HMS P38 was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness. Although she served for only a few months, she became one of the submarines lost during the intense fighting around Malta in early 1942.
Construction
- Laid down: 2 September 1940
- Launched: 9 July 1941
- Commissioned: 17 October 1941
- Commanding Officer: Lieutenant Rowland John Hemingway DSC
Service Career
After trials in British waters, P38 was sent to the Mediterranean and joined the famous 10th Submarine Flotilla at Malta in January 1942. Her mission was to intercept Axis convoys supplying German and Italian forces in North Africa.
On her first Mediterranean patrol, P38 achieved her only confirmed success:
- On 15 February 1942, she sank the Italian merchant ship Ariosto (4,116 tons) off Tunisia. Unfortunately, the vessel was carrying Allied prisoners of war, and 138 prisoners were lost when the ship sank.
Loss of HMS P38
P38 sailed from Malta on 16 February 1942 to intercept an important Axis convoy bound for Tripoli.
On 23 February 1942, approximately 90 nautical miles east of Tripoli, the submarine was detected by the Italian torpedo boat Circe, which was equipped with German sonar equipment and depth charges.
The attack unfolded dramatically:
- Circe detected the submarine underwater and launched a depth-charge attack.
- P38 was forced to the surface, her propellers reportedly still turning.
- Italian escort vessels Antoniotto Usodimare and Emanuele Pessagno joined the attack with gunfire and additional depth charges.
- The submarine briefly surfaced again before plunging beneath the sea for the last time. Oil, wreckage and human remains were observed, confirming her destruction.
P38 sank at approximately 32°48'N, 14°58'E with the loss of all 32 crew members. There were no survivors.
