Allied Warships

HMS Unbeaten (N 93)

Submarine of the U class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeSubmarine
ClassU 
PennantN 93 
Built byVickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) 
Ordered 
Laid down22 Nov 1939 
Launched9 Jul 1940 
Commissioned10 Nov 1940 
Lost11 Nov 1942 
Loss position46.50N, 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. She was on passage to Gibraltar after being refitted in the U.K. The entire crew went down with the ship.

Commanding Officers:
Lt. Edward Arthur Woodward, DSO, RN
14 September 1940 - August 1942

Lt. Donald Eric Ogilvy Watson, DSC, RN
August 1942 - 11 November 1942+

 

Commands listed for HMS Unbeaten (N 93)

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CommanderFromTo
1Lt. Edward Arthur Woodward, RN14 Sep 1940Aug 1942
2Lt. Donald Eric Ogilvy Watson, DSC, RN31 Aug 194211 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.Cdr. E.A. Woodward, DSO, 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. (see map)

24 Jul 1942
HMS Unbeaten (Lt.Cdr. E.A. Woodward, DSO, RN) torpedoes and damages the Italian merchant Vettor Pisani (6339 GRT) off Argostoli, Greece in position 38º05'N, 20º12'E. The damaged Vettor Pisani sunk later that day by British aircraft. (see map)

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