ON 1ST JANUARY 1944, THERE WERE TWO SUBMARINES of the Tenth Flotilla from Maddalena at sea on patrol. Uproar (Lieutenant LE Herrick DSC RN) was in the Gulf of Genoa and Untiring (Lieutenant R Boyd DSC RN) had just arrived to relieve her. Two boats were in Maddalena itself; Ultor (Lieutenant GE Hunt DSC RN) was resting in between patrols; Unseen (Lieutenant MLC Crawford DSC* RN) was under orders to return to the United Kingdom to refit and she sailed on 4th January; Universal (Lieutenant C Gordon RN) had defects which necessitated docking and she left for Malta on 12th; Upstart (Lieutenant PC Chapman DSC* RN) was in Malta dockyard with generator defects as was the Free French Curie (Lieutenant de Vaisseau PM Sonneville)¹. On 3rd January Uproar made an attack on a ship on a calm moonless night on the surface using radar. First contact was in fact by hearing asdic transmissions. A careful and accurate plot was developed using radar revealing five ships at which four torpedoes were fired at a range of 2200 yards. The enemy could, by this time, be seen and the aim was visual but no hits were obtained. Subsequent research shows that the torpedoes probably ran under the target ship, which was in ballast. After this disappointment, Uproar, with all torpedoes expended, returned to Maddalena arriving on 5th January. On 6th, Untiring in the Gulf of Genoa hit and sank one of two F-lighters, having fired three torpedoes at 750 yards. Untiring returned to Maddalena on 13th leaving no submarines on patrol at all.

On 13th January, Ultor and Uproar, the only two submarines available, were sailed for Naples from where they were to take part in the Allied landings at Anzio, which had been planned in great haste. There was no time for beach reconnaissance, which was a pity as a difficult sand bar was found to exist in the British sector. The principal duty of the submarines was to search for mines with the mine detection units of their asdic sets and to help the minesweepers, which were the landing ships of the invasion force, to sweep a channel in the right place. The navigation of the main amphibious forces was not a problem as they had only just over a hundred miles to go from Naples to Anzio and, in any case, the latest radar could pinpoint their position during the approach. Nevertheless Uproar was to lead in Force X landing the 3rd US Division and Ultor Force P carrying the British 1st Division. The two submarines sailed from Naples on 20th and spent the 21st submerged off the beaches establishing their positions and using their mine-detecting units. Both contacted the minesweepers after dark that evening and the landings went according to plan except that two ships struck mines. The two submarines were then escorted clear and returned to Naples from where they were sent to recuperate for several days at Capri before returning to Maddalena.

Patrol activity from Maddalena was resumed as soon as submarines became available. Upstart had returned from Malta with her generators repaired and was got away on 17th January. Untiring sailed for patrol on 23rd after ten days in harbour. Both were sent to the coast of the French Riviera. On 21st off Cape Camarat, Upstart missed a large westbound tanker with four torpedoes fired at the very long range of 8000 yards. She was counter attacked by the escort but suffered no ill effects. On 23rd she bombarded a seaplane station at the head of the Golfe de la Napoule and on 27th another seaplane base near St Raphael. Surprisingly the return fire in both cases was weak. Upstart returned to Maddalena on 29th. On 30th Untiring attacked two sizeable ships in convoy firing four torpedoes at 5700 yards but scored no hits. She too was counter attacked ineffectively. Next day she got another chance and fired a second salvo of four torpedoes at two coasters at a range of 2000 yards. The escort consisted of a trawler, two chasseurs and a UJ-boat². Both coasters were hit and were sunk but this time the counter attack by the escort was moderate. Untiring, however, arrived safely at Maddalena on 1st February with all torpedoes expended.

On 31st January, Captain PQ Roberts RN arrived in Maddalena to relieve Captain GC Phillips DSO GM RN in command of the Tenth Submarine Flotilla. Captain Roberts had come from the command of the X-craft depot ship Bonaventure. It will be recalled that he commanded Porpoise towards the end of the Norwegian campaign. Captain Phillips had only been in command of the Tenth Flotilla for a year but in that time his flotilla sank 75 ships and damaged 25 more. He was required to relieve Captain Roper as Chief Staff Officer(Administration and Personnel) to A(S) at Northways³.

