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  Front page - Fighting the U-boats - Allied Warships

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08 February 2012
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Noteable events involving Tuna include:

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. (see map)

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. (see map)

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. (see map)

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 (see map)

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. (see map)

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. (see map)

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.

(see map)

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. (see map)

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.

12 Nov 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 10th war patrol. She is to patrol off the Norwegian Coast.

No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.

2 Dec 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) ends her 10th war patrol at Holy Loch.

13 Dec 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 11th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off the Norwegian Coast. She is part of a special mission. For this she has to proceed to Scapa Flow first before departing for patrol from that base on 23 December. The special mission in question was part of Operation Archery, a commando raid on Vaagso. Tuna was to act as navigational beacon for the surface ships involved in this operation.

30 Dec 1941
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) ends her 11th war patrol at Holy Loch.

14 Jan 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 12th 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 Jan 1942
While on patrol in the Bay of Biscay HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) intercepts the French fishing vessel Juliette / Lorient 3476. The Skipper is taken on board for interrogation. Some of the papers are copied or confiscated.

21 Jan 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) ends her 12th war patrol at Falmouth. She departs for Holy Loch later that same day.

23 Jan 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

6 Feb 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 13th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off the Norwegian Coast.

No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.

25 Feb 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) ends her 13th war patrol at Lerwick.

27 Feb 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) departs Lerwick bound for Holy Loch.

1 Mar 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

9 Mar 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) departs Holy Loch bound for Lerwick.

11 Mar 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) arrives at Lerwick.

16 Mar 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) departs Lerwick for her 14th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off the Norwegian Coast.

No logs are available for this period so no map of this patrol can be displayed.

3 Apr 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) ends her 14th war patrol at Lerwick. She departs later that day for Holy Loch.

5 Apr 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

7 Apr 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. M.B. St. John, RN) departs Holy Loch for Blyth. She is to refit at the yard of Swan Hunters at Wallsend. This refit starts on 2 May 1942.

14 Sep 1942
With her refit completed HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) departs Blyth for Holy Loch to start the work-up period for her 2nd commission.

19 Sep 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) arrives at Holy Loch for her work-up period along the Scottish West coast.

23 Oct 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 15th war patrol. This is the first patrol of her 2nd commission and therefore a work-up patrol off the Norwegian Coast (to intercept the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer that is on passage from Northern Norway to Germany) and in the Norwegian Sea (to give cover for the passage of 36 merchant ships to and from Murmansk).

For the daily and attack positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.

HMS Tuna 15th war patrolclick here for bigger map

25 Oct 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) makes a short call at Lerwick before proceeding on patrol.

6 Nov 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) fires two salvoes of three torpedoes each against the German submarine U-625 in position 76º08'N, 14º05'E. Both salvoes missed their target.

(All times are zone -1)
0154 hours - Sighted a German U-boat bearing 120 degrees. Turned towards and started attack.

0204 hours - Fired three torpedoes but the enemy was seen to increase speed so at ......

0206 hours - Fired three more torpedoes but now the enemy changed course so all torpedoes fired missed their target.

Dived so not giving the enemy the opportunity for a counter attack.

Note: the attacks were not noted by the Germans. (see map)

16 Nov 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) ends her 15th war patrol at Lerwick.

17 Nov 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) departs Lerwick for Holy Loch.

19 Nov 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

30 Nov 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 16th war patrol. She is to perform a special operation in the Bay of Biscay. Before she departs for patrol exercises were carried out in Inchmarnock Water.

For the daily positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.

HMS Tuna 16th war patrolclick here for bigger map

7 Dec 1942
During the evening of 7 December 1942 HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) delivered the "Cockleshell Heroes" to the mouth of the Gironde for their daring raid on Bordeaux, France in which 6 German ships were mined. The raid was called Operation Frankton, and only two of the 12 men returned.

13 Dec 1942
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) ends her 16th war patrol at Plymouth. She is to be refitted at Devonport Dockyard including the fitting of radar.

26 Jan 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) departs Plymouth for Holy Loch.

29 Jan 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

25 Feb 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 17th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol off the Norwegian Coast.

For the daily positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.

HMS Tuna 17th war patrolclick here for bigger map

12 Mar 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) ends her 17th war patrol at Lerwick.

13 Mar 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) departs Lerwick bound for Holy Loch.

14 Mar 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. R.P. Raikes, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

1 Apr 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 18th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Norwegian Sea.

For the daily and attack positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.

HMS Tuna 18th war patrolclick here for bigger map

3 Apr 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) makes a short call at Lerwick before proceeding on patrol.

7 Apr 1943
The German submarine U-644 was sunk in the North Sea north-west of Narvik, Norway, in position 69º38'N, 05º40'W, by torpedoes from the British submarine HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN).

(All times are zone -2)
2103 hours - In position 69º38'N, 05º40'W heard diesel HE bearing 190 degrees. Commenced attack.

2105 hours - Sighted German u-boat, enemy course 280 degrees, speed 11 knots, range 500 yards.

2109 hours - Fired five torpedoes (six were ordered but one failed to leave the tube).

2109.50 hours - Heard one explosion.

2109.57 hours - Heard another explosion, HE ceased and breaking up noises were heard.

