Operational Duties: Second World War 1939-1945

Commander Bone on the bridge of HMS Tigris

Chatham built submarines served with distinction during the Second World War. On the 4th March 1942, HMS Torbay remained inside the Corfu roadstead for 17 hours and sank two enemy ships. For this action, Torbay's captain, Commander A.C.C. Miers, was awarded the Victoria Cross - the only one to be awarded to a submariner serving on a Chatham built submarine.

Fifteen Chatham submarines were lost on active service: Seahorse (January 1940); Starfish (January 1940); Sterlet (April 1940); Seal (May 1940); Odin (June 1940); Grampus (June 1940); Shark (July 1940); Rainbow (October 1940); Swordfish (November 1940); Snapper (February 1941); Umpire (July 1941); Splendid (April 1943); Tigris (February 1943); Parthian (August 1943); and Sunfish (June 1944).

The wartime Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, paid a moving tribute to the Submarine Service in 1943:

"Of all branches of men in the forces, there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariner… Great deeds are done in the air and on land, nevertheless nothing surpasses your exploits."

The image above shows Commander Bone, the commanding officer of HMS Tigris, on the submarine's bridge alongside Lieutenant Jupp and an unnamed signalman in Scottish Waters during the early part of the war. The 'T' class were built for long range patrols. During the Second World War, 'T' boats operated successfully in all theatres of war, including the Pacific Ocean. HMS Tigris served first on the Arctic (convoy route) in 1941, before moving to the Mediterranean. Tigris was probably sunk by depth charges launched by UJ 2210 off Capri in the Gulf of Naples on the 27th February 1943.