Curie (Lieutenant de Vaisseau PJ Chailley) arrived back in Maddalena from Malta on 21st March and left two days later to patrol, first off Cape Camarat and then off Toulon. On 28th she fired three torpedoes at a destroyer at a range of 1200 yards. This was a difficult attack and it was not easy to get into position as the enemy was clearly exercising and altering course. She missed and was counter attacked by her intended target and other anti-submarine vessels, 48 depth charges being dropped but none very close. At dusk on 2nd April, she surfaced and engaged an E-boat with her gun at a range of 5000 yards. It seems that the E-boat never saw the submarine as she did not retaliate, and after six rounds Curie ceased fire as the light was failing.

In April, the four available U-class persevered on the French Riviera, Upstart, Universal, Untiring and Curie all making patrols, Universal doing two and also spending a few days on the Franco-Spanish border. Upstart (Lieutenant PC Chapman DSC* RN) on 2nd April attacked a convoy of F-lighters escorted by three UJ-boats and an R-boat. She fired two salvoes of two torpedoes each at a range of 3000 yards but without success. She then looked in to the harbour at Nice and saw a 1500-ton ship but there was no way she could torpedo her. Universal's first patrol off Toulon was a short one to adjust the flotilla's balance of submarines at sea and in harbour. It was calm and foggy and she only saw some anti-submarine patrols and a hospital ship. Untiring (Lieutenant R Boyd DSC RN) off Cape Drammont, south west of Cannes on 11th, detected a convoy at night. It consisted of a large ship escorted by two destroyers, two UJ-boats and an aircraft. She fired four torpedoes in a hurry as the moon was about to emerge from behind some clouds. She turned away at full speed and being in low buoyancy her stern went right under. However she survived and had the satisfaction of seeing two of her torpedoes hit at the long range of 5200 yards. A counter attack that was developed by the escorts was some way away, and Untiring continued to withdraw on the surface. Her target sank and was the 2500-ton Cesare, a French ship in German service. Next day, she closed Oneglia and realised that an Allied air raid was in progress on the port. This drove some ships out to sea and Untiring fired two torpedoes at a range of 5800 yards and hit a small ship. As it was feared that the target might save herself by running ashore, a third torpedo was fired and hit and sank her. This was the German Diana of 1190 tons. Universal (Lieutenant C Gordon RN) put to sea again after only a few days in harbour and took up her position in bad weather to the east of Toulon. On the night of 18th April she was hunted by anti-submarine craft, fourteen depth charges being dropped but fortunately not very close. She was then moved to the Franco-Spanish border where Astrea, a ship trading for the Germans, was expected. She did not see her because she ran ashore north of Barcelona. Curie (Lieutenant de Vaisseau PJ Chailley) took Universal's place off Toulon and found the antisubmarine activity intense. Destroyers, UJ-boats, E-boats and seaplanes were searching and dropped ten depth charges on the first day and twenty-nine on the second. Curie's patrol position was moved further east on 21st but she sighted nothing of importance before returning to Maddalena.

Recreation and facilities for leave for submarine crews at Maddalena were still not very satisfactory. The base was unpopular and had the reputation of being an Italian 'Scapa'. On return from patrol in April, therefore, Upstart was sent to Algiers for six days 'stand off' alongside the French depot ship Jules Verne. From now on each submarine was sent for a stand off to Algiers in rotation. This also had the advantage of renewing contacts with the Groupe de Sous-Marins en Mediterranee Occidentale, as the French flotilla was called. This was important, as two of their submarines had recently been attacked, fortunately without damage or casualties, by Allied aircraft in spite of bombing restriction areas. It was also arranged for the French submarines to call at Maddalena on their way to and from patrol⁴.

