The British submarine HMS Triumph was lost in mysterious circumstances off the coast of Greece in 1942. It has now been found after more than 25 years of searching.
The submarine, which took part in various special operations during the early years of World War II, was found by Greek researcher Kostas Thoktaridis and his team at the bottom of the Aegean Sea earlier this summer.
Thoktaridis described the research, which began in 1998, as “the most difficult and expensive mission I have ever carried out.”
Launched in 1939, Triumph successfully carried out 20 military missions, mainly in the Mediterranean region, between 1939 and 1941, including the sinking of the Italian submarine Salpa in June 1941.
His fateful 21st mission involved the release of 30 British fugitives on the Greek island of Antiparos in December 1941. A team of Special Operations (SOE) and MI9 officers were landed on 29 December, but recovery was expected a fortnight later. late was never carried out. occurred.
Instead, the SOE team members present on the island were arrested. Secret papers carried by one of the agents, containing the names of 37 members of the Greek resistance in Athens, fell into the hands of the enemy. All 37 of them were executed.
Fate quickly fell foul of the Triumph, even if the exact circumstances of its sinking are unclear. She was last spotted in early January 1942 by an Italian pilot four nautical miles southeast of Cape Sounion on Attica – information gleaned during the “extensive study of the archives” which helped Thoktaridis identify Triumph’s final resting place.
On 23 January 1942, she was declared lost by the British Admiralty, with all 64 crew members presumed dead.
The submarine was found tens of nautical miles from land, on the seabed in open water, with an 8° list to starboard. According to Thoktaridis, it sank due to a powerful explosion in front, although the cause of this explosion is not yet clear.
“Our research continues, primarily at a historical level, as new evidence and facts emerge,” he said.
Previous attempts by various teams from the UK, Malta and Russia to locate Triumph have all ended in failure.
