HMS Triad (N53)
HMS Triad
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Triad |
| Builder: | Vickers Armstrong, Barrow |
| Laid down: | 24 March 1938 |
| Launched: | 5 May 1939 |
| Commissioned: | 16 September 1939 |
| Identification: | Pennant number N53 |
| Fate: | sunk 15 October 1940 |
| Badge: |
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| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | T-class submarine |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 275 ft (84 m) |
| Beam: | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Draught: | 16.3 ft (5.0 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: | 4,500 nautical miles (8,300 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h) surfaced |
| Test depth: | 300 ft (91 m) max |
| Complement: | 59 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Triad was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow and launched in May 1939.
Triad had a relatively short career, serving in the North Sea and the Mediterranean. In April 1940 she sank the German troop transport Ionia and attacked, but failed to sink the German depot ship Tsingtau.
Shortly after, Triad was assigned to the Mediterranean. On 9 October 1940 she sailed from Malta to operate in the Gulf of Taranto, with orders to reach Alexandria on completion of her patrol. She failed to make port and by 20 October the submarine was declared overdue. She was believed to have been lost in a minefield or sunk by Italian anti-submarine aircraft. New evidence suggests that Triad was engaged and sunk on the night of 14/15 October by the Italian submarine Enrico Toti.
It was assumed that Enrico Toti had engaged and sunk HMS Rainbow, which was thought to be operating in the same area.
At the time of its sinking the Triad was commanded by Lt.Cdr. G.S. Salt, father of future Royal Naval Admiral Sam Salt.
At 01:00 on 15 October, Enrico Toti sighted a large submarine 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) to port: both boats manoeuvred into attack position. Italian accounts claim the British opened fire first, but all of Triad's shells missed. She also fired a torpedo which Enrico Toti avoided by turning sharply, then closed on the enemy submarine at top speed, firing as she approached. Soon, machine gun fire compelled the British gunners to abandon the exposed deck. As the British submarine started to dive, Enrico Toti fired a torpedo and hit the British submarine with two shells. The boat rose vertically then disappeared without survivors. The action lasted around 30 minutes.
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Wikipedia