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The HMS Affray (P421), a british amphion-class submarine, was built in the closing stages of the WW2. She was one of 16 submarines of her class which were originally designed for use in the Pacific ocean against Japan.
On 16 april 1951, HMS Affray set out on a simulated war mission called "Exercise Spring Train" with a reduced crew of 50 from 61. They were joined by two corporals and a sergeant from the Royal Marines, a commander (Engineer), a naval instructor, seven lieutenants in the engineering branch, and 13 sub-lieutenants. The last two groups were undergoing essential submarine officer training. This made her complement 75 in total. Her captain's orders were unusually flexible, the Marines were to be dropped off somewhere along the south west coast of England - the captain told the Admiralty he had chosen an isolated beach in Cornwall - come ashore and return under the cover of darkness. The exercise was expected to continue until Affray was due to return to base on 23 April for essential defect repairs including a leak in a battery tank. Affray left her homebase at about 1600 hrs, and made normal contact to confirm position, course, speed etc at 2100 hrs, and indicated she was preparing to dive.
That was the last anyone heard from her. When she failed to radio in the next morning a search was immediately instigated. More and more ships joined, and eventually 24 vessels from four countries were involved in the search. It was estimated that if the crew survived whatever had sunk Affray in the first place, they would probably not survive for longer than 48 hours. During this time several vessels heard faint but unreadable signals, presumed to be transmitted from the Affray. On 18 april at 14:39 hrs the submarine HMS Ambush picked up a clear reading in morse code, presumed to be tapped out on the hull of Affray: “We are trapped on the bottomâ€.
The Royal Navy transmits the signal 'Subsmash' indicating that a submarine is in trouble. They have just days to find Affray and rescue her crew before oxygen supplies run out.
Britain holds its breath while all available ships and searching aircraft undertake what becomes the country's largest ever sea-air rescue operation.
Five days later the Admiralty announces there is no longer hope of finding Affray or her crew. Had Affray collided with another vessel? Was she the victim of Cold War espionage? Was she overloaded? Had an explosion taken place on board?
Two months later, underwater radar on board HMS Loch Inch discovers a cigar-shaped object sitting on the seabed in nearly 300ft of water, 40 miles away from where Affray had dived. Divers and crews using primitive underwater television equipment confirm they have found Affray. They find no outward signs of damage, but closer examination reveals that Affray's 35ft-long snort mast is detached leaving a 14in gash in her hull. Was this the cause of the disaster?
A top-secret Admiralty Board of Inquiry concludes that metal fatigue is responsible for shearing off Affray's snort mast while cruising at periscope depth. Experienced submariners disagree, stating that the mast snapped after the submarine hit the seabed. So, what really sent seventy-five men to their deaths?
Effectively, on 14 june the primary search vessel HMS Loch Insh made a sonar contact near Hurds Deep, a deep underwater valley in the English Channel. It was the same location where an oil slick had been sighted at the same time Affray vanished and was in an area that had been searched before. HMS Reclaim arrived several hours later after an excited call from the Captain of Loch Insh who as an ex-submariner was convinced this was Affray. A dive was made down to the contact and the diver reported seeing a long white handrail before being dragged along with the flow of the current. Due to the weather being worse than usual the crew decided to use the underwater camera that they had previously been quite sceptical about using. As soon as it was sent down the very first thing the camera picked up were the words "YARFFA" -
This image are a reproduction of the first visual sightings made from HMS Reclaim using underwater television
Affray backwards. At last she had been found. She was 17 miles northwest of Alderney, a lot closer to France than England. She lay slightly to port facing northeast in 86 metres of water, and during the next few months she slid a little more to port where she appears to have rested on a roughly 50 degree angle.
The official theory is the snort mast broke, allowing water to rush in at 13 tonnes per second (the snort mast is a submarine’s snorkel, allowing the submarine to operate under water whilst still taking in air from the surface. If you have ever watched a film of a submarine diving, the snort mast is one of the last things you see disappearing under the water). However, not everyone was happy with this finding, including some of the Affray’s crew who were not chosen for the mission. Some have said the Affray was not seaworthy and should never have sailed in the first place. Even sabotage has been hypothesised.
Lieutenant John Blackburn, pictured far right, was in command of the submarine and died in the disaster
The Affray was never recovered; it is now illegal to dive there as the wreck is a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, and the exact cause of the sinking has never been discovered.
She is a war grave and the final resting place of 75 naval personnel and this should be respected.
Their memorial was unveiled on 16 April 2013, 62 years after the disaster.
