 Safari underway on theRiver Mersey | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Safari |
| Ordered | 23 January 1940 |
| Builder | Cammell Laird,Birkenhead |
| Laid down | 5 June 1940 |
| Launched | 18 November 1941 |
| Commissioned | 14 March 1942 |
| Honours & awards | Sicily 1943, Mediterranean 1943 |
| Fate |
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| Badge |  |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | S-class submarine |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 217 ft (66.1 m) |
| Beam | 23 ft 9 in (7.2 m) |
| Draught | 14 ft 8 in (4.5 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (surfaced); 120 nmi (220 km; 140 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) (submerged) |
| Test depth | 300 ft (91.4 m) |
| Complement | 48 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
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| Armament | |
HMSSafari was a third batchS-class submarine built for theRoyal Navy duringWorld War II.Commissioned in 1942, she was assigned to operate in theMediterranean Sea. During the course of the war,Safari sank twenty-five ships, most of which were Italian.[1]
Laid down on 5 June 1940 atBirkenhead,Safari waslaunched on 18 November 1941 and commissioned on 14 March 1942 atHoly Loch. Between May and August 1942,Safari patrolled in the west Mediterranean, based inGibraltar. After two failed attempts to attack enemy ships during a first patrol in theAlboran Sea,Safari conducted a second patrol, sinking her first ship, the Italian merchantAdda. In her next patrol, she escorted the Allied convoy inOperation Pedestal, then sank two additional ships and damaged another. On 12 September,Safari was reassigned to the10th Submarine Flotilla inMalta, with which she conducted two patrols in theAdriatic Sea, sinking one ship and damaging several more.Safari then operated offSicily, evading an attack by German aircraft then sinking two ships. On 18 November,Safari fired a torpedo at ships anchored at Ras Ali, Libya; but the torpedo passed under, striking and wrecking the port'smole along a length of 25 metres (82 ft), killing five men.
Safari went on to sink five ships, then was assigned to the 8th Submarine Flotilla inAlgiers. During a patrol offNaples, she was mistakenly bombed by British aircraft but was not damaged;Safari went on to sink four boats, then carried out special operations, landing men inSicily, then later inSardinia. After an attack by an Italian destroyer in which she was not damaged,Safari conducted two patrols during theAllied landings in North Africa, sinking four ships.Safari returned to England on 8 September 1943, and conducted training operations with the 7th Submarine Flotilla, punctuated by a short patrol offNorway to guard against a potential sortie to Germany of theGerman battleship Tirpitz.
After the end ofWorld War II,Safari was placed in reserve, then sold forscrap on 7 January 1946. However, she sank offPortland the next day while being towed to the shipbreaking yard.
The S-class submarines were intended to patrol the restricted waters of theNorth Sea and theMediterranean Sea. The third batch was slightly enlarged and improved over the preceding second batch of the S-class. The submarines had a length of 217 feet (66.1 m)overall, abeam of 23 feet 9 inches (7.2 m) and adraught of 14 feet 8 inches (4.5 m). Theydisplaced 842 long tons (856 t) on the surface and 990 long tons (1,010 t) submerged.[2] The S-class submarines had a crew of 48 officers andratings. They had a diving depth of 300 feet (91.4 m).[3]
For surface running, the boats were powered by two 950-brake-horsepower (708 kW)diesel engines, each driving onepropeller shaft. When submerged each propeller was driven by a 650-horsepower (485 kW)electric motor. They could reach 15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) on the surface and 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) underwater.[4] On the surface, the third-batch boats had a range of 6,000nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and 120 nmi (220 km; 140 mi) at 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) submerged.[3]
