HMS Thistle was a Royal Navy T-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Barrow-in-Furness. She was laid down on 7 December 1937, launched on 25 October 1938, and commissioned on 4 July 1939, just weeks before the outbreak of the Second World War.
Early Service
At the start of the war, HMS Thistle joined the 2nd Submarine Flotilla, operating from Dundee and Blyth. Her duties included North Sea patrols, convoy defence, and interception of German naval traffic. She was among the Royal Navy submarines deployed to counter growing German activity around Norway.
Initially commanded by Lt Cdr Robert William Stirling-Hamilton, command later passed to Lt Cdr Wilfrid Frederick Haselfoot, who was in charge during her final patrol.
Norwegian Campaign
In April 1940, during the German invasion of Norway, HMS Thistle was ordered to patrol near Stavanger and attack enemy vessels. British intelligence believed that major German naval movements were underway, and submarines were positioned to intercept them.
On 9 April 1940, Thistle encountered the German submarine U-4. At approximately 16:04, she fired a salvo of six torpedoes, but all missed their target. The German submarine escaped by diving and evading the attack. Thistle subsequently reported the failed engagement and informed the Admiralty that only two torpedoes remained aboard.
Sunk by Her Intended Target
The next stage of the encounter turned fatal.
After evading Thistle's attack, U-4, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Harro von Klot-Heydenfeldt's crew under commander Hans-Hinrich Hinsch, later sighted Thistle on the surface near Skudeneshavn, Norway, during the early hours of 10 April 1940. Thistle was likely recharging her batteries, a routine but vulnerable operation.
At 02:13, U-4 fired two torpedoes at close range. The first missed, but the second struck home. The explosion destroyed the submarine, which sank with all hands. None of her crew survived.
The episode is notable because Thistle was sunk by the very submarine she had unsuccessfully attacked the previous day.
Discovery of the Wreck
For more than 80 years, the exact location of the wreck remained unknown. In 2023, the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research located a submarine wreck off the Norwegian coast near Karmøy at a depth of about 170 metres. The wreck was subsequently confirmed by the Royal Navy as HMS Thistle. Investigators noted that the submarine's conning tower was missing, consistent with the violence of the sinking.
Legacy
HMS Thistle is remembered as:
- One of the early Royal Navy T-class submarines.
- A participant in the opening stages of the Norwegian Campaign.
- The victim of a rare submarine-versus-submarine encounter in which the hunted submarine successfully sank its attacker.
- A wartime grave for her entire crew, who were lost on 10 April 1940.
Key Facts
- Class: T-class submarine
- Builder: Vickers-Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness
- Commissioned: 4 July 1939
- Commanding Officer at loss: Lt Cdr Wilfrid Frederick Haselfoot
- Lost: 10 April 1940 off Skudeneshavn, Norway
- Cause: Torpedoed by U-4 after failing to sink it the previous day
- Wreck discovered: Confirmed in 2023 by Norwegian researchers and the Royal Navy