On 3rd May, Ultor returned from Malta and service with the First Flotilla in which she had made two Aegean patrols, bringing the Tenth Flotilla up to its full strength of five submarines. All made patrols in May, Upstart and Untiring going out twice and they were assisted by a sortie of the French La Sultane from Algiers. The British submarines were issued with the new CCR torpedo firing-pistol with which it was hoped to increase the effectiveness of attacks on shallow draft vessels. Upstart (Lieutenant PC Chapman DSC* RN) and Untiring (Lieutenant R Boyd DSC RN) were off on patrol on 25th April; Upstart to the Riviera coast and Untiring to Hyeres Roads. Upstart lost no time in taking the offensive. On 1st May she bombarded an oil refinery and storage tanks at Oneglia and next day fired two torpedoes at a range of 500 yards into Nice harbour. Her target was the bow of a merchant ship sticking out beyond the breakwater. She missed but the torpedo went off among small craft further inshore. On 3rd May she attacked an R-boat lying stopped off Ile St Honorat with a single torpedo at a range of 400 yards but not surprisingly it missed or ran under this small and shallow draught target. Next day she bombarded sheds at Cannes harbour and then moved on to St Raphael and fired at a seaplane hangar. She was forced to dive by shore batteries which were, however, slow to respond and she was later hunted by small craft unsuccessfully. Upstart then returned to Maddalena with all her ammunition expended. Farther to the west, Untiring was forced on the defensive by the anti-submarine patrols off Toulon. Two UJ-boats were evaded but when they were seen again on 27th April, Untiring decided to attack them. She fired three torpedoes at a range of 1800 yards at one of them using CCR pistols. It was a difficult target, which was carrying out a continuous zigzag, but one torpedo exploded right underneath UJ6705 and sank her. She had kept one torpedo in case the other UJ-boat stopped to pick up survivors. The other UJ-boat, however, counter attacked with twenty depth charges that exploded very close and blew Untiring up from 120 to 88 feet and did a lot of minor damage too. Two other anti-submarine craft then arrived and hunted for an hour dropping another sixty-two depth charges but Untiring was later able to break contact and withdraw. The same night she was ordered across to Port Vendres on the Franco-Spanish border. On 1st May she detected a passing ship on her asdic set while on the surface at night and shortly afterwards obtained radar contact. She was having difficulty in gaining a firing position when the target altered course and enabled her to fire four torpedoes at a range of 750 yards, one of which hit and sank the 2147-ton Astree. This was one of three German controlled ships known to be trading with Spain. On 5th May, Ultor (Lieutenant GE Hunt DSC* RN), after only two days in harbour, sailed for patrol east of the Hyeres Roads. On 11th, she met a KT ship of 250 tons coast crawling and escorted by two E-boats. She fired two torpedoes at a range of 1000 yards using CCR pistols. One torpedo exploded underneath her and blew her in half and sank her. There was no immediate counter attack but anti-submarine patrols were strengthened in the area. On 16th, Ultor attacked an 80-ton coaster and obtained hits with her gun and drove her ashore. She was, however, forced to dive by shore batteries before she could finish her off. Curie (Lieutenant de Vaisseau PJ Chailley), west of Toulon, engaged an armed trawler on 12th May but her gun jammed after obtaining two hits and she had to dive. She was then ordered to the Franco-Spanish border but met only anti-submarine activity. She fired a torpedo at a stopped trawler but missed ahead. Universal (Lieutenant C Gordon RN) left Maddalena on 9th May but had to return with defects and a sick member of the crew. She got away again on 13th to patrol off Ciotat between Toulon and Marseilles finding considerable antisubmarine activity. On 24th, she fired two torpedoes at an anti-submarine vessel that had run ashore. The range was 1300 yards and both hit blowing her to pieces. Untiring's second patrol was off Cape Camarat where she arrived on 15th May but she saw only anti-submarine patrols and small sailing vessels. Upstart left for her second patrol on 18th and was sent straight to the Franco-Spanish border area. There was anti-submarine activity and heavy rain but on the evening of 21st she sighted a ship and fired four torpedoes at a range of 1200 yards and sank Saumur of 2955 tons, the second of the German controlled ships trading with Spain. Anti-submarine activity then increased and on 28th, Upstart fired a torpedo at 1500 yards at an R-boat, which was stopped. The torpedo had a CCR pistol and, to Upstart's horror it started to circle. Fortunately it went off prematurely some distance away but the R-boat escaped. The patrol by the French La Sultane off the south of France between 5th and 14th May was also successful and she sank a UJ-boat of 800 tons.

