Greek submarine Katsonis (Υ-1)

"Y-1 Katsonis" ( _el. Y-1 Κατσώνης) was a Greek submarine active during the Second World War.

History

"Katsonis", together with its sister ship, "Papanikolis" (Υ-2), formed the first class of Greek submarines ordered after the First World War. It was built at the Gironde Bordeaux shipyards between 1925-27, and commissioned into the Hellenic Navy on 8 June 1928. Its first captain was Cdr Κ. Arvanitis.gr icon [http://library.techlink.gr/ptisi/article.asp?mag=2&issue=162&article=4134 "Greek submarines: 110 years of history"] from the "ΠΤΗΣΗ" magazine, issue 135, May 1996] Under the command of Cdr Athanasios Spanidis, she participated in the 1940-41 Greco-Italian War, carrying out four war patrols, and sinking one vessel, the 531-ton Italian freighter "Quinto", on December 31, 1940. After the German invasion of April 1941, together with the rest of the fleet, "Katsonis" fled to the Middle East, from where she would operate during the next years, with the British pennant number N 16. On 2 July 1942, she was damaged while exiting a dry dock at Port Said.

After overhaul, under the command of Cdr. Vasileios Laskos, she went on further four patrols in the Aegean. During these patrols, "Katsonis" ambushed and sunk a German minelayer in the port of Gytheio on 2 April 1943, the Spanish 1,500-ton merchant vessel "San Isidoro" off Kythnos three days later, and the freighter "Rigel" near Skiathos on 29 May.gr icon [http://forum.nautilia.gr/archive/index.php?t-437.html "The Greek submarines in World War II", by Cdre (ret.) N. Damvergis] ] On September 14 however, while trying to intercept a German troop transport, she was attacked and sunk by the German submarine chaser "UJ-2101". 32 men of the crew, including Cdr Laskos, went down with her, and 15 were captured. However, Lt Eleftherios Tsoukalas, the ship's XO, and petty officers Antonios Antoniou and Anastasios Tsigros, managed to swim for 9 hours and reach Skiathos. There they hid and eventually managed to return to Egypt and rejoin the Greek fleet. [http://www.hellenicnavy.gr/Katsonis_Y1_en.asp Historical summary from the Hellenic Navy website] ]

Tradition

The submarine was named after the 18th century Greek naval hero, admiral Lambros Katsonis. The name "Katsonis" has been given to two other Infobox Ships, the "Tench" class submarine "Katsonis II" (S-115), and the modern "Type 214" submarine "Katsonis" III (S-123).

References

External links

* [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9902.html RHS Katsonis (Y-1) at uboat.net]