HMS Talisman (N78)

HMS "Talisman" (N78) was a T-class submarine of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Cammell Laird & Co Limited, Birkenhead and launched on the 29 January 1940.

Career

"Talisman" had a relatively short but active career, spending most of her time in the Mediterranean.

One of her first actions was the capture of the French fishing vessel "Le Clipper", which was then used to observe U-boat movements off the Gironde estuary before being brought into Falmouth. She later attacked HMS "Otus" by mistake, but fortunately was unsuccessful. She went on to sink two sailing vessels, the Vichy-French passenger ship "Theophile Gautier" and the Italian merchant "Calitea", as well as destroying the grounded wreck of the German merchant "Yalova". She also unsuccessfully attacked the German merchant "Salzburg" and an Italian convoy, missing the Italian merchant "Lauretta", and being heavily depth charged by the escorting Italian torpedo boat "Libra". [ [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3496.html HMS Talisman] , Uboot.net]

inking

"Talisman" left Gibraltar on 10 September 1942 carrying supplies to Malta, where she was due no later than the 18th. She reported sighting a U-boat off Philippeville, Algeria on the 15th, but was not heard from again, and she failed to arrive at Malta. She is presumed to have hit an Italian mine off Sicily on the 17th. She was declared overdue on 18 September 1942. [ [http://www.rnsubmus.co.uk/general/losses.htm Submarine losses 1904 to present day] , RN Submarine Museum, Gosport]

References

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