HMS ''Unbroken'' (P42) was a Royal Navy U-class

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

built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness; it was part of the third group of that class and has been the only vessel of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She entered service as P42 and was renamed ''Unbroken'' on 1 February 1943.

Career

''Unbroken'' was commissioned on 29 January 1942 as P42. After work up trials in Holy Loch, ''Unbroken'' went out to join the 10th Flotilla at Malta, with a work-up patrol from

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. She spent most of her wartime career in the Mediterranean. She landed saboteurs under the command of Captain Peter Churchill at

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of ...

in the south of France. She then proceeded to Malta to reform the 10th Flotilla in June 1942. She was the only submarine operating from Malta until , and joined. She took part in Operations Harpoon and

Vigorous Vigorous may refer to: * Operation Vigorous Operation Vigorous (known in Italy as 1942, "the Battle of mid-June 1942") was a British operation during the Second World War, to escort supply convoy MW11 from the eastern Mediterranean to Malta, wh ...

, in June 1942. In July 1942, ''Unbroken'' attacked the main west coast railway line on the Italian mainland, and succeeded in blocking the line for 24 hours. However, she received return fire from coastal artillery and sustained a hit on the battery, forcing her to return to Malta. She was badly damaged in October 1942, by a counter-attack by Italian escorts after hitting a tanker, and was again repaired at Malta. During her time in the Mediterranean, she sank the Italian merchants ''Edda'' and ''Bologna'' (the former French ''Monaco''), the Italian pilot vessel F 20 / ''Enrica'', and the Italian auxiliary minesweeper No. 17/''Milano''. She also damaged the Italian sailing vessel ''Vale Formoso II'', the German (former Norwegian) tanker ''Regina'', and most significantly, the Italian heavy cruiser ''Bolzano'' and the Italian light cruiser ''Muzio Attendolo'' during

Operation Pedestal Operation Pedestal ( it, Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. Malta was a base from which British ...

. ''Bolzano'' was hit in her oil tanks and set ablaze; she had to be beached at Panarea island; the ''Attendolo'' lost sixty feet of bow. ''Bolzano'' was out of action for the rest of the war. ''Unbroken'' also attacked the Italian merchant ''Algerino'', but missed her with her torpedoes. She later damaged the Italian merchant ''Titania'', north-west of Tripoli, Libya. ''Titania'' was taken in tow by the . ''Titania'' was sunk early the next day by . ''Unbroken'' returned to the UK in December 1943.

In Soviet service

''Unbroken'' was transferred on loan to the Soviet Union on 26 June 1944, where she was renamed ''V-2'' (

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

: ''В-2''). Sailing under Soviet flag she sank the German

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II. ...

''UJ-1220'' on 12 October 1944. She spent four years in Soviet service before being returned to the Royal Navy in 1949. She was scrapped at Gateshead from 9 May 1950.

References

Bibliography

* * * * Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day, by Robert Hutchinson

External links

Captain Sir Edward Archdale, Bt
- Daily Telegraph obituary
Unbroken: The Story of a Submarine
by

Alastair Mars Lieutenant Commander Alastair Campbell Gillespie Mars, DSO, DSC and Bar (1 January 1915 – 12 March 1985) was a Royal Navy World War II submarine commander. In 1952, he was court martialled and dismissed from the service under controversial ...

, an autobiographical account by her commanding officer. {{DEFAULTSORT:Unbroken (P42) British U-class submarines Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1941 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom British U-class submarines of the Soviet Navy World War II submarines of the Soviet Union Soviet Union–United Kingdom relations