Maurice Kildare Cavenagh-Mainwaring DSO, RN
| Birth details unknown |
| Ranks
Retired: 7 Jul 1960 Decorations
|
Warship Commands listed for Maurice Kildare Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN
| Ship | Rank | Type | From | To |
| HMS Tuna (N 94) | Lt.Cdr. | Submarine | 4 Jul 1940 | 3 Nov 1941 |
| HMS Wuchang (F 30) | Cdr. | Submarine Depot Ship | 5 Feb 1944 | 1 Apr 1945 |
Career information
We currently have no career / biographical information on this officer.
Events related to this officer
Submarine HMS Tuna (N 94)
1 Aug 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) begins her training period off the Scottish West coast.
25 Aug 1940
With her training completed HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) departs Stornoway bound for Rosyth.
26 Aug 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) arrives at Rosyth.
30 Aug 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) departs Rosyth for her 1st war patrol. This is a work-up patrol in the North Sea.
For the daily and attack positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.
HMS Tuna 1st war patrolclick here for bigger map
1 Sep 1940
At 0150 hours HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) fires torpedoes at ' what is identified as ' a submarine in the North Sea about 175 nautical east of Dundee, Scotland in position 56º09'N, 02º15'E.
(All times are zone 1)
0147 hours - Sighted a uboat bearing red 20 showing an occasional dim white flashing light.
0150 hours - In position 56º09'N, 02º15'E fired four torpedoes from a range of 3000 yards.
0152 hours - Dived. While in the process of doing so a loud explosion was heard.
0200 hours - Three more explosions were heard. These must have been the remaining torpedoes hitting the bottom at the end of their run.
0321 hours - Surfaced. Found nothing in sight but noticed a strong smell of oil fuel.
Note: No German uboat was operating in this area around this time. It's is not clear what Tuna attacked, if anything at all. As Tuna was on a work-up patrol her crew was rather 'green' and possibly a bit over-excited.
5 Sep 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) fires three torpedoes at a suspected U boat contact. No hits were obtained. She also reports being fired upon by the enemy U boat with four torpedoes.
Later this day Tuna ends her 1st war patrol at Rosyth.
(All times are zone 1)
4 September 1940
2200 hours - The Officer of the Watch reported a uboat diving ahead. As visibility through the periscope was nil, Tuna commenced 'hunting' the uboat with her Asdic.
2240 hours - In position 56º26'N, 00º43'W the contact was at 2700 yards.
2302 hours - Range was now 900 yards. The target was thought to be on the bottom.
2305 hours - A signal was sent to base asking if destroyers could be sent out to take over the hunt on the enemy. Meanwhile Tuna patrolled over the position 'pinging' throughout in an endeavour to keep the enemy 'down'.
5 September 1940
0243 hours - Contact was now at 2700 yards but altered course towards and closed to 2000 yards.
0250 hours - In position 56º17'N, 02º20W fired three torpedoes at the contact that was right ahead. Depth settings of the torpedoes was 44, 30 and 24 feet.
0251 hours - A torpedo track was thought to be passing close down the port side from astern. Altered course to comb the track. Three more torpedo tracks now passed close down the starboard side. It was now thought that there were two U boats nearby, one ahead and one astern.
0254 hours - Withdrew from the area as this was a situation far to dangerous. Set course for Rosyth andspeed up to full ahead on both engines.
0344 hours - Sent signal that Tuna was attacked by an enemy submarine with four torpedoes.
0708 hours - Passed HMS Jackal and HMS Vortigern off May Island. Passed information to them. These destroyers had been sent out to sea to hunt the enemy submarine reported by Tuna.
1039 hours - Secured alongside HMS Forth at Rosyth.
Note: As for the attack on a suspected U boat of 1 September, there was no German uboat operating in this area. It is not clear what Tuna was attacking or was attacked by.
6 Sep 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) departs Rosyth for Holy Loch.
9 Sep 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.
15 Sep 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 2nd war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.
For the daily and attack positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.