Safari was armed with six 21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes in the bow. She carried six reload torpedoes for the bow tubes for a total of a dozen torpedoes. Twelvemines could be carried in lieu of the torpedoes. The boat was also equipped with athree-inch (76 mm)deck gun.[5] The third-batch S-class boats were fitted with either a Type 129AR or 138ASDIC system and aType 291 or 291Wearly-warning radar.[6]
Ordered on 23 January 1940,Safari waslaid down inBirkenhead byCammell Laird on 5 June 1940. She waslaunched on 18 November 1941. The boat departed the builder's yard on 10 March 1942 and wascommissioned into theRoyal Navy on 14 March atHoly Loch.[1]
After training,Safari departed forGibraltar on 14 May together with the submarinesHMS Unison andHMS Traveller, escorted by thesloopHMS La Capricieuse. After arriving on 26 May,Safari conducted exercises before departing for her first war patrol in theAlboran Sea. On 13 June, she sighted a convoy of two Italianlight cruisers, escorted by threedestroyers and attempted to attack, but they were out of torpedo range. Four days later, she sighted a surfaced submarine, most probably the ItalianUarsciek, but the submarine was out of attacking range.Safari returned to Gibraltar on 23 June after sighting no more enemy ships.[1]
On 4 July,Safari departed Gibraltar for her second war patrol with orders to patrol offSardinia. She sank the Italian merchant shipSS Adda with gunfire and a torpedo on 12 July, at position40°02′N09°48′E / 40.033°N 9.800°E /40.033; 9.800. Three days later, the boat damaged another Italian merchantman,SS Tigrai, off the Gulf of Orosei.Safari returned to Gibraltar on 24 July.[1]
Starting on 4 August,Safari patrolled north ofSicily, with additional orders to provide protection duringOperation Pedestal, an Allied convoy operation to resupplyMalta. Two days later, she sighted a surfaced submarine, possibly the ItalianAcciaio-class submarineGiada, although the submarine dived before an attack could be carried out. On 16 August,Safari escorted the convoy in Operation Pedestal, with the intent of being spotted on the surface by enemy aircraft and discourage potential attacks from enemy surface warships. Although the boat did not encounter enemy forces, the convoy operation was a British strategic success. On 14 August,Safari returned to normal patrols, and she damaged the Italiansailing vesselGioavannina M with gunfire two days later. The next day, she encountered and sank another Italian sailing ship,Ausonia, offOrosei, Sardinia. On 18 August,Safari sank the Italian shipPerseo offCape Carbonara, then attacked, but missed, the Italian submarineBronzo with torpedoes later in the day. She returned to Gibraltar on 24 August.[1]
Safari departed Gibraltar to join the10th Submarine Flotilla, based in Malta, on 12 September. She arrived the following week, then leftGrand Harbour on 26 September for a patrol in theAdriatic Sea. On 2 October, she damaged the Italian merchantVeglia with gunfire and a torpedo, forcing the ship to bebeached and then declared a total loss. Two days later,Safari missed the Italian merchantmanValentino Coda with four torpedoes, then surfaced to use her main gun; the attack had to be broken off when the enemy returned fire and a destroyer was sent to hunt the submarine. On 5 October,Safari damaged the Italian merchantEneo and caused it to be beached on rocks;Eneo was later declared a total loss. The boat missed the Italian steamerGiuseppe Magluilo with three torpedoes on 8 October. The Italiantorpedo boatT5, which was patrolling close by, subsequently depth chargedSafari, but caused only minor damage. Two days later, she attacked but missed the steamerGoffredo Mameli, which was in a convoy with two other ships escorted by the Italian torpedo boatT7. She managed to evade the torpedo boat without sustaining damage, then ended her fourth patrol at Malta on 14 October.[1]
On 18 October,Safari departed Malta for another patrol in the Adriatic, with orders to intercept an enemy convoy nearPantelleria. However, she failed to sight the convoy, so the boat was ordered to meet another convoy south of the island ofLampedusa. One of the ships in the convoy,Titania, had been damaged by air-dropped torpedoes the preceding night and had dropped out of the convoy together with two destroyer escorts.Safari fired a torpedo at the merchant ship, but missed; she then launched another torpedo at her target which exploded and sank. After evading a counter-attack by the escorting destroyers,Safari returned to Malta two days later, ending her four-day patrol.[1]
