| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Submarine |
| Class | U |
| Pennant | P 38 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 2 Sep, 1940 |
| Launched | 9 Jul, 1941 |
| Commissioned | 17 Oct, 1941 |
| Lost | 23 Feb, 1942 |
| Loss position | 32.48N, 14.58E (See a map) |
| History | HMS P 38 (Lt. Rowland John Hemingway, DSC, RN) left Malta on 16 February 1942 to intercept a convoy off Tripoli. By the 23rd she was in position as the convoy hove into view. Amongst the convoy was the Italian torpedo boat Circe. At 0800 the Circe reported a contact with a submarine and that she turned in to attack. A periscope was sighted but was quickly replaced by bubbles as the submarine dived realising it had been spotted. At 1050 after a flurry of attacks P 38 rose stern first out of the water, her propellers turning wildly, before crashing back beneath the waves. A large patch of oil appeared on the surface as well as debris, clear evidence of the submarine’s destruction. P 38 was sunk some 90 nautical miles east of Tripoli, Libya in position 32º48'N, 14º58'E. There were no survivors.
Commanding Officer: |
| Noteable events involving P 38 include: 14 Feb, 1942 |