HMS Starfish (19S)

HMS "Starfish" (19S) was a group one British S class submarine that was depth charged and sunk by a German minesweeper M7 at Heligoland Bight on 9 January 1940 during the Second World War. Her crew were captured.

HMS "Starfish" sailed from Blyth for patrol on 5 January 1940. On the 9th she sighted a German destroyer and attacked it. A communication problem caused the first attack to fail and as the submarine returned to periscope depth to carry out another attack she was attacked by depth charges. Further depth charge attacks forced "Starfish" to settle on the bottom and wait for the enemy to move on. At 1815 "Starfish" returned to the surface, all confidential documents were destroyed and the submarine scuttled. The ship’s company were picked up by the waiting ships and taken as prisoners of war. [ [http://www.rnsubmus.co.uk/general/losses.htm Submarine losses 1904 to present day] , RN Submarine Museum, Gosport] [ [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3421.html HMS Starfish] , Uboot.net] .

ee also

*List of shipwrecks in 1940

References

*Colledge
*"Submarines, War Beneath The Waves, From 1776 To The Present Day", by Robert Hutchinson