After departing Malta on 3 November, the boat was assigned to patrol north ofSicily, Italy, to support theAllied landings in North Africa. On the way to her patrol area,Safari was attacked by GermanMesserschmitt Bf 109fighter aircraft, but was not damaged. She sank the Italian vesselBice on 13 November, east ofSousse,Tunisia. After changing her patrol area to theGulf of Sirte three days later, she torpedoed and sank the German transportHans Arp, anchored along with a Germanminesweeper, offRas Ali, Libya.Safari launched a torpedo at severalbarges anchored at Ras Ali on 17 November, but their draught was too shallow and the torpedo passed under and hit the port'smole, destroying it along a distance of 25 metres (82 ft), killing five and wounding fifteen men.Safari also attacked an unidentified schooner with a torpedo later in the day, but missed. On 18 November, the boat sank a small vessel and damaged a landing barge with gunfire in the same area. She fired a torpedo on 21 November at a landing barge in Ras Ali, but the torpedo again went under and hit the mole as it had four days prior. On 22 November, she damaged another landing craft off of Ras Sulta with gunfire, but had to break off the attack after expending all her 3-inch ammunition. The boat returned to Malta on 24 November.[1]
Safari departed Malta on 16 December for her seventh war patrol, with orders to operate offHammamet, Tunisia. After patrolling for two days, she sighted the Italian vesselEufrasia C and sank it with gunfire in theGulf of Hammamet.Safari severely damaged an Italian patrol vessel,Costantina, on 20 November;Costantina had to be beached and was later declared a total loss. Later the next daySafari sank the Italian magnetic minesweeperRosina S with gunfire, then finished it with a torpedo when it stayed afloat. On 23 December,Safari made a short stop at Malta to land prisoners of war, refuel, and replenish her ammunition supply. While patrolling south of Sousa, Tunisia, on 27 December,Safari sank with gunfire the Italian vesselEleonora Rosa which was carrying 100 long tons (100 t) of petrol. Two days later, she sank the Italian merchant shipTorquato Gennari with torpedoes south ofSfax, Tunisia. The boat ended her patrol at Malta on 30 December.[1]
After departing Malta on 2 January 1943,Safari arrived atAlgiers on 6 January to join the 8th Submarine Flotilla, based in Algiers. She departed port on 20 January to patrol off Naples, Italy. The next day, the boat, in the British bombing restriction zone, was mistakenly bombed by an off-courseRoyal Air ForceVickers Wellington aircraft. On 24 January,Safari attempted to attack an enemy destroyer, but was detected by thesonar of the ship, which attacked her with depth charges. The destroyer was probably the ItalianNavigatori-class destroyerLanzerotto Malocello, which reported an attack on this day, but lost sonar contact due to equipment failure.Safari attempted to attack an Italian convoy on 26 January, but missed the ships with four torpedoes. On 30 January, the boat sank the ItalianschoonersSant’Aniello andGemma, sailing forVibo Valentia, with gunfire offCape Scalea, Italy. On 2 February she sighted and attacked a convoy of two Italian merchant ships offCapri;Valsavoia was sunk with torpedoes andSalemi with gunfire.Safari then returned to Algiers on 8 February.[1]
On 22 February,Safari departed Algeria, this time on a mission to land reconnaissance engineers on the beaches north of Sicily. The men would reach the ground infolbots, small foldingkayaks. Several missions were launched between 27 February and 13 March, and, with the mission completed,Safari resumed patrol duties, sinking the Italian vesselStefano M offCape San Vito on 9 March, then returned to Algiers on the 13th.[1]
Safari departed Algiers on 27 March, with orders to patrol south ofSardinia, Italy, and, on 3 April, sank the Italian vesselsNasello andS. Francisco di Paola A with gunfire off theGulf of Orosei. On 6 April, she missed the Italian merchantVincenzina with torpedoes, then sank the Italian minesweeperBella Italia offCape Carbonara on 9 April. The next day, she intercepted a convoy of Italian ships, escorted by two minesweepers, and sank the auxiliary shipLoredan and tankerIsonzo. The last ship of the convoy,Entella, ran aground while maneuvering to avoid torpedoes, and was sunk bySafari the following day.Safari returned to Algiers on 14 April.[1]
