Allied Warships

HMS Triad (N 53)

Submarine of the T class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeSubmarine
ClassT 
PennantN 53 
Built byVickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) 
Ordered 
Laid down24 Mar 1938 
Launched5 May 1939 
Commissioned16 Sep 1939 
Lost15 Oct 1940 
Loss position38.16N, 17.37E (See a map)
 
History

On 9 October 1940 Triad (Lt.Cdr. George Stevenson Salt, RN) sailed from Malta to operate in the Gulf of Taranto, with orders to reach Alexandria on completion of her patrol and was never heard from again. Long believed to have been lost in a minefield, new evidence points to Triad having been the boat engaged and sunk on the night of 15 October by the Italian submarine Enrico Toti in position 38º16'N, 17º37'E.

Analysis of Triad's movements and Toti's action
Triad was directed to pass through position 35º10'N, 15º00'E, 50 nm SE of Valletta, then head for her initial billet, in position 38º36'N, 17º02'E, 25 nm east of Punta Stilo. Her patrol area was designated as a rectangle of 40 nm length whose western limit was 35 nm bearing 035° from position 38º24'N, 16º51'E.
Triad was ordered to leave her patrol area in the afternoon of 14 October and routed on the same line as Rainbow, so as to reach Alexandria at sunset of 20 October

At 0100 hrs of 15 October, the Italian submarine Enrico Toti (Lt.Cdr Bandino Bandini) sighted a large submarine 1,000 metres to port: both boats maneuvered into attack position but the British opened fire first, scoring 2 hits, one on the CT, the other on the bow. She also fired a torpedo which Bandini avoided by turning, then closed the enemy at best speed, firing with everything available. Soon, mg fire compelled the British gunners to abandon the exposed deck. As the British started to dive, Toti fired a torpedo & also scored 2 shell hits. The boat rose vertically then disappeared without survivors. The entire action had lasted less than 30 minutes

According to Toti's log, the action took place in position 38º16'N, 17º37'E, locating it 5 nm inside Triad's area and 5 nm outside the western limit of Rainbow. Since Rainbow had been ordered to leave the area on 13 October, she would have been gone 26-30 hrs before the action described above. Even at the modest speed of 6 kn, Rainbow would have been 200 nm away from the spot at the time of the action. It is therefore postulated that the only boat in Toti's vicinity was Triad, and she was the Italian boat's victim.

See Rainbow's entry for an examination of her movements and likely cause of loss.

Commanding officers:
Lt.Cdr. Ronald McClellan Powning Jonas, RN
2 April 1939 - 27 February 1940

Lt.Cdr. Eric Roland John Oddie, RN
27 February 1940 - 15 August 1940
Promoted to Cdr. on 30 June 1940
DSO awarded on 28 June 1940

Lt.Cdr. George Stevenson Salt, RN
15 August 1940 - 15 October 1940+ 

Commands listed for HMS Triad (N 53)

Please note that we're still working on this section.

CommanderFromTo
1Lt.Cdr. Ronald McClellan Powning Jonas, RN2 Apr 193927 Feb 1940
2Lt.Cdr. Eric Roland John Oddie, RN27 Feb 194015 Aug 1940
3Lt.Cdr. George Stevenson Salt, RN15 Aug 194015 Oct 1940 (+)

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Noteable events involving Triad include:


11 Apr 1940
HMS Triad (Lt.Cdr. E.R.J. Oddie, RN) torpedoes and sinks the German troop transport Ionia (3102 GRT) in the Skagerrak south of the Oslofjord, Norway in position 58º30'N, 10º35'E. (see map)

19 Apr 1940
HMS Triad (Lt.Cdr. E.R.J. Oddie, RN) fires four torpedoes against the German depot ship Tsingtau in the Skagerrak south of the Oslofjord in position 58º18'N, 10º48'E. All torpedoes fired however missed their target. (see map)


Books dealing with this subject include:

Discharged Dead, Hart, Sydney, 1956


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