Dundee International Submarine Memorial facts for kids
The Dundee International Submarine Memorial remembers 296 brave sailors and commandos. These heroes were lost during the Second World War while serving from the submarine base in Dundee, known as HMS Ambrose.
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Dundee's Submarine Story
Dundee, a city in Scotland, played a big role in the Second World War. It was home to the Royal Navy’s 2nd Submarine Flotilla from August to October 1939. Later, from April 1940 until the war ended, Dundee became the base for the 9th Submarine Flotilla.
This was a special international group. It included submarine crews from Poland, the Netherlands, France, and Norway. These countries had been invaded by Nazi Germany. Russian submarine crews also operated from Dundee in the summer of 1944.
Dangerous Missions
Submarines based in Dundee went on many dangerous missions. They patrolled the coastlines of Europe, which were controlled by the enemy. They attacked enemy warships, like the battle-cruisers Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen.
They also traveled far into the Arctic Circle. Their job there was to protect convoys (groups of ships) carrying important war supplies to the Soviet Union. Dundee submarines also attacked enemy supply convoys. They used secret information from Bletchley Park to find and stop German U-boats. These U-boats were heading for the North Atlantic, where they attacked supply ships.
One amazing story is about HMS Venturer. It was the only submarine ever to sink another submarine, U-864, while both were underwater! The Free French submarine Rubis laid mines and torpedoed enemy ships. Another Free French boat, Minerve, was badly damaged by depth charges but managed to return to Dundee.
Submarines also helped the resistance in occupied Norway. They secretly landed agents, saboteurs, weapons, and supplies. This often happened deep inside enemy-held fjords under the cover of darkness.
The Cost of War
Six British, Dutch, Norwegian, and Russian submarines were lost while on patrol from Dundee. Two hundred and ninety-six sailors and commandos from Britain, the Netherlands, Free France, Norway, and Russia lost their lives. Many of them have no known grave.
The Memorial Site
The Dundee International Submarine Memorial was officially opened on September 17, 2009. It remembers the crews who are "Still on Patrol." It also honors the bravery of all the submariners who went on patrol from the River Tay during the Second World War.
The memorial is located between Victoria and Camperdown docks in Dundee Harbour. This is a very fitting place, as these two docks were often used by the submarines during the war.
Still on Patrol - The Lost Dundee Submarines
The memorial specifically remembers these submarines that were lost:
- HMS Oxley. This submarine was accidentally sunk by HMS Triton on September 10, 1939. Fifty-three of her crew were lost, with only two survivors.
- HMS Thames. This submarine was lost, probably in a German minefield, in early August 1940. This happened after it attacked the German battlecruiser Gneisenau. All 64 crew members were lost.
- HNLMS O 13. This Dutch submarine was lost, possibly in a German minefield, during a patrol in the North Sea. All 31 Dutch and three British crew members were killed.
- HNLMS O 22. This Dutch submarine was lost due to an unknown cause, but most likely a German mine. This happened while on patrol off south-west Norway. All 42 Dutch and three British crew members were killed. Its wreck was found 40 miles off the coast of south-west Norway in 1993.
- H Nor M Uredd. This Norwegian submarine hit a German mine while on patrol near the port of Bodø in North Norway and sank. All 32 Norwegian and three British crew were lost. Seven agents from Kompani Linge and MI6 were also on board, traveling to occupied Norway. The wreck was found in Fugløy Fjord in 1985 and is now a designated war grave.
- V-1 (formerly HMS Sunfish). This submarine sailed from Dundee to join the Soviet Northern Fleet. However, it was accidentally sunk by the RAF (Royal Air Force) off the coast of Norway in 1944. All 51 Soviet and British crew members were lost.