Recopilation of :
thecoastalpath.net
rjerrard.co.uk
skindeepdiving.co.uk
worldnavalships.com
dailymail
On 16 april 1951, HMS Affray set out on a simulated war mission called "Exercise Spring Train" with a reduced crew of 50 from 61. They were joined by two corporals and a sergeant from the Royal Marines, a commander (Engineer), a naval instructor, seven lieutenants in the engineering branch, and 13 sub-lieutenants. The last two groups were undergoing essential submarine officer training. This made her complement 75 in total. Her captain's orders were unusually flexible, the Marines were to be dropped off somewhere along the south west coast of England - the captain told the Admiralty he had chosen an isolated beach in Cornwall - come ashore and return under the cover of darkness. The exercise was expected to continue until Affray was due to return to base on 23 April for essential defect repairs including a leak in a battery tank. Affray left her homebase at about 1600 hrs, and made normal contact to confirm position, course, speed etc at 2100 hrs, and indicated she was preparing to dive.
That was the last anyone heard from her. When she failed to radio in the next morning a search was immediately instigated. More and more ships joined, and eventually 24 vessels from four countries were involved in the search. It was estimated that if the crew survived whatever had sunk Affray in the first place, they would probably not survive for longer than 48 hours. During this time several vessels heard faint but unreadable signals, presumed to be transmitted from the Affray. On 18 april at 14:39 hrs the submarine HMS Ambush picked up a clear reading in morse code, presumed to be tapped out on the hull of Affray: “We are trapped on the bottomâ€.
The Royal Navy transmits the signal 'Subsmash' indicating that a submarine is in trouble. They have just days to find Affray and rescue her crew before oxygen supplies run out.
Britain holds its breath while all available ships and searching aircraft undertake what becomes the country's largest ever sea-air rescue operation.
Five days later the Admiralty announces there is no longer hope of finding Affray or her crew. Had Affray collided with another vessel? Was she the victim of Cold War espionage? Was she overloaded? Had an explosion taken place on board?
Two months later, underwater radar on board HMS Loch Inch discovers a cigar-shaped object sitting on the seabed in nearly 300ft of water, 40 miles away from where Affray had dived. Divers and crews using primitive underwater television equipment confirm they have found Affray. They find no outward signs of damage, but closer examination reveals that Affray's 35ft-long snort mast is detached leaving a 14in gash in her hull. Was this the cause of the disaster?
A top-secret Admiralty Board of Inquiry concludes that metal fatigue is responsible for shearing off Affray's snort mast while cruising at periscope depth. Experienced submariners disagree, stating that the mast snapped after the submarine hit the seabed. So, what really sent seventy-five men to their deaths?
Effectively, on 14 june the primary search vessel HMS Loch Insh made a sonar contact near Hurds Deep, a deep underwater valley in the English Channel. It was the same location where an oil slick had been sighted at the same time Affray vanished and was in an area that had been searched before. HMS Reclaim arrived several hours later after an excited call from the Captain of Loch Insh who as an ex-submariner was convinced this was Affray. A dive was made down to the contact and the diver reported seeing a long white handrail before being dragged along with the flow of the current. Due to the weather being worse than usual the crew decided to use the underwater camera that they had previously been quite sceptical about using. As soon as it was sent down the very first thing the camera picked up were the words "YARFFA" -
This image are a reproduction of the first visual sightings made from HMS Reclaim using underwater television
Affray backwards. At last she had been found. She was 17 miles northwest of Alderney, a lot closer to France than England. She lay slightly to port facing northeast in 86 metres of water, and during the next few months she slid a little more to port where she appears to have rested on a roughly 50 degree angle.
The official theory is the snort mast broke, allowing water to rush in at 13 tonnes per second (the snort mast is a submarine’s snorkel, allowing the submarine to operate under water whilst still taking in air from the surface. If you have ever watched a film of a submarine diving, the snort mast is one of the last things you see disappearing under the water). However, not everyone was happy with this finding, including some of the Affray’s crew who were not chosen for the mission. Some have said the Affray was not seaworthy and should never have sailed in the first place. Even sabotage has been hypothesised.
Lieutenant John Blackburn, pictured far right, was in command of the submarine and died in the disaster
The Affray was never recovered; it is now illegal to dive there as the wreck is a controlled site under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, and the exact cause of the sinking has never been discovered.
She is a war grave and the final resting place of 75 naval personnel and this should be respected.
Their memorial was unveiled on 16 April 2013, 62 years after the disaster.
Recopilation of :
thecoastalpath.net
rjerrard.co.uk
skindeepdiving.co.uk
worldnavalships.com
dailymail