After conducting exercises,Safari departed Algiers on 29 April for her eleventh patrol, northwest of Sardinia, Italy. After four days at sea, the boat sank the Italian auxiliary shipSogliola with gunfire offAsinara Island, then went on to sink the minesweeperOnda with torpedoes in the same area. On 8 May, she sank the Italian merchant shipLiv, which had earlier been damaged in an air attack, inPorto Torres, Sardinia.Safari ended her patrol on 14 May at Algiers.[1]
On 26 May,Safari departed Algiers, tasked with carrying outOperation Marigold. On 30 May, she landed two men of theSpecial Boat Section, offMuravera, Sardinia. The men returned shortly after midnight after purposely dropping a notebook on land for deception purposes.Safari launched twelve men in two folbots and two dinghies in the early morning on 1 June. They were to conduct reconnaissance and attempt to capture an enemy soldier for interrogation; however, the landing party came under fire on the shore and returned to the submarine with one missing. With the special mission completed, the boat disembarked the men atAnnaba on 3 June. Continuing her normal patrolSafari attempted to attack an Italian convoy, but was detected and unsuccessfully attacked with depth charges by an Italian destroyer. Two days later, she was again attacked by an Italian ship, this time theCiclone-class torpedo boatArdito, which spotted her on the surface, then attacked with depth charges. On 10 June,Safari sank the German transportKT-12, bound forCagliari, with torpedoes then ended her patrol in Algiers on 15 June.[1]
On 30 June 1943, the boat shifted toBizerte, arriving the next day, then left port on 4 July to conduct her thirteenth war patrol, with orders to act as a directionalradio beacon during theAllied invasion of Sicily. Shortly before leaving port,Safari was accidentally rammed by a Frenchtug, but sustained only minor damage which was repaired by her crew. On 9 June,Safari executed her special mission offLicata, making radio contact with the American destroyerUSS Bristol. The next day,Safari, on her way to Malta, was bombed by GermanJunkers Ju 88 bombers, with several bombs falling close.Safari ended her patrol that afternoon at Malta.[1]
Safari commenced her patrol on 15 July, operating west ofCorsica and Sardinia. After three days at sea, she sank the Italian minesweeperAmalia with gunfire. On 19 July, she attacked two German landing barges and an Italian armedyacht, sinking one and damaging the other with gunfire, respectively. The next day, the boat sighted the Italian armed vesselSilvia Onorato, which was transporting 180 tons of cement; she fired two torpedoes at the ship, which erupted in explosions and quickly went to the bottom.Safari went on to sink the Italian minelayerDurazzo with torpedoes east of Corsica on 22 July, then the Italian minesweeperFR 70 northwest ofElba with gunfire on 25 July. On 26 July, the boat missed a large merchant ship offPiombino, Toscane, then attacked the German tankerChampagne, but also missed.Safari returned to Algiers on 30 July.[1]
After a stop at Gibraltar,Safari conducted an anti-submarine war patrol in theBay of Biscay starting on 22 August 1943, but did not sight any targets, and ended her patrol inPortsmouth on 8 September.Safari then underwent a refit atTroon, then, after a stop atHoly Loch, departed forRothesay, joining the 7th Submarine Flotilla. This flotilla solely conducted training, andSafari was frequently used to train future submarine commanding officers in theSubmarine Command Course. On 16 March 1944, the boat was ordered to patrol off Norway duringOperation Foremost due to fears that theGerman battleship Tirpitz might sortie to Germany for repairs; after three days, however, the British Admiralty realized that the battleship would not move out, andSafari was recalled. She then conducted training exercises for the rest of the war.[1]
After the end ofWorld War II,Safari was placed in reserve, then sold to J. Cashmore for scrapping on 7 January 1946. The next day, the boat sank en route to the shipbreaking yards southeast ofPortland.[1]
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50°25′34″N2°2′54″W / 50.42611°N 2.04833°W /50.42611; -2.04833
