Royal Navy specialists have verified that the wreckage of a Second World War submarine discovered in the Mediterranean is HMS Trooper which went missing in October 1943.
The whereabouts of the T-class submarine had remained unknown for 81 years until it was discovered by the underwater research team Planet Blue, led by Greek diver Kostas Thoctarides. The wreck was found at a depth of 253 meters (830 feet) north of Donousa Island in Greece with the wreck site in three separate parts: the bow, the mid-section, and the stern. It is believed that Trooper was sunk by a German EMF mine containing 350 kilograms (770 pounds) of Hexanite.
Launched in March 1942 at Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Greenock, HMS Trooper spent the majority of her brief service in the Mediterranean and during her tenure, she successfully sank the Italian tanker Rosario, the Italian merchant vessel Forli and the Italian submarine Pietro Micca. Trooper also inflicted damage on two other enemy ships and made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the Italian merchant Belluno. Trooper was also involved in Operation Principal, which employed human torpedoes to target Italian vessels in Palermo harbour, resulting in the sinking of the Italian light cruiser Ulpio Traiano.
On 26 September 1943, HMS Trooper with 64 crew members onboard departed from Beirut on her eighth patrol, tasked with operations in the Aegean Sea near the Dodecanese islands. On 14 October, she engaged the Levant Schooner Flotilla F8 off Alinda Bay, Leros. However, she did not return on 17 October and was reported overdue that same day.
It was initially presumed that HMS Trooper was lost due to German mines in the vicinity of Leros in the southern Aegean Sea. The Germans asserted that Trooper was sunk by the Q-ship GA.45 on 15 October 1943, however, the submarine targeted by GA-45 was HMS Torbay, which managed to evade damage.
The report sent to the Admiralty stated: “Regret to report Trooper overdue since October 17th has failed to answer signals and must be considered lost.”
“Trooper was patrolling west of the Dodecanese and for latter part of the patrol east of Leros to intercept expected seaborne attack on island.
“In the absence of any other evidence consider probable cause mines.”
