B a t t l e   H o n o u r s

 SICILY 1943 - MEDITERRANAEAN 1943

Motto

'Checkmate'

(Note : Badge is a Chess Knight.)

The first submarine to bear this name which was first introduced in 1918 for a destroyer sold in 1931. She was briefly deployed in the Mediterranean in 1943 on completion of trials and work-up. During an interception patrol in May 1943 she sank a supply ship by torpedo and a sailing vessel by surface gun attack. Before returning to UK she took part in the allied landings in Sicily during July 1943 and carried out patrol to prevent interference with the assault by Italian warships.

After transfer in September 1943 to the Eastern Fleet based at Trincomalee she took part in Operation MULLET during February 1944 to carry out a reconnaissance at Langkawi off the Malayan coast which was cancelled. Her patrols were carried out primarily off the coasts of Burma and Malaya as well as off the Andaman Islands for interception of coastal traffic supporting Japanese occupation. Other duties included landing of intelligence parties and survey of possible landing areas. This submarine also carried out Air-Sea rescue duties during air attacks on Sabang, NW Sumatra (Operation COCKPIT) in April 1944 and rescued the pilot of a fighter aircraft which crashed in the sea. The next month she carried out a minelay in the Malacca Strait (Operation MLO6) and also sank a junk by surface gun attack. On released from the East Indies Station before VJ Day she returned to UK. Commanding Officer Lieut. Cdr. AF Collett RN.