HMS P48 (1942)

HMS P48
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS P48
Builder:	Vickers Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness
Laid down:	21 August 1941
Launched:	15 April 1942
Commissioned:	18 June 1942
Fate:	Depth charged in the Gulf of Tunis on 25 December 1942
General characteristics
Class and type:	U-class
Displacement:	Surfaced - 540 tons standard, 630 tons full load Submerged - 730 tons
Length:	191 ft (58 m)
Beam:	16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
Draught:	15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Propulsion:	Two shaft diesel-electric two Paxman Ricardo diesel generators + electric motors 615 / 825 hp
Speed:	11.25 knots max surfaced 10 knots max submerged
Complement:	27-31
Armament:	Four bow internal 21 inch torpedo tubes; 8 - 10 torpedoes One 3 inch gun

HMS P48 was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness.

The submarine departed from Malta on her last patrol, on 23 December 1942 under the command of Lieutenant M.E. Faber. She was sunk with the loss of her entire crew two days later whilst attacking an Italian convoy in the Gulf of Tunis heading towards Tunis. The submarine was depth charged by two Italian torpedo boats, Ardente and Ardito at position 37º15'N, 10º30'E, north-west of the island of Zembra. The submarine was officially declared overdue on 5 January 1943.^[1]

This vessel and her crew were honored and immortalized by the nephew of one of the lost sailors (Lt. Stephen E. Spring Rice, RNVR) in the song "One of Our Submarines" by Thomas Dolby.

References

• "HMS P48 (P 48)". uboat.net. Retrieved 2007-02-25. 
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 
• Hutchinson, Robert (2001). Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Day. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-710558-8. OCLC 53783010. 

British U-class submarine
Royal Navy	First group Undine Unity Ursula Second group Umpire Una Unbeaten Undaunted Union Unique Upholder Upright Urchin Urge Usk Utmost Third group Ultimatum Ultor Umbra Unbending Unbroken Unison United Universal Unrivalled Unruffled Unruly Unseen Unshaken Unsparing Unswerving Untamed Untiring Uproar Upstart Usurper Uther Vandal Varangian Varne Vitality Vox P32 P33 P36 P38 P39 P41 P47 P48 P52
Other operators  Royal Danish Navy Springeren  Free French Naval Forces Curie  Royal Hellenic Navy Amphitriti Xifias  Royal Netherlands Navy Dolfijn  Royal Norwegian Navy Uredd Ula  Polish Navy Dzik Sokół  Soviet Navy V-2 V-3 V-4
Preceded by: T class Followed by: P611 class List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1942
Shipwrecks	1 Dec: HMAS Armidale 2 Dec: Lupo, HMS Quentin 3 Dec: Empire Dabchick, HMS Penylan 4 Dec: Muzio Attendolo, HMS Traveller 6 Dec: USS Grebe 7 Dec: Ceramic 8 Dec: U-254, U-611 9 Dec: HMS Marigold 11 Dec: HMS Blean 12 Dec: HMS P222, Teruzuki 14 Dec: Canberra Maru 15 Dec: U-626 17 Dec: HMS Firedrake 18 Dec: HMS Partridge, Tenryū 25 Dec: HMS P48 26 Dec: U-357 27 Dec: U-336 28 Dec: Choyo Maru 29 Dec: USS Wasmuth 30 Dec: HMS Fidelity 31 Dec: HMS Achates, HMS Bramble, Friedrich Eckoldt, USS Rescuer Unknown date: HMS P311
Other incidents	9 Dec: HMS Porcupine 12 Dec: Empire Centaur, Tannenfels 14 Dec: HMS Argonaut
1941 1942 1943 November 1942 January 1943

Coordinates: 37°15′N 10°30′E / 37.250°N 10.500°E / 37.250; 10.500