Spanish submarine C-3

"C-3" was a C-class submarine of the Spanish Navy. She took part in the Spanish Civil War on the government side before being sunk by German submarine "U-34". "C-3" was built by Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval (SECN) in Cartagena, Spain, launched 20 February 1929, and commissioned 4 May 1929.

Pre-war

On 14 September 1931, "C-3" successfully tested the Génova submarine rescue chamber (similar to he McCann Submarine Rescue Chamber) in Escombreras inlet. Invented by "Capitán de Corbeta" (Lieutenant Commander) Arturo Génova Torrecuellar, this was subsequently installed in all C-class submarines as a portable unit, as well as the subsequent D-class, [Títtle = El ascensor submarino Génova y el C-3 (Genova submarine Rescue Chamber and C-3) in Spanish|year = 2008|Edition =26 July |place = Spain|Editorial = Vida maritima (marine live)|URL = http://www.vidamaritima.com/2008/07/el-ascensor-submarino-genova-y-el-c-3.html |ID = |ISSN = |Fecha de acceso = 30 August 2008|] which used a fixed unit.

Civil War

At the start of the Civil War, 18 July 1936, "C-3" was in Cartagena harbor, under command of "Teniente de Navío" (Lieutenant) Rafael Viniegra González. He was ordered to sortie from Cartagena in company with submarines "B-6", "Isaac Peral" ("C-1"), "C-4" and "C-6", bound for the Gibraltar Strait. In command of the flotilla was the "Capitán de Fragata" (Commander) Francisco Guimerá Bosch, the mission was to blockade the strait and interdict transport of rebel troops from North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula. They took a patrol line along the Andalusian coast

Only two days into the operation, on 20 July, the flotilla entered Málaga harbour, where Guimerá, Viniegra (along with "C-3"'s executive officer), and the rest of the flotilla's senior officers, with the exception of "C-1"'s skipper, "Capitán de Corbeta" Lara, were relieved and transferred to the prison ship "Monte Toro" because they were considered sympathizers of the rebels.

Next morning, 21 July, "C-3", joined by "B-6", departed Málaga bound for Tangier to protect the oil tanker "Ophir". On 27 July, all destroyers and submarines in Málaga deployed around Cadiz to intercept a Nationalist convoy that proved a decoy. Then she, "C-2", and "C-6" received instructions to form a patrol arc in front of Ceuta harbour to prevent the entrance of cruiser "Almirante Cervera", which had left Ferrol bound for the Gibraltar Strait.

1 August, at Málaga, "C-3" took on remaining antiaircraft ammunition and torpedoes before "C-4" departed for Cartagena for minor repairs

Two weeks later, on 15 August, "C-3" sailed for the Cantabric Sea with the "C-6", returned to Cartagena with average. She repeated the voyage 25 August, in company with "C-4" and "C-5", where "C-3" and "C-6" jointly attempted to locate and sink "España" and "Almirante Cervera", without success. She also aided in the search for transports bringing weapons to Bilbao.

"C-3" returned to the Mediterranean Sea on 2 October, arriving in Málaga 8 October.

Sunk

On 12 December 1936, "C-3" was running surfaced 4 nm (7½ km) southeast of Málaga. In the coning tower was her commander, "Alférez de Navío" (Ensign) Antonio Arbona Pastor, and a merchant navy pilot attached to Republican Navy. At 14:19, there was a sudden explosion on her starboard bow, and "C-3" disappeared. The explosion was observed by the coastguard vessel "Xauen", lying two miles (3.7 km) inshore of "C-3", and the fishing boats "Joven Antonio" and "Joven Amalia", about the same distance away. Despite their proximity, the only survivors were the pilot, García Viñas, and two of "C-3"'s sailors, Isidoro de la Orden Ibáñez and Asensio Lidón Jiménez, who had been topside dumping trash and garbage. [Títtle = Operation Ursula" and the sinking of the submarine C-3|year = 2005|Edition =24 march |place = |Editorial = U-boat.net|URL = http://www.uboat.net/articles/index.html?article=59 |ID = |ISSN = |Fecha de acceso = 11 de September 2008|]

"C-3" was torpedoed by "U-34", commanded by "Kapitänleutnant" Harald Grosse, as part of Operation Ursula. [Títtle = 'Operación Úrsula' reflota la historia real del submarino C3 (Operación Ursula, refloaded the real history of C-3 submarine) in Spanish|year = 2006|Edition =12 December |place = Málaga, España|Editorial = Sur digital|URL = http://www.diariosur.es/prensa/20061212/cultura/operacion-ursula-reflota-historia_20061212.html|ID = |ISSN = 1885-3331 |Fecha de acceso = 12 December 2006|] For this action, Grosse received the "Goldenes Spanienkreuz" (Spanish golden cross).

Over the next few days, Republican authorities mounted an effort to locate "C-3". All they found was a large oil slick. The position was marked by buoy, but no rescue attempted, and it's likely there were none left alive aboard. Subsequently, when Málaga fell to the Nationalists, "C-3" was forgotten. The Nationalists, in an attempt to conceal the acquisition of two Italian submarines ("General Mola", ex-"Archimede", and "General Sanjurjo", ex-"Torricelli"), renamed them "C-3" and "C-5", claiming "C-3" was raised and recommissioned by the Nationalist Navy. This maneuver was unsuccessful; the Italian boats bore distinct structural differeces. "C-3" was stricken by ministerial order on 31 July 1941.

Location of the wreck

In 1997, Malaga lawyer Antonio Checa [Títtle = Operation Ursula" and the sinking of the submarine C-3 (in english)|year = 2005|Edition =24 march |place = |Editorial = U-boat.net|URL = http://www.uboat.net/articles/index.html?article=59 |ID = |ISSN = |Fecha de acceso = 11 de September 2008|] discovered the remains of one shipwreck, He sensed it was "C-3". Despite several dives by an ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) with video camera, it proved impossible to positively identify the wreck, owing to bad visibility.

In October 1998, The Spanish Navy, send the rescue ship "Mar Rojo" (A-20 ), with a Navy dive team. They identified wreck as "C-3", coord|36|40|N|4|21|W|scale:20000000 [Títtle = Operation Ursula" and the sinking of the submarine C-3|year = 2005|Edition =24 march |place = |Editorial = U-boat.net|URL = http://www.uboat.net/articles/index.html?article=59 |ID = |ISSN = |Fecha de acceso = 11 de September 2008|] . They found her hull had broken in two. One section 8 meters from bow was separated from the rest. Both parts remain in a sand plain, separated by a few meters, the biggest upright, the smaller inverted.

Comanders

External link

* [http://www.memoriahistorica.org/alojados/periquete/paginas/c3.html C3 in memoriam (Spanish)]
* [http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj1vy7Xy3oA video en Youtube]

References