Tragedies Occurred
| 1904 | In the summer of 1904, during manoeuvres against the Fleet, submarine A1 was dispatched to attack a battleship. When she neared Spithead, the ocean liner SS Berwick Castle made an approach. No one on watch noticed the tiny periscope jutting from the waves, nor did any of her crew feel a slight tremble as the massive ship ran over a small unknown object. When A1 failed to report that night, it was realised that a disaster had occurred. Eleven men lost their lives in this tragedy, which caused great concern throughout the country. |
| 1905 | The hitherto unknown dangers of petrol vapour caused an explosion in A5, which killed her commander and several others, and led the move to adopt diesel engines. |
| 1939 | Sailing, prior
to handover, in Liverpool Bay on the morning of 1st June 1939, Thetis had
on board her 53-man crew and 50 passengers (Shipyard and Admiralty men
concerned with the trials). For her trial dive, Thetis was reluctant to
submerge, and so her six bow tubes were checked. When numbers 1 to 4 were
correctly found empty, Numbers 5 & 6 were tested to contain sea-water.
The test-cock of No 5 did not, and so was apparently empty. As there was
only one way to be sure, the door was opened - and the sea roared in.
Jammed by one of it's clips, the watertight door couldn't be closed and,
as two compartments flooded, Thetis nose-dived to the sea bed 160 feet
below.
With her stern protruding from the waves, Thetis remained undiscovered for a whole day and, although four men managed to escape, she became a tomb for the 99 men on board - despite the efforts of rescuers/ |
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