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List of submarine actions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of submarine actions. Submarine actions have been performed in several wars, including the American Civil War (1861 – 1865), the First Balkan War (1912 – 1913), World War I (1914 – 1918), and World War II (1939 – 1945). There have also been three more actions since the end of WWII in 1945.

Actions

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A German World War I-era submarine

American Civil War

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First Balkan War

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  • 1912, December 9 – Greek submarine Delfin became the first submarine to launch a self-propelled torpedo at an enemy ship, though the ship did not sink due to a weapons malfunction.

World War I

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Illustration by Hans Bohrdt depicting the sinking of HMS Cressy, HMS Hogue and HMS Aboukir by U-9 on 22 September 1914 off the Dutch coast.

World War II

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O'Brien hit by torpedo as USS Wasp burns. Both ship were torpedoed and sunk by I-19.
  • 1939, September 17 - German U-boat U-29 sinks HMS Courageous.
  • 1939, October 14 – German U-boat U-47 sinks HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow base. The First Lord of Admiralty Winston Churchill officially announced the loss of Royal Oak to the House of Commons, first conceding that the raid had been "a remarkable exploit of professional skill and daring".
  • 1940, October 17–19 – The most effective wolfpack of the world wars including Kretschmer, Prien and Schepke sinks 32 ships from Convoy SC 7 and Convoy HX 79 in two days.
  • 1940, November 23 – German submarine U-100 sinks 7 Allied Merchant ships from Convoy SC-11 in only 3 hours.
  • 1941, November 13 – U-81 strikes HMS Ark Royal with a single torpedo. She sinks the following day due to crippling damage.[3]
  • 1941, November 28 - Dutch submarine HNLMS O-21 becomes the only submarine to sink another submarine while they were both surfaced when she sinks German submarine U-95 with a stern torpedo.
  • 1942, June 7 - The I-168 sinks the US aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) and the USS Hammonn (DD-214) who was attempting to save the Yorktown from battle damage she had received in the Battle of Midway.
  • 1942, September 15 – Japanese submarine I-19 sinks U.S. aircraft carrier USS Wasp and destroyer USS O'Brien and damages battleship USS North Carolina with a single salvo.
  • 1942, November 13 - I-26 sinks USS Juneau. The dead includes all five Sullivan brothers.
  • 1943, March 16–19 – The largest North Atlantic U-boat wolfpack attack of the world wars sinks 22 ships from Convoys HX 229/SC 122.
  • 1943, April 29 – May 6 – Convoy ONS 5 is the last major North Atlantic wolfpack attack by surfaced U-boats as escorts demonstrate effective use of radar to sink 6 U-boats in low-visibility conditions.
  • 1943, May 14 – U-640 or U-657 is the first submarine sunk by a homing torpedo.
  • 1944, November 29 – USS Archer-Fish sinks Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano, the largest vessel of that time.
  • 1943, October 31-November 1 – USS Borie and U-405 engage in a pitched battle ending with Borie ramming the submarine. Both ships are lost.
  • 1945, January 30 – Soviet submarine S-13 sinks the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff, with older and cautious estimates of 6,000 but more recent estimates of more than 9,000 casualties.
  • 1945, February 6 – Royal Navy submarine Venturer becomes the only submarine to sink another submarine while they were both submerged when she sinks U-864 off Norway.
  • 1945, April 16 – Soviet submarine L-3 sinks the German ship Goya, with 6,000–7,000 casualties.
  • 1945, July 30 - USS Indianapolis is sunk by the Japanese submarine I-58. She suffers the largest loss of life of an American ship.
Archerfish undergoing a sea test on 5 June 1945 near San Francisco

Post-World War II

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Tarrant, V.E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive 1914–1945. Sterling Publishing. p. 12. ISBN 1-85409-520-X.
  2. ^ Tarrant, V.E. (1989). The U-Boat Offensive 1914–1945. Sterling Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 1-85409-520-X.
  3. ^ Rossiter. Ark Royal. pp. 375–6.
  4. ^ Casualties in 1971 war Archived 2005-10-30 at the Wayback Machine