Three days after the sinking of HMS SHARK off the Norwegian coast, HMS SALMON, who was operating near Stavanger, failed to report. As neither the Admiralty or NORTHWAYS had received any signals from SALMON, nor had the Germans made any announcements regarding sinking of a British submarine that had been operating in Norwegian waters, it was assumed that, in the absence of any information, submarines which did not return were mined. Therefore on the 9th July, SALMON became the fourteenth British submarine to be lost in the War.

HMS SALMON was the 14th;
HMS PHOENIX was the 15th;
HMS THAMES was the 16th ROYAL NAVY sub lost in the War

NORTHWAYS was a block of flats in London which became the Headquarters for all submarine operations, and Sir Max K. Horton, Vice Admiral (submarine) HQ.

On the 17th July, the "P" Class submarine PHOENIX, after having attacked the Italian torpedoboat ALBATROSS, was depth charged and lost off Sicily. PHOENIX was commanded by LCDR G. H. Howell and she became the fifteenth British submarine to be lost.

On 23rd July, HMS THAMES, who had been operating off the Norwegian coast, became the sixteenth British submarine to be lost. She, like SALMON, had failed to report to NORTHWAYS or the Admiralty, and again no German announcements or claims to her sinking. Therefore, it was assumed that she had been lost due to mines.

HMS Sealion

HMS SEALION sailed from Rosyth for her eighth patrol on July 27th. As they Zig-Zagged their way across the North Sea minefields, the Northern Lights laid on for them, their most majestic display. The whole sky to the northwards appeared to be draped with great curtains of every soft and misty hue from pink to purple, shot with gold, which rolled and flowed across the Heavens in a never-ending rippling movement. Once again, SEALION was bound for the Skagerrak.

The North Sea passage was uneventful and as usual, done on the surface but on the third day out, with the Norwegian coast in sight, they submerged. That night, the familiar black shapes of floating mines reminded them that, once again, they were entering the Skagerrak.

The next couple of days, however, produced nothing and it was evident that the enemy were no longer using the route SEALION was patrolling, so the next day SEALION shifter her billet.

In the very early hours of the morning of August 4th, SEALION with her batteries comfortably charged after a series of quiet days, ran to the coast still shrouded in mist.

Later on, SEALION sighted a convoy of enemy ships and shadowed them as they put into one of the Fjords. But in doing so, her periscope was sighted by an escorting trawler, which turned at full speed to ram. She hit SEALION between her two periscopes, carrying away the after standard and making the foremost one useless. CDR Ben Bryant, as soon as he righted the boat, which had been rolled nearly over by the impact, decided to follow in the course of the convoy although he had to proceed completely blind. By doing so, he avoided the counter attack, for the depth charges went down on the scene of the ramming and SEALION was already clear. An hour later, SEALION stopped and listened. All was quiet above and CDR Ben Bryant decided to surface and find out the extent of the damage.

Just as he started to blow SEALION's tanks, the sound of propellers was heard. The hunting craft were there, and for five hours, they harried SEALION, shaking her time and again with depth charges.

It was midnight before it was safe to surface and survey the damage. It was more dangerous than had been thought, for the periscope standard was hanging loosely over the side and swinging heavily as the boat rolled in the seaway. It would have to be secured before starting for home, and the work would have to be done in darkness for any light shown would be certain to bring down another attack.

All through the hours of darkness the crew worked, trying to get a wire round the swaying mass of steel and securing it to the foremost periscope standard. It was desperate work, and one false step on the slippery casing would mean almost certain death. Just before dawn, the job was completed but as the tired men climbed back onto the bridge, they saw the securing wire part under the strain - all their work had been done in vain.

There was no time before dawn to make a second attempt & SEALION had to dive with the mass of loose steel still swinging freely across the hull. All that day she crept slowly along on the course for home. She surfaced again as darkness fell, and the work was begun again. Again, it seemed a hopeless task and in the end, CDR Ben Bryant cut the wreckage away.

This was successful and SEALION, relieved of her dangerous burden, was easier to handle. At the same time, the Chief wireless telegraphist on board managed to rig a jury aerial to replace the one that was carried away in the collision. SEALION was then able to send a signal to England, reporting her condition.

Three days later, proceeding submerged by day and on the surface at night, SEALION reached her base.

On the 1st August, HMS NARWHAL, operating off the coast of Norway, failed to report and there was no announcement from Germany claiming to have sunk her, so she became the seventeenth British submarine to be lost. Again, it was assumed she had been mined.

More Royal Navy

Submarines Sunk and the HMS Sealion
Mediterranean Campaign June 1940-July 1941
"T"- and "Porpoise"-Class Submarines
Malta
Italy Bombs Malta 1940
British Strategy Mediterranean 1940
British Parthian