HMS Usurper was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built by Vickers-Armstrongs at High Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne. She was laid down on 18 September 1941, launched on 24 September 1942, and commissioned on 2 February 1943. She was the only Royal Navy vessel to bear the name Usurper.
Specifications
- Class: U-class (Third Group)
- Length: 58.2 m (191 ft)
- Surface displacement: 540 tons
- Submerged displacement: 730 tons
- Armament:
- Four 21-inch bow torpedo tubes
- Up to 10 torpedoes
- One 3-inch deck gun
- Crew: 27 to 31 men
Wartime Service
Usurper's operational career was brief.
During her work-up patrol off Norway she attacked the German submarine U-467 with torpedoes, but failed to score a hit. She was then transferred to the Mediterranean, where she successfully sank the French merchant vessel Château Yquem.
Her commanding officer throughout her active service was Lieutenant David Roger Oakeley Mott, DSC, RN.
Loss
On 24 September 1943, HMS Usurper sailed from Algiers to patrol off La Spezia, Italy. On 3 October 1943, she was ordered to move north into the Gulf of Genoa. After that signal, no further communication was received.
She failed to return to Algiers on 12 October 1943 and was declared lost.
The exact cause of her loss remains uncertain:
- A German anti-submarine vessel, UJ-2208 (Alfred), reported attacking and possibly sinking a submarine in the Gulf of Genoa on 3-4 October 1943.
- Modern researchers generally consider it more likely that Usurper struck a mine in the Gulf of Genoa, possibly in a minefield later identified as QB192.
No survivors were recorded.
Legacy
During the war, HMS Usurper was adopted by the town of Stroud during the British Warship Week fundraising campaign. The adoption plaque is preserved by the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth.
Like many Royal Navy submarines lost in the Mediterranean, HMS Usurper remains a wartime grave, her final resting place still unconfirmed.
