HMS P36

HMS P36 was a Royal Navy U-class submarine of the Third Group, built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 26 July 1940, launched on 28 April 1941, and commissioned on 24 September 1941. 

Service History

Early in her career, P36 operated in the Atlantic and Bay of Biscay. On 26 November 1941, she attacked a German U-boat southwest of Belle-Île, but her torpedoes missed.

After joining the Mediterranean submarine campaign from Malta, she:

• Fired four torpedoes at the Italian heavy cruisers Gorizia and Trento on 13 February 1942, but scored no hits.
• Successfully torpedoed and damaged the Italian destroyer Carabiniere off Taranto two days later.

Loss at Malta

HMS P36 was not lost on patrol. On 1 April 1942, while berthed alongside a jetty in Sliema Harbour, Malta, she was caught in a major Luftwaffe air raid. A bomb exploded close to the submarine, breaching her hull. Despite efforts to save her, she rolled over and sank at her moorings. 

Fortunately, there were no fatalities aboard, as the crew were ashore in air-raid shelters when the attack occurred. [P 36]

The Tragic Aftermath

Several survivors from P36 later embarked aboard HMS Olympus when she departed Malta for Gibraltar on 8 May 1942. Shortly after sailing, Olympus struck a mine and sank.

Salvage

P36 remained on the seabed in Malta for 16 years. She was finally raised on 7 August 1958 and subsequently scuttled in deep water off Malta on 22 August 1958.

Key Facts

HMS P36 is particularly remembered in Malta because her wreck lay in Sliema Creek for many years and became one of the most visible reminders of the island's intense siege during 1942