HMS ''Osiris'' was an O-class submarine of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. She was laid down by

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 202 ...

on 12 May 1927, launched on 19 May 1928 and commissioned on 25 Jan 1929. She was first commissioned for service with the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station.

Wartime history

In September 1939, she was nominated for service on the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' was ...

and deployed with the 8th Flotilla at

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

for flotilla duties. During January 1940 she transferred to the

British Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

and was deployed with the 1st Submarine Flotilla based at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

.HMS ''Osiris'' (N67)
Naval-History.net Retrieved 27 September On 16 August 1940, ''Osiris'' sank the Italian merchantman ''Morea'' (1,968 tons) approximately west of Durazzo, Albania, with gunfire in a surface engagement, after ''Morea'' twice evaded torpedoes fired at the ship.HMS ''Osiris'' (N67)
uboat.net Retrieved 27 September 2013 During an attack carried out on a convoy in the

Otranto Strait The Strait of Otranto ( sq, Ngushtica e Otrantos; it, Canale d'Otranto; hr, Otrantska Vrata) connects the Adriatic Sea with the Ionian Sea and separates Italy from Albania. Its width at Punta Palascìa, east of Salento is less than . The str ...

on 22 September 1940 ''Osiris'' torpedoed and sank one of the convoy escorts, the (875 tons displacement), approximately west of Durazzo, Albania (position 41°19'N, 18°34'E). On returning to Alexandria, ''Osiris'' received a package from the commanding officer of the flotilla with instructions "not to come alongside unless this identity signal is showing". The package contained a Jolly Roger which was duly hoisted. From that day onward the Captain (S) gave each submarine in his flotilla a Jolly Roger as soon as she had achieved a success on patrol. On 14 July 1941 ''Osiris'' damaged the Italian merchant ship ''Capo d'Orso'' (3,149 tons) with gunfire in a surface engagement near Argostolion,

Kefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chio ...

, Greece. In another surface engagement on 27 June 1943, ''Osiris'' sank the Italian sailing vessel ''Vittorina'' (11 tons) north of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

(position 36°12'N, 26°45'E) with gunfire. During the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers (Fascist Italy (192 ...

from July to August 1943, she was deployed on interception patrol to prevent Italian warships interfering with the landings. From August 1943 she served with the Eastern Fleet training anti-submarine escorts before transferring to the new

East Indies Fleet The Eastern Fleet, later called the East Indies Fleet, was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952. In 1904, the British First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir John Fisher, ordered that in the event of war the three main commands i ...

in November 1944. She was decommissioned on 7 March 1945. ''Osiris'' was sold to be broken up for scrap in September 1945. She was scrapped at

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa.Forces War Records: Unit History: HMS ''Osiris'' (N 67)
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References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Otus (N84) Odin-class submarines of the Royal Navy 1928 ships Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness World War II submarines of the United Kingdom