Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Howard Francis Bone (20 October 1908 – 12 August 1981) was a British

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 ...

officer, who was highly decorated during his service as a

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 ...

commander during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Bone was the son of Howard Bone CB and Annie Stewart Wyatt. He was educated at

Felsted School Felsted School is a co-educational independent school, independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school, situated in Felsted in Essex, England. It is in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, and was founded i ...

, before attending the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

. He entered the Royal Navy on 15 May 1922.

Naval career

Bone's first saw service on HMS ''Frobisher'' in China, before attending a promotion course at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

in 1929. He then served on various submarines, before taking command of HMS ''Sealion'' on 25 July 1937. He served on HMS ''Ark Royal'' between October 1938 and August 1939.

Second World War

On 6 June 1940 Bone took command of HMS ''Tigris''. On 13 November 1940 he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

for good service on patrols in home waters. On 20 December 1940 he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

for the successful sinking of an Italian submarine. He was awarded a Bar to his DSO for patrols conducted in June and July 1941, and was awarded a Bar to his DSC for successful patrols between August and November 1941. On 13 September 1941 Bone was responsible for the torpedoing of a Norwegian civilian vessel, which had been mistaken for a German ship; 97 civilians died in the incident. He documented the event in the ship log: "1203 hours - Fired two torpedoes from 1500 yards. One hit was obtained and the ship sank immediately. Survivors were seen on four rafts and these were seen to be picked up by a fishing vessel that was in the area. Tigris retired to the seaward." Between August and November 1942 he commanded HMS ''Otway''. For the remainder of the war he served as an executive officer on the submarine depot ships HMS ''Maidstone'' and HMS ''Wolfe''.

Post-war

In January 1946 Bone became executive officer on HMS ''Howe''. In 1950 he briefly served as commanding officer of HMS ''Montclare'', before serving as Deputy Director of Naval Equipment at the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

until 1954. Between 1954 and 1957 he was Captain-in-Charge of

Naval Base Simon's Town Naval Base Simonstown is the South African Navy's largest naval base, situated in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, Western Cape. The base provides support functions to Fleet Command. History A small dockyard facility was first es ...

in South Africa. From January 1956 to his retirement in May 1957 Bone was also a Naval Aide-de-camp to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. He was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1957 Birthday Honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bone, Howard 1908 births 1981 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Graduates of Britannia Royal Naval College Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Navy officers of World War II Royal Navy submarine commanders