HMS Tuna 2nd war patrolclick here for bigger map
22 Sep 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) torpedoes and sinks the German merchant Tirrana (7230 GRT, built 1938, former Norwegian Tirrana (offsite link) in the Bay of Biscay south of the Gironde estuary, about 15 nautical miles south-west of Soulac-sur-Mer, France in position 45º19'N, 01º20'W.
Tirranna was captured by the German armed merchant cruiser Atlantis in the Indian Ocean about 675 nautical miles east-south-east of Port Louis, Mauritius in position 22º40'S, 69º20'E on 10 June 1940.
(All times are zone 1)
1145 hours - Sighted merchant ship. Commenced attack. No escort was present.
1232 hours - Fired 4 torpedoes from 900 yards. Three hits were observed through the periscope. The target was seen to sink at 1239 hours.
24 Sep 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) torpedoes and sinks the German catapult ship Ostmark (1281 GRT, built 1936) in the Bay of Biscay about 35 nautical miles south-west of St. Nazaire, France in position 47º01'N, 03º02'W.
(All times are zone 1)
0421 hours - Sighted three dark objects on the port bow. Altered course and started attack. The contacts were identified as a merchant vessel escorted by two destroyers.
0435 hours - Fired six torpedoes from 8000 yards against the merchant. Went deep upon firing. One of the destroyers was heard to come towards, most likely running down the torpedo tracks. One hit was obtained on the target 6min, 45sec after firing the last torpedo.
No counter attack followed. Tuna set course to the South to resume her patrol off the Gironde.
Note: The Ostmark was escorted by the German minesweepers M 6 and M 12
3 Oct 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) ends her 2nd war patrol at Holy Loch.
23 Oct 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 3rd war patrol. She is to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.
For the daily positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.
HMS Tuna 3rd war patrolclick here for bigger map
15 Nov 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) ends her 3rd war patrol at Holy Loch.
21 Nov 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) is docked at Ardrossan.
24 Nov 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) is un-docked at Ardrossan and returns to Holy Loch.
12 Dec 1940
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 4th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.
No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.
18 Dec 1940
At 0430 hours HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) attacks the Italian submarine Brin (offsite link) with torpedoes and gunfire in the Bay of Biscay about 55 nautical miles east of the Gironde estuary in position 45º28'N, 02º27'W. The Italian submarine escapes unharmed.
At 2314 hours HMS Tuna sinks the French tug (in German service) Chassiron (172 GRT, built 1901) with gunfire about 25 nautical miles west-south-west of the Gironde estuary in position 45º28'N, 01º38'E.
0403 hours (time zone unknown, not mentioned in patrol report and no log available) Sighted a dark object bearing Green 3 degrees. The object was soon indentified as a submarine conning tower. As HMS Usk was just 20 nautical miles to the North of Tuna and the silhouette resembled that of a U-class submarine a challenge was made. The reply was unreable. As it was still thought it was Usk, The silhouette did not resemble an Italian submarine and a German submarine was not expected in pass through this area, a second challenge was made. No reply came on the second challenge an the target turned away.
0430 hours - In position 45º28'N, 02º27'W fired six torpedoes from 1500 yards. The etarget was not hit, the torpedoes missed on either side. When it was seen that the torpedoes had missed gun action was ordered. After the third round it was thought that a hit was obtained. The enemy increased to full speed and ran for the Gironde. No more hits were obtained and as the enemy sumarine was faster range soon increased.
0510 hours - Fired one torpedo but missed.
0520 hours - Fired another torpedo but mised again. Soon after a torpedo wake was sighted, the enemy had fired a stern torpedo but this also missed (according to Ïtalian sources, Brin had fired two stern torpedoes).
0523 hours - A darkened object was reported bearing Red 120 degrees. Almost simultaniously the enemy submarine was seen to make her identification signal. /it was thought that this new contact was the escort for the enemy submarine to the Gironde. Tuna turned away and dived to 200 feet. By HE it was noticed that there were two escort vessels in the area. They remained in the area to hunt Tuna but nevber made contact and no depth charges were dropped.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2254 hours - An object was sighted bearing Red 20 degrees. Course was altered towards. Started attack. The target was considered to be an A/S vessel.