2119 hours - Heard three loud explosions, these must have been the remaining torpedoes exploding at the ends of their run.

2123 hours - Surfaced amid wreckage and oil fuel. Also two dead bodies were sighted. One swimming survivor was also sighted but he drowned and sunk before he could be picked up. (see map)

14 Apr 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) attacks the German submarine U-302 with 4 torpedoes south of Jan Mayen Island in position 70º33'N, 07º10'W. The torpedoes however miss their target.

(All times are zone -2)
0702 hours - Heard diesel HE bearing 315 degrees.

0705 hours - Observed the conning tower of a u-boat bearing 324 degrees. Range was 9000 yards.

0731 hours - Fired 8 torpedoes from 5000 yards. All torpedoes missed their target. (see map)

19 Apr 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) ends her 18th war patrol at Lerwick. She departs later that day for Holy Loch.

21 Apr 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

14 May 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 19th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the Norwegian Sea.

For the daily and attack positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.

HMS Tuna 19th war patrolclick here for bigger map

30 May 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) attacks the German submarine U-341 with 8 torpedoes in the Norwegian Sea in position 64º17'N, 00º43'E. All torpedoes fired missed their target dispite the fact that Lt. Martin claims a sinking.

(All times are zone -2)
1411 hours - Observed the conning tower of a submarine bearing 008 degrees. Range was about 9000 yards. Started attack.

1442 hours - Fired 8 torpedoes from 8000 yards.

1451 hours - Just after the first explosion was heard the stern of the enemy submarine was seen to be enveloped in thick black smoke. She was seen to sink stern first at an angle of about 10 degrees.

Note: The target was not hit. (see map)

3 Jun 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) ends her 19th war patrol at Lerwick.

4 Jun 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) departs Lerwick for Holy Loch.

6 Jun 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

23 Jun 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch for exercises with aircraft off the West coast of Scotland.

28 Jun 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO, RN) returns to Holy Loch.

2 Jul 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO, RN) is docked at Holy Loch.

5 Jul 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO, RN) is undocked.

10 Jul 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 20th war patrol. She is ordered to patrol in the North Atlantic North of the Azores.

For the daily positions of HMS Tuna during this patrol see the map below.

HMS Tuna 20th war patrolclick here for bigger map

23 Jul 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO, RN) ends her 20th war patrol at Holy Loch.

15 Aug 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO and Bar, RN) departs Holy Loch for her 21th 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 21st war patrolclick here for bigger map

22 Aug 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO and Bar, RN) makes a torpedo attack on a German submarine in position 47º18'N, 04º26'W. All torpedoes fired missed their target dispite the claim of a sinking.

(All times are zone -1)
1147 hours - Sighted masts and upperworks of five minesweepers bearing 200 degrees. Distance 5 nautical miles, course 025 degrees. As there were no A/S transmissions it was thought that these minesweepers were no escorts but were sweeping. Inside this screen of sweeping minesweepers 2 uboats were present. Started attack.

1206 hours - Fired 8 torpedoes at one of the u-boats from 3000 yards. It was first intended to fire at both u-boats but the closest one was now much to close to be firing at. Upon firing Tuna went to 150 feet. However no counter attack followed.

1208 hours - One small explosion heard overhead.

1209 hours - Two torpedo explosions were heard, these are thought to be hits as HE of the target ceased.

Upon coming to periscope depth at 2000 hours it was discovered that Tuna had cought a paravane of one of the minesweepers. This was removed and the damage caused by it was repaired.

Note dispite the claim for a sinking this was not the case. The u-boats attacked were most likely U-505 and U-515. Both had left Lorient at 2200 hours the previous day but returned at 1840 hours on the 22nd after U-505 had developed a fuel leak. (see map)

25 Aug 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO and Bar, RN) ends her 21th war patrol at Holy Loch. This was Tuna's last patrol. As new construction was now available in numbers Tuna was assigned to training duties. Tuna had troubles with her engines from the start, this was most likely also the reason for her being based in home waters for her entire career.

16 Sep 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO and Bar, RN) departs Holy Loch to proceed to Scapa Flow. Here she will be used for A/S exercises.

18 Sep 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO and Bar, RN) arrives at Scapa Flow.

30 Sep 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO and Bar, RN) departs Scapa Flow bound for Holy Loch.

2 Oct 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt. D.S.R. Martin, DSO and Bar, RN) arrives at Holy Loch.

15 Oct 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr.(retired) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) departs Holy Loch to proceed to Scapa Flow. Here she will be used for A/S exercises.

17 Oct 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr.(retired) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) arrives at Scapa Flow.

31 Oct 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr.(retired) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) departs Scapa Flow bound for Blyth.

2 Nov 1943
HMS Tuna (Lt.Cdr.(retired) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) arrives at Blyth. She is to refit at the yard of Swan Hunters at Wallsend. This refit starts on 5 November 1943.

27 Apr 1944
HMS Tuna (Lt. L.F.L. Hill, RNR) ends her refit at Wallsend and proceeds to Blyth. Tuna is assigned to training duties mostly based at Holy Loch and Port H.H.Z. Tuna is also used for training with Chariot human torpedoes.