We will report the peacetime submarine disasters, one year at a time, in our KTB Magazine.

In 1909, three submarines were lost. They were:

26 April 1909, the 230 ton Italian submarine FOCA was lost in the Bay of Naples as the result of a blast in a gasoline container. There was no loss of life but twelve men were injured. The boat was salvaged and continued in service.

12 June 1909, the 240 ton Russian submarine KAMBALA was lost in the Black Sea some five miles out of the port of Sevastopol. She was running surfaced and was cut in half in a collision with the battleship ROSTISLAV. The boat went down in 168 feet of water, taking all twenty men with her. She was not salvaged.

14 July 1909, the 314 ton British submarine C-11 was lost one and a quarter miles north of the Hasbrough lightship off Cromer when she collided with the freighter SS EDDYSTONE. She sank in 108 feet of water with the loss of 13 men. The boat was salvaged.

Below is a running tally of submarines lost in peacetime, which is updated monthly as we look at other submarine disasters.

England – 4 France – 8 Russia – 2 Italy – 1