HMS P311

[Aktungbby]

HMS P311 was a T-classsubmarine of the Royal NAvy, the only boat of her class never to be given a name. She was to have received the name Tutankhamen but was lost before this was formally done. <enlarges; P311 badge) and was lost with all hands between 30 December 1942 and 8 January 1943 whilst en route to La Maddalena, Sardinia where she was to attack two Italian 8-inch gun cruisers using Chariot manned torpedoes carried on the casing as part of Operation Principle. P 311 departed from Malta on 28 December 1942. She sent her last signal on 31 December 1942 from position 38º10'N, 11º30'E. After this signal she was not heard from again and she is presumed sunk by Italian mines in the approaches to Maddalena on or around 2 January 1943. She was reported overdue on 8 January 1943 when she failed to return to base. She was mined and sank (80 meters) near the island of Tavolara, in Sardinia. UPDATE this AM:

The wreckage of a British Second World War submarine that has been missing, along with its 71 crew members, is thought to have been found off the coast of Sardinia. The HMS P311 was found at a depth of around 100m by veteran wreck-hunter Massimo Domenico Bordone....verifying whether the submarine is indeed P311 may prove difficult as they do not have serial numbers and they may only be able to fully confirm it by going inside..... Paola Pegoraro of the Orso Diving Club, who helped prepare the dive, told AP the sub was positively identified by the two Chariot "human torpedoes" affixed to the outside.
The Royal Navy did confirm that it is more than likely they will make no attempt to salvage or raise the wreckage, even if there are (71) bodies inside. The wreck is in excellent condition, with only its prow showing damage from the explosion. In all likelihood, experts say the vessel's inner chamber was not flooded as it sank.
“It looks like she probably went down with air sealed inside, meaning then crew eventually died of oxygen deprivation,” Bordone said.
“It's important to have the utmost respect for wrecks in cases like this
A Royal Navy spokesperson said: "Wrecks are only raised if there are extremely compelling historical or operational reasons to do so. Once a military vessel sinks it becomes a war grave and is left where it lies."

I hope the site is protected against future vandalism, as has occurred with shallow depth U-boat wrecks, and left alone! (wiki) http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/long-lost-ww2-british-submarine-hms-p311-discovered-71-dead-bodies-still-inside-1561968

[August]

They should go in and retrieve the remains. Those sailors deserve to be buried in the land they died protecting.

[Jimbuna]

War grave...leave well alone.

[Eichhörnchen]

This British sub was tasked to destroy a couple of Italian cruisers at anchor, but hit a mine instead

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/gue...n-board-m.html

[Jimbuna]

This was posted about in May of last year so I'll merge the threads.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...light=HMS+P311