HMS Syrtis (P241)

HMS Syrtis in April, 1943
History
Class and type:	S class submarine
Name:	HMS Syrtis
Builder:	Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead
Laid down:	14 October 1941
Launched:	4 February 1943
Commissioned:	23 April 1943
Fate:	Sunk 28 March 1944
General characteristics
Displacement:	814-872 tons surfaced 990 tons submerged
Length:	217 ft (66 m)
Beam:	23 ft 6 in (7.16 m)
Draught:	11 ft (3.4 m)
Speed:	14.75 knots surfaced eight knots submerged
Complement:	48 officers and men
Armament:	6 × forward 21-inch torpedo tubes, one aft 13 torpedoes one three-inch gun (four-inch on later boats) one 20 mm cannon three .303-calibre machine guns

HMS Syrtis was an S class submarine of the Royal Navy, and part of the Third Group built of that class. She was constructed by Cammell Laird and launched on March 23, 1943. So far she has been the only vessel to bear the name Syrtis, the Latin name for the Gulf of Gabes in the Mediterranean Sea.^[1]

She served in home waters, and left Lerwick on 16 March 1944 to patrol off the Norwegian coast. On 20 March she was ordered to an area near Bodø. Two days later she sank the steamer Narvik with gunfire. On the 28th Syrtis was ordered to return to Lerwick. The signal was never acknowledged and the submarine failed to return. German reports indicate the sinking of a submarine in the Bodø area at the time by shore batteries, but the most likely cause of her loss is a mine.^[2]

References

1. ↑ HMS Syrtis, Uboat.net
2. ↑ Submarine losses 1904 to present day, RN Submarine Museum, Gosport

• 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. 

S-class submarines
Royal Navy	First Group Seahorse Starfish Sturgeon Swordfish Second Group Salmon Sealion Seawolf Shark Snapper Spearfish Sterlet Sunfish Third Group P222 Safari Saga Sahib Sanguine Saracen Satyr Sceptre Scorcher Scotsman Scythian Sea Devil Seadog Sea Nymph Sea Rover Sea Scout Selene Seneschal Sentinel Seraph Shakespeare Shalimar Sibyl Sickle Sidon Simoom Sirdar Sleuth Solent Spark Spearhead Spirit Spiteful Splendid Sportsman Springer Spur Statesman Stoic Stonehenge Storm Stratagem Strongbow Stubborn Sturdy Stygian Subtle Supreme Surf Syrtis
Other operators  French Navy Saphir class Saphir Sibylle Sirène Sultane  Israeli Navy Rahav Tanin  Royal Netherlands Navy Zeehond  Portuguese Navy Narval Náutilo Neptuno  Soviet Navy V-1
Preceded by: Rainbow class Followed by: River class List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1944
Shipwrecks	1 Mar: HMS Gould, U-358, U-603, U-709 4 Mar: U-472 5 Mar: U-366 6 Mar: U-744, U-973 10 Mar: USS Leopold, U-343, U-450, U-625, U-845 11 Mar: Dupleix, UIT-22, U-380, U-410 13 Mar: Peleus, Tatsuta, U-575 15 Mar: Dupleix, Empire Ace, U-653 16 Mar: Shirakumo, U-392 17 Mar: U-28, U-801, U-1013 19 Mar: U-1059 20 Mar: HMS Graph 22 Mar: Cattaro 23 Mar: U-575 24 Mar: Schwabenland, U-1102 25 Mar: U-976 26 Mar: USS Tullibee 28 Mar: HMS Syrtis, Tulagi 29 Mar: U-961 30 Mar: Akashi, HMS Laforey, PB-31, U-223 Unknown date: Goshū Maru, HMS Stonehenge, U-851
Other incidents	3 Mar: Karatsu
1943 1944 1945 February 1944 April 1944

Coordinates: 66°45′N 13°11′E / 66.750°N 13.183°E / 66.750; 13.183