HMS Umpire (N82) was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built at Chatham Dockyard. Her service was tragically brief, lasting only nine days after commissioning before she was lost in a collision off the Norfolk coast on 19 July 1941.
Construction and Specifications
- Builder: Chatham Dockyard
- Laid down: 1 January 1940
- Launched: 30 December 1940
- Commissioned: 10 July 1941
- Length: 60 m (196 ft 10 in)
- Displacement: 540 tons surfaced, 730 tons submerged
- Crew: 31 men
- Armament:
- Four 21-inch bow torpedo tubes
- 3-inch deck gun
The Final Voyage
Under the command of Lieutenant Mervyn R. G. Wingfield, Umpire left to join the 3rd Submarine Flotilla at Dunoon, Scotland. After working up in home waters, she was intended for deployment to the Mediterranean, where submarines such as HMS Union were already fighting Axis shipping.
While travelling north in convoy, Umpire suffered trouble with one of her diesel engines and fell behind the main convoy. During the night, two convoys passed each other off Blakeney, Norfolk. Because of the wartime threat from German E-boats, no navigation lights were shown. In the confusion, the armed trawler Peter Hendriks accidentally rammed Umpire, sinking her in about 18 metres of water.
Escape from the Wreck
The story of Umpire is remarkable because many of her crew successfully escaped from the sunken submarine using Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus (DSEA). Several sailors exited via the conning tower and engine-room escape hatch.
Chief ERA Killen was awarded the British Empire Medal for extraordinary bravery. Wearing a DSEA set, he left the submarine to check the escape hatch was clear, then returned inside to help others escape before making his own ascent.
Casualties
Sources differ slightly on the exact number lost:
- The official account records 17 survivors and 16 crew members plus one civilian lost.
- Other submarine-history sources commonly state 22 men were lost.
The discrepancy arises from differing counts of embarked personnel and civilian dockyard workers carried during the voyage.
The Wreck Today
The wreck lies off the Norfolk coast near the Wash and is designated a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, making it an official war grave.
