HMS Saracen Discovered In The Mediterranean Depths

One of the most celebrated submarines of World War II has been discovered after 72 years.

On Aug. 14, 1943, the H.M.S. Saracen was deliberately sunk by her crew near the town of Bastia, on the northern coast of the French island of Corsica, after being damaged in a clash with Italian warships. 

Scuttled by her crew with the loss of 4 Royal Navy sailors, HMS Saracen terrorised the German and Italian Navies but met her match after being attacked with an accurate pattern of depth-charges forcing her to surface.

Clockwise below you can see the cannon, periscope tubes, forward deck and torpedo tubes lining the stricken submarine:

An Italian engineer says that he discovered the S-class submarine at a depth of 422 metres after an intensive two-year search.

“This morning I inspected a sonar contact found yesterday and there she is — beautifully adorned by white corals,” said Guido Gay.

The 217-foot Saracen was one of the most successful Allied submarines marauding the seas of Europe. She torpedoed the Italian submarine Granito, the auxiliary submarine chaser Maria Angelette, the Vichy French tugs Provincale II and Marseillaise V, the Italian merchant ships Tagliamento and Tripoli and the German merchant vessel Tell.

The crew of HMS Saracen.