HMS ''Untamed'' was a

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 ...

U-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 ...

built 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 ...

, High Walker. So far, she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name ''Untamed''. On 30 May 1943, she sank during a training exercise in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

with the loss of all 35 of her crew. ''Untamed'' was subsequently salvaged and renamed HMS ''Vitality'', another unique name, and lasted until 1946, when she was scrapped.

Sinking

''Untamed'' was on a training exercise with the 8th Escort Group in the

on 30 May 1943 acting as a target. In the second exercise that day, ''Untamed'' was used as a target for anti-submarine mortar practice by the yacht HMS ''Shemara''. When the submarine did not respond to attempts to contact her nor surface, assistance was summoned. ''Shemara'' located ''Untamed'' with sonar and heard the sounds of her engines being run and tanks being blown. arrived but no more was heard from ''Untamed'' after 17:45 – nearly three hours from the first indication of a problem. Weather prevented divers inspecting the submarine until 1 June. There was no outward sign of damage and it was not until after ''Untamed'' was salvaged on 5 July 1943 that it was found that she had been flooded through a sluice valve. ''Untamed'' was salvaged, refitted and named ''Vitality'', returning to service in July 1944. As ''Vitality'', she had a short and uneventful career and was sold to be broken up for scrap on 13 February 1946. She was broken up at

Troon Troon (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Truthail'') is a town and sea port in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with ferry and freight serv ...

. The Sandbank War Memorial at Hunters Quay is in part dedicated to the crew of ''Untamed'' who were buried in Dunoon Cemetery.

Notes

References

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External links

The National Archives
original design plans of ''Untamed'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Untamed (P58)

British U-class submarines British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

Ships built on the River Tyne A ship is a large vessel that travels the world's oceans and other navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, ...

1942 ships World War II submarines of the United Kingdom British submarine accidents Shipwrecks in the Firth of Clyde 1943 disasters in the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in May 1943 May 1943 in the United Kingdom Warships lost with all hands