board and prevent her sinking.

Repaired and commissioned into the British Royal Navy she was renamed HMS P712.

While in British service she was used to evaluate the level of development of Italian submarines.

In 1943, she was transferred to the Hellenic Navy and renamed Matrozos. She served until 1947 when she was sold and scrapped.

Perla in with its original pre-war color scheme

Perla in with its original pre-war color scheme

British Submarine HMS X2

HMS X2 (ex-Galileo Galilei) at Aden after her capture showing the damage to her fin

British Submarine HMS X2

HMS X2 was an Archimedes-class submarine operated by the British Royal Navy during World War Two. Originally the Italian Regina Marina submarine Galileo Galilei, it was captured on 19 June 1940 after an engagement with the British anti-submarine warfare trawler HMS Moonstone.

Towed to Port Said, she was repaired and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS X2. This was later changed to HMS P711. During her service she as used as a training submarine in the east. Following the conclusion of the Second World War she was scrapped in January 1946.

British Submarine HMS Seal

HMS Seal was a Grampas-class minelaying submarine of the British Royal Navy. Launched on 28 September 1938, she was commissioned on 28 January 1939.

On 4 May 1940 after laying a minefield in the Skagerrak, Seal was hunted by German trawlers after being spotted by aircraft. Successfully avoiding the trawlers, she ran into an uncharted minefield. Suffering considerable damage she sank to the bottom and waited until nightfall before attempting to surface.

After considerable difficulty, the crew managed to raise her, but she could no longer submerge and damage to her rudder meant she could only steer in reverse. After destroying all confidential papers and equipment Seal made for Sweden and internment. Unfortunately she was spotted by two Arado Ar 196 floatplanes, which were soon joined by a Henkel He 115. With his guns out of action, wounded crew members and unable to dive, Captain Lonsdale surrendered.

Despite the crew’s expectation that the submarine would sink by herself as she was listing and holed, the Germans managed to salvage her. She was repaired at huge cost, renamed UB and used as a training ship and for propaganda purposes. A lack of spares and high maintenance costs saw her paid off, stripped and abandoned in 1943. KMS UB was never used operationally against British forces.