HMS UMPIRE (N82)

'HMS ''Umpire'' (N82)' was a Royal Navy U-class submarine built at Chatham Dockyard and sunk in an accident 9 days after commissioning with the loss of 22 men.

The submarine was sunk whilst en-route from Chatham to join the 3rd Submarine Flotilla at Dunoon, under the command of Lieutenant Mervyn Wingfield.^[1] From Dunoon she was to carry out a single working-up patrol in the North Sea before heading to the Mediterranean.^[2] She stopped overnight at Sheerness and joined a convoy headed North. The submarine developed an engine fault and fell behind. The convoy passed a Southbound convoy around midnight whilst about 12 miles off Blakeney, Norfolk, with the two convoys passing port to port. This was unusual since ships would normally pass starboard to starboard. No ships showed any lights because of the risk from German E-boats.^[2] However, an armed escort trawler, ''Peter Hendriks'' in the southbound convoy accidentally struck ''Umpire'' and sunk her in 18 metres of water.^[4]
Four crew members were on the bridge when the submarine sank - Wingfield, the navigator and two lookouts. However only Wingfield survived in the cold water to be picked up by the trawler. Several other personnel also survived, escaping from the sunken wreck using the conning tower or the engine room escape hatch, the majority wearing DSEA. Chief ERA Killen received a British Empire Medal for leaving the submarine wearing DSEA to check for obstructions around the engine room hatch and then returning to the engine room to assist the other crew members in escaping. He remained in the engine room until everyone else there had escaped.^[2]
The wreck is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.^[6]

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References

External links

References

1. HMS ''Umpire'' (N 82)
2. One of Our submarines, Edward Young, , , Wordsworth Editions Limited, , ISBN 1-85326-681-7 Young was onboard the submarine when it sank
3. One of Our submarines, Edward Young, , , Wordsworth Editions Limited, , ISBN 1-85326-681-7 Young was onboard the submarine when it sank
4.
5. One of Our submarines, Edward Young, , , Wordsworth Editions Limited, , ISBN 1-85326-681-7 Young was onboard the submarine when it sank
6. Protected Wrecks in the UK

External links

★ The wreck of HMS ''Umpire''