| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | U |
| Pennant | N 93 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 4 Sep 1939 |
| Laid down | 22 Nov 1939 |
| Launched | 9 Jul 1940 |
| Commissioned | 10 Nov 1940 |
| Lost | 11 Nov 1942 |
| Loss position | 46.50N, 06.51W (See a map) |
| History | On 11 November 1942 HMS Unbeaten (Lt. Donald Eric Ogilvy Watson, DSC, RN) was attacked and sunk in error by an RAF Wellington of No. 172 Squadron, Coastal Command in the Bay of Biscay in position 46º50'N, 06º51'W. Unbeaten had left Holy Loch on 23 October 1942 for a special operation (landing an intelligence agent near Vigo, Spain) followed by an anti-shipping patrol in the Bay of Biscay. She was ordered to leave patrol after dark on 8 November 1942. She was lost on the return trip from patrol inside a bombing restrictions area. |
Commands listed for HMS Unbeaten (N 93)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt. Edward Arthur Woodward, RN | 14 Sep 1940 | 31 Aug 1942 |
| 2 | Lt. Donald Eric Ogilvy Watson, DSC, RN | 31 Aug 1942 | 11 Nov 1942 (+) |
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Noteable events involving Unbeaten include:
19 May 1941
HMS Unbeaten (Lt. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) attacks the Italian merchant Silvio Scaroni (1367 GRT) off Tagiura, Libya in position 32º46'N, 14º06'E. with a spread of 4 torpedoes. However all torpedoes miss the target.
(see map)
16 Jun 1941
While on patrol south of the Messina Strait in position 3751'N, 1526'E HMS Unbeaten (Lt. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) fires four torpedoes at a big Italian troop transport, thought to be either Oceania or Neptunia. The torpedoes however miss the target.
At 0819 hours (time zone -2) Unbeaten sighted the masts of a convoy. 10 minutes it was established that the convoy was made up of three merchant vessels of about 2000 tons and a very large liner.
Lt.Cdr. Woodward closed at high speed to attack the liner. At 0909 hours four torpedoes were fired. Two hits were claimed. At 0926 hours 9 depth charges were dropped. Lt.Cdr. Woodward decided to stay deep and only returned to periscope depth at 1200 hours. (see map)
15 Jul 1941
HMS Unbeaten (Lt. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) claimes two schooners sunk with gunfire at Marsa Zuag roads, Libya.
The attack by Unbeaten was at 2000-2010 hours. Fire was opened at 700 yards. 43 rounds were fired. 20 hits were obtained. At the moment there is no confirmation from Italian or German sources as to the identity of the vessels attacked. It is also quite possible that the vessels were only damaged.
19 Aug 1941
HMS Unbeaten (Lt.Cdr. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) fires three torpedoes against the Italian troop transport Esperia (11.398 GRT) 15 nautical miles north of Pantelleria. All torpedoes fired missed their target.
30 Aug 1941
HMS Unbeaten (Lt.Cdr. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Italian sailing vessel V 51 / Alfa (373 GRT) about 25 nautical miles south of Capo dell'Armi, Italy in position 37º57'N, 15º70'E. (see map)
12 Jan 1942
HMS Unbeaten (Lt.Cdr. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) torpedoes and sinks the German submarine U-374 south-west of Cape Spartivento, Calabria, Italy in position 37º50'N, 16º00'E. (see map)
1 Mar 1942
HMS Unbeaten (Lt. J.D. Martin, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Vichy-French merchant PLM 20 (5417 GRT) about 5 nautical miles east of Mehedia, Tunisia.
16 Mar 1942
HMS Unbeaten (Lt.Cdr. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) fires four torpedoes against the Italian merchant Vettor Pisani (6339 GRT) off Cape Buzzano, Calabria, Italy. All torpedoes however missed their target.
17 Mar 1942
HMS Unbeaten (Lt.Cdr. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Italian submarine Guglielmotti off Cape Dell'Armi, Italy in position 37º42'N, 15º58'E.
(all times are zone -2)
0633 hours - In position 37º42'N, 15º58'E heard H.E. (Hydrophone Effect) bearing 130.
0635 hours - Sighted a submarine bearing 125, distant 2200 yards, manouvered into attack position.
0640 hours - Fired 4 torpedoes. One minute and 40 seconds after firing an explosion was heard, H.E. stopped and the submarine was heard breaking up.
0720 hours - Surfaced to pick up survivors. There were about 12 in the water but Unbeaten was forced to dive by an approaching aircraft and clear the area.
1005 hours - Aircraft and motor torpedo boats were seen in the area of the sinking.
1010 to 1020 hours - Distant depth charging was heard. 24 Depth charges were dropped by the three motor torpedo boats present. (see map)