Patrolling off the harbour when the cruisers began their bombardment (of Tobruk) was the British submarine HMS PARTHIAN commanded by LCDR ‘Bim’ Rimmington who too, was out hunting for targets. The sight of the cruisers actually hitting the enemy deepened ‘Bim’ Rimmington’s frustration. Twice daily, morning and evening, he had watched a small boom defence ship come out through the anti-submarine nets, head out to sea, cruise around for an hour - often passing right over PARTHIAN, and back into Tobruk. The little vessel was an easy target, but inside the boom defence was a much more valuable prize - the big supply ship SAN GIORGIO.

HMS PARTHIAN was one of the large aging British submarines, already unsuitable for operations in the treacherous and shallow, often pellucid Mediterranean; and was known worldly as “PEA NUT”, an unpredictable vessel due to her eccentric diving habits.

As ‘Bim’ Rimmington watched the small boom defence boat buzz in and out, he knew something had to be done about the SAN GIORGIO - but what? And how? Somehow PARTHIAN had to get inside those nets, but the only ship that could do that was their little boom defence friend- unless they went in with her.....

So he decided to follow the little ship back in and fire a salvo of torpedoes underneath her as she passes through the boom with the gates open, and sink the SAN GIORGIO.

The boom defence ship came out, and they listened as her screws thumped overhead, grew fainter - then swelled again as she returned. PARTHIAN followed her in, and as she was passing through the boom, ‘Bim’ Rimmington fired tow torpedoes, set deep enough to pass underneath her keel.

As PARTHIAN turned away so as to clear the area, the whole boat was suddenly shaken by a tremendous explosion. It was the first torpedo striking. Then came a second, and the boat rocked as the blast waves hit her through the water.

‘Bim’ Rimmington brought PARTHIAN up to periscope depth, and as he looked through the periscope, he swore aloud. The torpedoes had run true - but had exploded harmlessly on the anti-submarine net around SAN GIORGIO

Shortly after the attack, they heard a destroyer come out of the harbour to look for PARTHIAN. They heard the destroyer thrashing about overhead and waited for the depth charges, but when they came, the explosions rumbled some distance away from her. When they surfaced that night, LCDR ‘Bim’ Rimmington decided to turn west & steer along the North African coast towards another sector of their billet.

At midnight on 19/20 June, they received a signal that an enemy submarine had just been sighted, returning to Tobruk. Immediately, ‘Bim’ Rimmington changed course and headed back to Tobruk where he had just come from. They dived before daybreak and waited in the area through which, it was calculated, the enemy submarine would pass. At 1300 hours whilst at periscope depth, ‘Bim’ Rimmington sighted their target dead ahead. It was an Italian submarine proceeding on the surface at full speed, and which failed to spot PARTHIAN’s periscope.

Range and bearing were passed to the E.A. operating the ‘Fruit Machine’ computer. ‘Bim’ Rimmington ordered one, two, three and four tubes to the ready. Finally, swift adjustments made to allow for the enemy’s course and speed. PARTHIAN was on her firing course.

LCDR ‘Bim’ Rimmington took a last quick look through the periscope and gave orders to fire. The four torpedoes left their tubes at three second intervals. An agonizing, breathless pause - then PARTHIAN shook to a tremendous explosion. A hit! Three seconds - another great slamming shock as Number 2 torpedo hit. One - Two - Three - Four - CRASH! All four torpedoes had hit. It was unprecedented.

As the last explosion died away, LCDR ‘Bim’ Rimmington took another look round with the periscope. there was nothing in sight, so he brought the boat up to the surface to see if there were any survivors. There were none. The Italian submarine must have been blown to bits.

At the end of the patrol & PARTHIAN secured alongside, the C in C, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham came on board PARTHIAN and congratulated ‘Bim’ Rimmington and his crew on scoring the first victory by a British submarine in the Mediterranean war.

SIRENA Class Italian Submarine

Later they discovered that their victim was the DIAMANTE of the SIRENA Class, which had previously served Franco in the Spanish Civil War.

That evening, LCDR ‘Bim’ Rimmington learnt that the British submarine ODIN, commanded by LCDR Mac Woods had been sunk on the 14th of June in the Gulf of Taranto by gunfire from the Italian destroyer STRALE. ODIN was the tenth submarine the British had lost in the war. But at the same time, he heard the good news that on the 19th, the trawler MOONSTONE, operating in the Red Sea, had captured the Italian submarine GALILEO GALILEA, an ARCHIMEDE Class boat which was later employed by the Royal Navy as the training boat X2.

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