HMS Parthian (N75) was the lead boat of the Royal Navy's Parthian-class submarines. Built at Chatham Dockyard, she was laid down on 30 June 1928, launched on 22 June 1929, and commissioned on 13 January 1931. Her nickname was "Peanut", derived from the letters PN painted on her fin.
Specifications
- Class: Parthian-class submarine
- Pennant number: N75
- Length: 260 ft (79 m)
- Displacement: 1,475 tons surfaced; 2,040 tons submerged
- Speed: 17.5 knots surfaced; 9 knots submerged
- Armament: Eight 21-inch torpedo tubes and a 4-inch deck gun
Second World War Service
At the outbreak of war, Parthian was serving on the China Station before being transferred to the Mediterranean in 1940.
Notable successes included:
- Sinking the Italian submarine Diamante near Tobruk on 20 June 1940.
- Sinking the Vichy French submarine Souffleur off Beirut on 25 June 1941 during the Syria-Lebanon campaign.
Following a refit in the United States, she returned to the Mediterranean and undertook supply missions to Malta, carrying aviation fuel and ammunition during the island's siege.
Loss
Parthian left Malta on 22 July 1943 for a patrol in the southern Adriatic. After several changes to her patrol area, communications ceased. She failed to arrive at Beirut on 11 August 1943 and is believed to have been lost after striking a mine near Brindisi or in the southern Adriatic between late July and early August 1943.
One of those lost aboard was Timothy Walker, son of the famous anti-submarine commander Captain Frederick John "Johnny" Walker.
HMS Parthian remains one of the Royal Navy submarines lost in the Mediterranean campaign, with her wreck believed to lie in the Adriatic Sea.