2314 hours - In position 45º28'N, 01º38'E fired 2 torpedoes set to 4 feet. Range was 1200 yards. The first torpedo was seen to miss ahead. The second that was supposed to hit ran off track and missed astern. The enemy was now seen to be an armed tug. Gun action was ordered and hits were obtained quickly. 19 Rounds were fired for at least five hits. She was now left on fire fore and aft. She was also settling and down in the water. Tuna cleared the area to the South-West.
2 Jan 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) ends her 4th war patrol at Holy Loch.
29 Jan 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 5th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol of the Azores.
No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.
16 Feb 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) ends her 5th war patrol at Gibraltar.
20 Feb 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) departs Gibraltar for a convoy escort mission. She joins convoy HG 54.
5 Mar 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) leaves convoy HG 54 and proceeds to Holy Loch.
9 Mar 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.
22 Mar 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 6th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.
No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.
14 Apr 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) ends her 6th war patrol at Holy Loch.
30 Apr 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) is docked.
6 May 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) is undocked.
1 Jun 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 7th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.
No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.
20 Jun 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) ends her 7th war patrol at Holy Loch.
7 Jul 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 8th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.
No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.
9 Jul 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) is attacked in error in position 49º16'N, 08º58'W by a British aircraft (217Sq./Y) resulting in some minor damage. Tuna was outside her area due to a small navigitional error.
10 Jul 1941
While on patrol in the Bay of Biscay HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) fires two torpedoes at a submerged Asdic contact stearing approximate course 191, of what is thought to be an enemy submarine in position 46º00'N, 09º40'W. The torpedoes misses their target. No Axis submarines were however reported to be near that position at that date, so that attack was most likely against a non-sub target (if any).
(time zone unknown, not mentioned in patrol report and no log available)
10 July 1941
2208 hours - In position 46.00'N, 09.40'W the Port after lookout sighted through his glasses a periscope bearing Red 130 degrees, distance 1000 yards. The Officer of the Watch turned hard to Starboard and dived. Tuna was in contact with the enemy submarine with Asdics while submerged.
2306 hours - Fired one torpedo at a contact 500 yards ahead. The torpedo was set to 32 feet. The torpedo missed and it was thought that the target had gone deep.
For the next two hours the target was hunted by Asdics.
11 July 1941
0114 hours - Fired one torpedo at the target that now was steady bearing 191 degrees. Missed.
0115 hours - Surfaced and left the area full speed ahead.
19 Jul 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) fires 6 torpedoes at the German tanker Benno (8306 GRT, built 1939, former Norwegian Ole Jacob, offsite link) escorted by the German minesweepers M 18, M 25, M 27 and M 30 60 nautical miles north-west of the Gironde estuary in position 45º21'N, 02º23'W. Although six detanations were heard all torpedoes missed their target(s).
The Ole Jacob was captured on 10 November 1940 by the German armed merchant cruiser Atlantis in the Bay of Bengal in position position 06º30'N, 90º13'E.
(time zone unknown, not mentioned in patrol report and no log available)
0048 hours - A darkened object was sighted and HE was heard bearing Green 04 degrees.
0050 hours - Increased to full speed and closed. After about 10 minutes two destroyers could be distinguished ahead of the target. Shortly afterwards another destroyer was seen astern as well as another unidentified vessel.
In position in position 45º21'N, 02º23'W fired six torpedoes at the target from about 6000 yards.
0114 hours - Dived. Half a minute later a loud explosion was heard, followed shortly afterwards by another. Tuna went to 150 feet and rigged for depth charging but nothing further happened and Tuna surfaced about 1,5 hours after the attack and cleared the area.
29 Jul 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) ends her 8th war patrol at Holy Loch.
20 Aug 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 9th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Bay of Biscay.
No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.
19 Sep 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr. M.K. Cavenagh-Mainwaring, DSO, RN) ends her 9th war patrol at Holy Loch.