HMS Thorn (N11)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Thorn.

HMS Thorn
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Thorn
Builder	Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead
Laid down	20 January 1940
Launched	18 March 1941
Commissioned	26 August 1941
Identification	Pennant number N11
Fate	Sunk 6 August 1942
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	British T class submarine
Displacement	1,090 tons surfaced 1,575 tons submerged
Length	275 ft (84 m)
Beam	26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)
Draught	16.3 ft (5.0 m)
Propulsion	Two shafts Twin diesel engines 2,500 hp (1.86 MW) each Twin electric motors 1,450 hp (1.08 MW) each
Speed	15.25 knots (28.7 km/h) surfaced 9 knots (20 km/h) submerged
Range	4,500 nautical miles at 11 knots (8,330 km at 20 km/h) surfaced
Test depth	300 ft (91 m) max
Complement	61
Armament	6 internal forward-facing 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 2 external forward-facing torpedo tubes 3 external backward-facing torpedo tubes 6 reload torpedoes 1 x 4-inch (102 mm) deck gun 3 anti-aircraft machine guns

HMS Thorn (N11) was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead and launched in March 1941.

Career

Thorn had a short-lived career, serving in the Mediterranean.

Commencing operations in late 1941, Thorn sank the German tanker Campina, the Italian tanker Ninuccia, the Italian submarine Medusa, the Italian auxiliary patrol vessel AS 91 / Ottavia and the Italian transport ship Monviso. She also attacked an Italian convoy in the central Mediterranean, but failed to hit any ships.

On 6 August 1942 Thorn encountered the Italian torpedo boat Pegaso, escorting the steamer Istria from Benghazi, off southern Crete. Pegaso spotted an escorting aircraft machine-gunning the sea’s surface and moved in to investigate. Just four minutes after the aircraft’s attack the Pegaso picked up a sonar contact and carried out seven attacks after which contact was lost. Thorn failed to return from the patrol and is believed to have been lost in this attack. She was declared overdue on 11 August 1942.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Hutchinson, Robert (2001). Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Day. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-710558-8. OCLC 53783010.