The wreck of the HMS Trooper, a British submarine lost during World War II, has been located in the Icarian Sea, nearly 81 years since the submarine was presumed lost.
HMS/M TROOPER was sunk in the Aegean on 17 October 1943, probably by a mine.
The wreck of the HMS Trooper has finally been found by the private deep-sea research company Planet Blue at a depth of 253 metres (830 ft) in the Icarian Sea, near the Cyclades Islands. The team was led by Greek diver and researcher Kostas Thoktaridis.
Locating the wreckage was no easy task. Earlier search efforts had focused on minefields around the islands of Leros, Kalymnos, and Kos, believing that the submarine had met its fate in that region. “The Icarian Sea is one of the most difficult seas with strong winds, waves, and strong underwater currents,” Thoctarides explained in an interview with LiveScience on October 15.
Using shipboard sonar technology to map the seafloor and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for a closer inspection, the team located the wreck just off the coast of Donoussa, a Greek island. The wreckage was matched to the original blueprints of the submarine to confirm that it was, in fact, the missing HMS Trooper.
Secret mission
HMS Trooper, designated N91, went missing after a secret mission in early October 1943 to land three Greek resistance agents on Kalamos, an island on the west coast of Greece. The sub was then ordered to patrol in the Aegean Sea, where German forces were later known to have laid naval mines. The submarine was reported missing and all 64 of its crew presumed dead when it failed to arrive in Beirut on Oct. 17, 1943.
Visual analysis of the Trooper severely damaged wreckage appears to confirm the submarine succumbed to one of the German mines.
Career
Commissioned in 1940, HMS Trooper (P313) served in various capacities throughout its operational life, participating in patrols and reconnaissance missions. Trooper spent most of her short career serving in the Mediterranean. She sank the Italian tanker Rosario, the Italian merchant ship Forli, a sailing vessel and the Italian submarine Pietro Micca.
