HMS Otus (N92)

	HMS Otus
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Otus
Ordered	2 December 1926
Builder	Vickers-Armstrongs (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.)
Laid down	31 May 1927
Launched	31 August 1928
Commissioned	5 July 1929
Decommissioned	March 1946
Identification	Pennant number N92
Fate	Scuttled near Durban, South Africa in 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	Odin-class submarine
Displacement	1,781 tons surfaced; 2,038 tons submerged;
Length	283 ft 6 in (86.41 m)
Beam	30 ft (9.1 m)
Draught	16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
Propulsion	Diesel-electric; 2 × diesel engines, 4,600 hp; 2 × electric motors, 350 hp; 2 screws;
Speed	17.5 kn (20.1 mph; 32.4 km/h) surfaced; 9 kn (10 mph; 17 km/h) submerged;
Range	8,400 nmi (15,600 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) surfaced; 70 nmi (130 km) at 4 kn (4.6 mph; 7.4 km/h) submerged;
Test depth	300 ft (91 m)
Complement	53-55 officers and men
Armament	8 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (6 bow, 2 stern) with 16 reloads; 1 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk XII deck gun; 2 × Lewis machine guns;

HMS Otus was an O-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Vickers-Armstrongs of Barrow-in-Furness on 31 May 1927, launched on 31 August 1928^[1] and commissioned on 5 July 1929.

Service history

Otus was first commissioned for service with the 4th Submarine Flotilla on the China Station, and when the war broke out in 1939 she was deployed with the 1st Submarine Flotilla based at Alexandria with the Mediterranean Fleet. From July to December 1941 the submarine was based at Malta from where she carried out interception patrols with the 1st Flotilla.^[1]

During 1941 she carried out patrols off Azores in defence of HG convoys on passage to and from Gibraltar, and with Olympus for patrol of Oran to intercept Vichy Dunkerque reported to about to attempt passage to France during Operation Principal.

On 14 August 1941 she was involved in a friendly fire incident, when the submarine Talisman under the command of Lt.Cdr. M. Willmott, RN mistook her for an enemy submarine and fired several torpedoes at her, approximately 140 nautical miles (260 km; 160 mi) north-west of Alexandria (position 32°41'N, 27°35'E).^[2]

On 3 September 1941, under command of Lt. R.M. Favell, RN, Otus unsuccessfully fired a torpedo at an unidentified enemy armed merchant cruiser of 4000 tons, approximately 175 nautical miles (324 km; 201 mi) east of Valletta, Malta.^[2]

During 1943 she was transferred to Simonstown, South Africa for purposes of anti-submarine training.^[1]

During December 1944 she was nominated to be withdrawn from service. She was paid-off and transferred to Reserve status. During 1945 she was transferred to Durban, South Africa. Otus was scuttled off Durban in September 1946.^[1]

Discovery of the wreck

The wreck was located during March 2013 approximately 8 kilometres (4.3 nmi) south-east of the Durban Harbour entrance, at an approximate depth of 100 m (330 ft).^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "HMS OTUS (N.92) - O-class Submarine". naval-history.net. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b "HMS Otus (N92)". u-boat.net. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
^ "Submarine found off Durban - HMS Otus". Calypso Dive Centre. Archived from the original on 17 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

Bibliography

Caruana, Joseph (2012). "Emergency Victualling of Malta During WWII". Warship International. LXIX (4): 357–364. ISSN 0043-0374.

29°52′21″S 31°05′39″E / 29.87250°S 31.09417°E / -29.87250; 31.09417

[nh-1] "HMS OTUS (N.92) - O-class Submarine". naval-history.net. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

[ub-2] "HMS Otus (N92)". u-boat.net. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

[3] "Submarine found off Durban - HMS Otus". Calypso Dive Centre. Archived from the original on 17 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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