ONE of the most-feared Royal Navy submarines of the Second World War has been found, 72 years after it was scuttled off the coast of Corsica.
Photographs of HMS Saracen lying hundreds of feet below the surface of the Mediterranean were released yesterday by Guido Gay, an Italian engineer, following a two-year search.
“This morning I inspected a sonar contact found yesterday and there she is – beautifully adorned by white corals,” said Mr Gay, who discovered the S-class sub- marine in Italian waters at a depth of 1,385ft. HMS Saracen terrorised the German and Italian navies in the Mediterranean.
Terry Hodgkinson, a British author who has written extensively about the vessel, said the find was “absolutely magnificent”. “It is an incredible discovery, and one which will cause huge excitement around the world,” he said.
HMS Saracen was scuttled close to Bastia, on the French island of Corsica, on August 14, 1943 after being severely damaged by depth charges from the Italian corvettes Minerva and Euterpe.
Lt Michael Lumby, captain of the Saracen, deliberately waited a day because he did not want to sink his boat on the “unlucky” Friday 13. This meant his entire crew staying underwater until 2am the next day before he ordered his chief engineer to open the vents with the submarine’s engines still running.
Earlier in the war, she had sunk the German submarine U-335 with almost all its crew on its first patrol south-east of the Faroe Islands. Saracen then became notorious in the Mediterranean, launching regular torpedo attacks on Italian and German shipping and enemy ports.
Just before her scuttling, she landed three British agents on Corsica to spy on Axis forces on the strategically crucial island. Two of Saracen’s crew drowned as they escaped the ship during the scuttling, meaning she is now an official war grave. There are believed to be just two survivors of the 48 officers and men who served aboard Saracen, and there is a marble plaque in the citadel in Bastia with the ship’s badge honouring them.
Mr Hodgkinson said all surviving relatives of the Saracen crew were being informed of the discovery, and a bronze badge honouring those who served on board will now be lowered to the wreck.
Beyond that, she will remain exactly where she is, as befits a war grave.