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Wreck of HMS Thetis

United Kingdom

Position
About 38.2° N, 13.2° E (within about 10 km)
Sank
—
Cause
—
Depth
—

Protection status

Location generalised to protect a war grave

The position shown is generalised to within about 10 km. The exact position is not published.

A military vessel lost in 1918, during a world war, by enemy action. Wrecks lost in war are treated as war graves.

This wreck may be the last resting place of those who died aboard. Please treat it with respect.

How this was decided: Voydar's protection rules, from the sources we hold, confidence 85%. When in doubt, Voydar generalises the position.

HMS Thetis (N25) was a Group 1 T-class submarine of the Royal Navy which sank during sea trials in Liverpool Bay, England on 1 June 1939. After being salvaged and repaired, the boat was recommissioned as HMS Thunderbolt in 1940. It served during the Second World War until being lost with all hands in the Mediterranean on 14 March 1943. The Thetis accident happened after the inner hatch on a torpedo tube was opened while the outer hatch to the sea was also open. Four men successfully used the aft escape chamber to reach the surface and be rescued. A total of 99 men died as a result. The sinking led to the redesign of all torpedo tubes on British and Australian submarines. A latch, known as the "Thetis clip", was added to the inner torpedo tube door so it could be fractionally opened to check the tube was not open to the sea before being fully opened.

History from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA.

About this wreck

HMS Thetis is a recorded shipwreck site. Voydar shows wreck locations alongside live ship traffic, free, from Wikidata and public hydrographic records.

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