Heroes’ seabed tomb
Found after 73 years, lost Navy sub that could contain 71 bodies
IT was December 1942 when HM Submarine P311 left Malta on her first – and only – mission.
Sliding silently through the waters of the Mediterranean towards Sardinia, the 275ft vessel was set to launch an attack on two Italian cruisers.
But, on December 31, the submarine vanished from the radar. The boat and her 71 crew were never seen again – until now.
For more than seven decades on, a diver has uncovered the long-lost submarine.
Covered in barnacles and algae, the almost intact wreck is lying in 80ft of water, just off the island of Tavolara.
The near-perfect condition of the vessel raises the possibility that the crew died of suffocation inside the vessel and their bodies are still on board.
Italian diver Massimo Bondone said he spotted the hull and a deckmounted gun. He said he then identified the submarine by the two Chariot ‘ human torpedoes’ which are still fixed to the outside.
The Chariots carried an explosive powerful charge and were piloted by two frogmen, who would steer it close to the target ship before escaping to safety.
HMS P311 had been converted to carry the chariots and was en route to attack the harbour of Maddalena, Sardinia, as part in Operation Principle, an Allied attack on Italian warships.
But the submarine, which was captained by Lieutenant Richard D. Cayley, was thought to have hit an Italian mine and sunk.
Mr Bondone, an experienced wreck-hunter, said of his discovery: ‘It was an eerie sight, like a ghost ship. We’d heard stories and fishermen reported hearing a “boom” but no one knew where it was. When we saw it, my thoughts turned to the courageous sailors on board.’
HMS P311 was the only T-class Royal Navy submarine never to be given a name. She was to be called Tutankhamen, but disappeared before she could be formally assigned. The Royal Navy said it was now investigating to determine whether or not it is the P311.
If it is found to be the submarine, it will not be disturbed and the bodies of the sailors will be left to rest on the seabed, as naval wrecks are considered war graves.
A Royal Navy spokesman said divers could also be sent to fly the White Ensign from her.
Many of her crew are commemo- rated on the Portsmouth Naval War Memorial, including Andrew Adams, a petty officer telegraphist on the doomed vessel.
His nephew, Ron Gould, 64, from Rosyth, told The Times: ‘My family never really spoke about his loss.
‘I spoke about it to my mum once, but she didn’t really say much. It’s good to have some closure and see the mystery solved.’