Universal (Lieutenant C Gordon RN) left Maddalena on 13th for the Toulon area and found considerable antisubmarine activity. On 17th, a destroyer and a UJ-boat passed overhead but she shook them off and another hunting group was evaded again two days later. On 21st, Universal fired a torpedo at two more anti-submarine vessels from a range of 450 yards and sank an anti-submarine yacht using a CCR pistol. She then moved along the coast to Cassis. To her surprise she found two small liners camouflaged and anchored in the bay. Mines and nets protected them, but by keeping close inshore and using her mine-detecting unit, Universal was able to get into a torpedo firing position. She fired four torpedoes, two at each liner at a range of 3500 yards and all hit, sinking both, one lying half submerged on her side and the other with her back broken, stern on the bottom and bows out of the water. These ships were President Dal Piaz of 4929 tons and Sampiero Corso of 3823 tons, both French but being prepared as blockships, probably for Toulon. Ultor (Lieutenant GE Hunt DSC* RN) was out again on 16th June, and took up a position on the coasts of Monaco, Nice and Cannes. She looked in to Nice but found nothing but next day met a tug towing an R-boat. She closed the range to ensure hitting so small a target but one of the escorts saw her periscope and forced her deep. She was then hunted for two hours or so but eventually broke free. Next day two destroyers and a UJ-boat passed overhead and three hours later she sighted an F-lighter escorted by an R-boat. She fired two torpedoes with non-contact pistols at a range of 1000 yards and both hit blowing the F-lighter to pieces. For some days Ultor saw only antisubmarine activity but at dawn on 27th she encountered a motor ship with four escorts at least two of which were destroyers. Four torpedoes were fired from 1000 yards range, two of which hit and sank the French Cap Blanc of 3317 tons, which was working for the Germans. Ultor was hunted for an hour but was then able to withdraw to sea-wards to reload. She then sighted a large ship to the southwest in tow of two tugs with no less than eight escorts with five aircraft overhead. The escort included those ships that had been escorting Cap Blanc and they were well aware that a submarine was in the area. The conditions were good for attacking with a slight sea with white horses and she penetrated this strong and alert screen and fired her last two torpedoes from 1500 yards and both hit. The counter attack was, not surprisingly, heavy and nearly a hundred depth charges were dropped. Fortunately none was close and Ultor was able to withdraw undamaged. She was also able to watch the target, which was the French Pallas of 5260 tons in enemy hands, sink. Lieutenant Hunt was congratulated for this outstanding patrol by the C-in-C, who commented that 'Ultor's operations of 27th June must rank as among the most outstanding of the war'. The French submarine Casabianca's patrol was also successful and she damaged UJ6079. She also landed important agents at this time who were concerned with the rising of the French resistance to coincide with the landings in Normandy.

June had been a remarkable month for the Tenth Flotilla showing splendid marksmanship. Ultor, Universal, Untiring and Upstart fired 32 torpedoes, sixteen of which hit and ten out of the eleven attacks made were successful. So, in addition to the sinking of four ships totalling 17,331 tons and two lighters, they disposed of a salvage vessel, a minelayer and five minor war vessels. It is of interest that during this month no U-boats were sighted. Of the eight German U-boats at Toulon, one had been sunk in harbour by air attack in April and the constant raids were making the servicing of the others difficult. By the end of June the Allied armies in Italy had reached the coast abreast of Elba and the French had occupied the island. The enemy's coastline was contracting fast. Nevertheless the Germans still had two ex-French destroyers and some thirty UJ-boats available as well as thirty minesweepers. In late June the strength of the Tenth Flotilla was brought up to six boats by the return of Ultimatum from patrols with the First Flotilla in the Aegean.

