HMS Venturer (P68)

HMS "Venturer" (P68) was a World War II British submarine and the lead boat [cite web | title= U & V Class Single Hull Coastal Submarines | work = Submariners Association - Barrow in Furness Branch | accessdate=2006-12-23 | url = http://www.submariners.co.uk/Boats/Barrowbuilt/UV_Class/index.htm] of the V-Class (officially called the "'U'-Class Long hull 1941-42 program").

She sank U-771 on 11 November 1944 convert|7|nmi|km|0 east of Andenes, Norway, off the Lofoten Islands. Her most famous mission, however, was her eleventh patrol out of the British submarine-base at Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, under the command of 25-year-old Jimmy Launders, which included the only time in the history of naval warfare that one submarine sank another while both were submerged.

Sent to the Fedje area, "Venturer" was then ordered (on the basis of Enigma decrypts) to seek, intercept and destroy U864 which was in this area carrying a cargo of 65 tonnes of mercury and Messerschmitt jet engine parts to Japan, [cite news | url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2511387,00.html | work = Times online | title = Toxic timebomb surfaces 60 years after U-boat lost duel to the death | date = 19 December 2006 ] [cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6193979.stm | title = Norway tackles toxic war grave | work = BBC News website | date = 20 December 2006 | accessdate=2006-12-22]

On February 6 1945 U864 passed the Fedja area without being detected, but on the 9th "Venturer" heard U-864's engine noise (Launders had decided not to use ASDIC since it would betray his position) and spotted the U-boat's periscope as her captain looked for his escort. In an unusually long engagement for a submarine and in a situation for which neither crew had been trained, Launders waited 45 minutes after first contact before going to action stations, waiting for U864 to surface and thus present an easier target. Upon realizing they were being followed by the British submarine and that their escort had still not arrived, U-864 zig-zagged underwater in attempted evasive manoeuvres, with each submarine occasionally risking raising her periscope.

"Venturer" had only 4 torpedoes as opposed to U-864's 22, and so after 3 hours Launders decided to make a prediction of his opponent's zig-zag, and release a spread of his torpedoes into its predicted course. This manual computation of a firing solution against a three-dimensionally manoeuvring target was the first occasion on which techniques were used which became the basis of modern torpedo computer targeting computer systems.

The first torpedo was released at 12.12 and then at 17 second intervals after that (taking 4 minutes to reach their target), and Launders then dived suddenly to evade any retaliation from his opponent. U864 heard the torpedoes coming and also dived deeper and turned away to avoid them, managing to avoid the first three but unknowingly steering into the path of the fourth. Exploding, U864 split in two, was sunk with all hands and came to rest more than 150 m (500 ft) below the surface on the seafloor. Launders was granted a bar to his DSO for this action.

During her career she also sank five merchant ships. [cite web | url= http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3585.html | title = HMS "Venturer" | work = Uboat.net | accessdate = 2002-12-22 ]

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