| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | T |
| Pennant | P 315 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 4 Dec 1941 |
| Launched | 12 Sep 1942 |
| Commissioned | 31 Dec 1942 |
| End service | |
| Loss position | |
| History | HMS Truculent was sunk in the Thames Estuary on 12 January 1950 after a collision with the merchant Dvina. Truculent was returning to Sheerness after a refit at the Chatham Dockyard. 57 of her crew were swept away in the current after a premature escape attempt. 15 survivors were rescued by a boat from the Dvina and 5 by Dutch ship Almdijk. Truculent was salvaged later on the 14 March 1950 and beached at Cheney Spit. The wreck was moved inshore the following day where 10 bodies were recovered. She was refloated on 23 March 1950 and towed into Sheerness Dockyard. An inquiry attributed 75% of the blame to Truculent and 25% to Dvina. The loss led to the introduction of the 'Truculent light', an extra steaming all round white light on the bow, on British submarines. Truculent was sold to be broken up for scrap on 8 May 1950. Commanding Officers: Lt. Edmund Charles Croswell, DSC, RN |
Commands listed for HMS Truculent (P 315)
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| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt. Robert Love Alexander, RN | 27 Nov 1942 | 25 Nov 1944 |
| 2 | Lt. Edmund Charles Croswell, DSC, RN | 25 Nov 1944 | 14 Feb 1946 |
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Noteable events involving Truculent include:
4 Jun 1943
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, RN) torpedoes and sinks the German submarine U-308 in the Norwegian sea north-east of the Faeroes, in position 64º28'N, 03º09'W. U-308 had left Kiel on her first war patrol on 29 May 1943. There were no survivors.
At 1420 hours (time zone -2) a lookout aboard HMS Truculent sighted a u-boat three to four nautical miles away. Lt.Cdr. Alexander dived and proceeded to attack.
At 1445 hours 6 torpedoes were fired with 2 hits and the target sank.
At 1456 hours Truculent surfaced. A large patch of oil fuel and wreckage was observed. No survivors were seen. (see map)
28 Mar 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Yasushima Maru (1910 GRT) in the Strait of Malacca in position 03º38'N, 100º50'E. (see map)
1 Apr 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) sinks the small Japanese vessel Mantai with scuttling charges in the Strait of Malacca.
17 Jun 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) sinks a junk with gunfire and ramming in the Malacca Strait in position 04º37'N, 99º24'E.
At 1015 hours (time zone -6.5) Truculent surfaced in position 04º37'N, 99º24'E and chased a junk that was sighted over 2 hours ago. The junk was boarded, seizing the master and the ships papers. The cargo consited of 102 large bags of coffee, 30 chests of tea and some other items. The ships name was Tongkang Penang. According to the ships papers the tonnage was 20.93 tons. The junk was sunk by gunfire and ramming after a demolition charge had failed. (see map)
24 Jun 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) lays mines in the Strait of Malacca.
Field one;
At 1508 hours (time zone -6.5) HMS Truculent laid the first mine in position 2º51'5"N, 101º14'95"E and continued the lay in direction 90 degrees 550 feet apart. After laying the third mine Truculent grounded. After breaking free from the mud the fourth mine was laid in position 2º51'25"N, 101º15'2"E.
Field two;
At 1707 hours the first mine was laid in position 2º51'35"N, 101.14.6'E and continued the lay in direction 110 degrees 600 feet apart. No problems were encountered during the lay of these four mines.
Field three;
At 1838 hours the first mine was laid in position 2º51'05"N, 101º15'28"E and continues the lay in direction 130 degrees 700 feet apart. No problems were encountered during the lay of these final four mines. (see map)
25 Jun 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) sinks a Japanese sailing vessel with gunfire, scuttling charges and ramming in the Malacca Strait.
At 0430 hours a junk was sighted fairly close in position 03º36'N, 100º36'E. Truculent closed and the junk was boarded. The ships papers showed her size to be 18.3 tons and as the ship was carrying a valuable cargo of coffee it was decided to sink her with demolition charges. The crew of the junk set of in their boat. At 0600 hours Truculent finally sank the junk by ramming after demolition charges and gunfire failed to do the job. (see map)
26 Jun 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Japanese merchant cargo ship Harukiku Maru (3040 GRT, former Dutch Van Waerwijck, built 1910) about 60 nautical miles south-east of Medan, Sumatra in position 03º15'N, 99º46'E.
At 0958 hours (time zone -6.5), in position 03º19'17"N, 99º47'E, Truculent sighted smoke bearing 266. Two minutes later it was noticed that an aircraft was circling in the same direction. Truculent closed for an attack. Later it became clear that Truculent was closing a Japanese convoy made up of one merchant of about 4000 tons, three merchants of about 1500 tons escorted by two submarine chasers and a motor launch. Overhead a twin-engined aircraft was circling.
At 1112 hours four torpedoes were fired against the 4000 tons merchant vessel from 3500 yards. Two hits were obtained. Truculent went deep but hit the bottom at 58 feet.
At 1116 hours the first depth charges were dropped, a pattern of six, but these were not close. At 1124 hours two more depth charges were dropped, this time much closer. At 1159 more depth charges (at least three) were dropped, also close aboard. After these no more depth charges were dropped and Truculent was able to slip away. (see map)
27 Jun 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) sinks a Japanese sailing vessel with demolition charges in the Malacca Strait.
At 1024 hours (time zone -6.5) Truculent surfaced in position 03º48'N, 100º07'E to board a junk sighted previously.
At 1030 hours Truculent was alongside the junk thst was found out to be of 22 tons. The master and her paper were seized and the tree remaining crewmemebers were allowed to leave in their boat. The junk was then sunk with demolition charges. (see map)
28 Jun 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) sinks a Japanese sailing vessel with demolition charges in the Malacca Strait.
At 1700 hours (time zone -6.5) a junk was sighted bearing 000. Truculent turned to intercept.
At 1826 hours Truculent surfaced in position 04º12'N, 99º18'E. The junk, that was well laden and carrying a cargo of rice, was boarded. The crew was taken aboard. The junk was then sunk with demolition charges. (see map)
29 Jun 1944
HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) sinks a Japanese sailing vessel with demolition charges in the Malacca Strait.
At 0300 hours (time zone -6.5) a light was sighted that turned out to be a junk. The junk was boarded and sank at 0500 hours in position 04º45'5"N, 99º44'E after the crew was sent away in their sampam. (see map)
3 Aug 1944
The Japanese minelayer Hatsutaka (1860 tons) is damaged when she hits a mine laid by the British submarine HMS Truculent (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Alexander, DSO, RN) on 24 June 1944 in Klang Strait in position 02º51'N, 101º15'E. (see map)