By July, substantial numbers of American troops had been removed from Italy for the invasion of Southern France scheduled for August, and it became more important than ever to throttle supplies to the German armies. However the Allied advance continued and by the 18th July they had captured Leghorn. German U-boat operations were severely curtailed by a massive American air attack on Toulon on 5th July, which sank U556 and damaged two others seriously. The Tenth Flotilla persevered and managed to make another eight patrols during July including one by the French Archimede from Algiers.

Ultimatum (Lieutenant WH Kett DSC RNR) was east of Toulon at the end of June and beginning of July but saw little except the usual anti-submarine patrols. On 3rd July at night, she fired two torpedoes at a range of 1000 yards at a destroyer and a UJ-boat. One torpedo exploded prematurely short of UJ6073 and Ultimatum was counter attacked with eight depth charges. Untiring (Lieutenant R Boyd DSC RN) sailed on 1st July for the Toulon area and she then investigated the coast westwards to the Spanish frontier but saw nothing. On 10th July she was evading an anti-submarine patrol off Port Vendres when she was challenged and she replied by firing four torpedoes at a range of 800 yards but without success. Curie (Lieutenant de Vaisseau PJ Chailley) was off Marseilles and Toulon early in the month but saw nothing but antisubmarine patrols until 13th when she made two attacks on F-lighters without success. She fired one torpedo at 650 yards and two more at 600 yards but they all missed. At last, on the same evening, she sighted a merchant ship with five escorts but, in the attack in which she penetrated the screen, she lost trim and the periscope was dipped at the critical moment. When she regained control she fired four torpedoes at one of the destroyers at a range of 1800 yards but without result. The counter attack with twelve depth charges was not close.

The last phase of the operations of the Tenth Submarine Flotilla in the Mediterranean covered by this chapter, was on a comparatively small scale. These operations cannot compare in importance with the operations from Malta against Rommel's' supply lines to North Africa in the years 1941-3. At best they can be seen as a useful cutting down of the supplies that went by sea to the German Army in Italy which were a small proportion of the total. They also seriously interfered with the Axis trade with Spain although again this was of minor importance. Nevertheless they attacked these supply lines in an area in which other naval forces could not do so mainly because fighter protection was not possible. Technically the submarines fought a very good campaign against stiff opposition by anti-submarine vessels fitted with German asdic and furthermore did so without a single casualty. Two submarines were severely depth charged but most of the counter attacks were insignificant and they sank five enemy anti-submarine vessels out of seventeen attacks on these dangerous targets. Out of the forty-nine torpedo attacks made, twenty-five or over half were successful and in addition to the five anti-submarine vessels already mentioned, they sank two auxiliary minelayers, a salvage vessel and nine merchant ships of 29,273 tons and damaged another of 7000 tons. On top of this they sank eight coasters, F-lighters and other small vessels. The total expenditure of torpedoes was 142, thirty-three of which hit⁹. Fifty-seven of these had the new CCR non-contact exploder and although thirteen of them went off satisfactorily and often sank shallow draught ships which were normally immune to torpedoes set to contact, seven failed to explode or fired prematurely short of the target. The submarines in the western Mediterranean in 1944 were a useful adjunct to the huge air, land and amphibious forces which reconquered the area for the Allies. They operated with skill and energy, and for their numbers achieved results that were comparable to those against Rommel's supply lines earlier in the war.

Lieutenant Hunt of Ultor headed the list of those decorated for the period and area covered by this chapter. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and later a Bar. He was also Mentioned in Despatches for his part in the Anzio landings. Distinguished Service Orders were also given to Lieutenant Gordon of Universal, Lieutenant Boyd of Untiring and Lieutenant Chapman of Upstart. Finally Lieutenant de Vaisseau Chailley of Curie received the Distinguished Service Cross.