HMSTalisman(N78)

For other ships with the same name, seeHMS Talisman.

HMSTalisman
History
United Kingdom
Builder	Cammell Laird& Co Limited,Birkenhead
Laid down	27 September 1938
Launched	29 January 1940
Commissioned	29 June 1940
Identification	Pennant numberN78
Fate	Sunk 17 September 1942
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	British T class submarine
Displacement	1,090tonssurfaced 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	59
Armament	6 internal forward-facing21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes 4 external forward-facing torpedo tubes 6 reload torpedoes 1 ×4-inch (102 mm) deck gun

The secondHMSTalisman(N78),and the first to enter service under the name, was aT-classsubmarineof theRoyal Navy.She was laid down byCammell Laird& Co Limited,Birkenheadand launched on 29 January 1940.

Career

Talismanhad a relatively short but active career, spending most of her time in theMediterranean.

One of her first actions was the capture of the French fishing vesselLe Clipper,which was then used to observeU-boatmovements off the Gironde estuary before being brought intoFalmouth, Cornwall.She later attackedHMSOtusby mistake, but was unsuccessful. She went on to sink two sailing vessels with its deck gun, the Vichy-French passenger shipThéophile Gautierand the Italian merchantCalitea,as well as destroying the grounded wreck of the German merchantYalova.She also unsuccessfully attacked the German merchantSalzburgand an Italian convoy, missing the Italian merchantLauretta,and being heavilydepth chargedby the escortingItalian torpedo boatLibra.

Sinking

Talismanleft Gibraltar on 10 September 1942 carrying supplies toMalta,where she was due no later than 18 September. She reported sighting a U-boat offPhilippeville, Algeriaon 15 September; a Gibraltar-basedSunderlandof202 Squadronwas sent out and caught the Italian submarine, probably theAlabastro,on the surface and sank her.

Nothing was heard fromTalismanagain and she failed to arrive at Malta. She is presumed either to have hit an Italian mine offSicilyor to have been destroyed by Italian surface forces on 17 September. She was declared overdue on 18 September 1942.

References

• Akermann, Paul (2002).Encyclopaedia of British Submarines 1901–1955(reprint of the 1989 ed.). Penzance, Cornwall: Periscope Publishing.ISBN1-904381-05-7.
• Bagnasco, Erminio (1977).Submarines of World War Two.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN0-87021-962-6.
• Caruana, Joseph (2012). "Emergency Victualling of Malta During WWII".Warship International.LXIX(4): 357–364.ISSN0043-0374.
• 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.ISBN978-1-86176-281-8.
• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946.Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press.ISBN0-85177-146-7.
• Kemp, Paul J. (1990).The T-class Submarine: The Classic British Design.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN1-55750-826-7.
• McCartney, Innes (2006).British Submarines 1939–1945.New Vanguard. Vol. 129. Oxford, UK: Osprey.ISBN1-84603-007-2.

External links

• IWM Interview with Philip Francis, who commanded HMS Talisman from 1939 to 1940