The second HMS ''Talisman'' (N78), and the first to enter service under the name, was a T-class

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was laid down by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

& Co Limited,

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

and launched on 29 January 1940.

Career

''Talisman'' had a relatively short but active career, spending most of her time in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. One of her first actions was the capture of the French fishing vessel ''Le Clipper'', which was then used to observe

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

movements off the Gironde estuary before being brought into

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

. She later attacked HMS ''Otus'' by mistake, but was unsuccessful. She went on to sink two sailing vessels with its deck gun, the Vichy-French passenger ship and the Italian merchant ''Calitea'', as well as destroying the grounded wreck of the German merchant ''Yalova''. She also unsuccessfully attacked the German merchant ''Salzburg'' and an Italian convoy, missing the Italian merchant ''Lauretta'', and being heavily

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

d by the escorting .

Sinking

''Talisman'' left Gibraltar on 10 September 1942 carrying supplies to

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, where she was due no later than 18 September. She reported sighting a U-boat off

Philippeville, Algeria Skikda (; formerly Philippeville from 1838 to 1962 and Rusicade in ancient times) is a city in northeastern Algeria and a port on the Mediterranean. It is the capital of Skikda Province and Skikda District. History The Phoenicians and Carthagi ...

on 15 September; a Gibraltar-based

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

of 202 Squadron was sent out and caught the Italian submarine, probably the , on the surface and sank her. Nothing was heard from ''Talisman'' again and she failed to arrive at Malta. She is presumed either to have hit an Italian mine off

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

or to have been destroyed by Italian surface forces on 17 September. She was declared overdue on 18 September 1942.Submarine losses 1904 to present day
, RN Submarine Museum, Gosport

Notes

References

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External links

IWM Interview with Philip Francis, who commanded HMS Talisman from 1939 to 1940
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talisman (N78) British T-class submarines of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Mersey 1940 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in September 1942 Submarines lost with all hands Lost submarines of the United Kingdom