Thread: The story of the Grumman Tracker in RAN service

Originally Posted by 4bee

Hi Bob,


I realise you are taking the **ss but yes one of the RN battle groups paid a visit through Port Adelaide way back. Circa late '40s

Aircraft Carrier HMS Glory.

T Class Submarine HMS Truculent (sunk 1950) after a collision with a foreign ship in the Thames Estuary after sea trials, post refit. Lots killed by immersion & being swept away by the current out to sea.)

HMS Manxman. Abdiel Class Minelayer


A small Battle Group to be sure & they were on their way back to the UK. I can still smell the pong of Fuel/Diesel Oil in the Sub.


Just sayin'

Probably not the right place, but I was more cheesed off with the fact that according to the BBC it was Britain and the USA that fought the Korean War. Anyway, the Truculant. And it wasn't just diesel you smelled. The T class Boats were in Sydney, before we bought the O boats. I remember , when we Apprentices were posted to Penguin, for Fleet maintenance, one T boat crew came in on a Friday, they came up to the mess deck, one went to go for a shower, his mates said " you are not coming ashore with us if you have a shower ". Sorry about this, flight mods.

On 12 January 1950, Truculent was returning to Sheerness, having completed trials after a refit at Chatham. In addition to her normal complement, she was carrying an additional 18 dockyard workers. She was travelling through the Thames Estuary at night. At 19:00, a ship showing three lights appeared ahead in the channel. It was decided that the ship must be stationary, and because Truculent could not pass to the starboard side without running aground, the order was given to turn to port. At once, the situation became clear; the Swedish oil tanker Divina — on passage from Purfleet and bound for Ipswich — came out of the darkness. The extra light indicated that she was carrying explosive material. The two vessels collided, the Divina's bow striking Trucluent by the starboard bow hydroplane, and remained locked together for a few seconds before the submarine sank.^[2]Fifty-seven of her crew were swept away in the current after a premature escape attempt, 15 survivors were picked up by a boat from the Divina and five by the Dutch ship Almdijk. Most of the crew survived the initial collision and managed to escape, but then perished in the freezing cold mid-winter conditions on the mud islands that litter the Thames Estuary. Sixty-four men died as a result of the collision. Truculent was salvaged on 14 March 1950 and beached at Cheney Spit. The wreck was moved inshore the following day where 10 bodies were recovered. She was refloated on 23 March and towed into Sheerness Dockyard. An inquiry attributed 75% of the blame to Truculent and 25% to Divina.Truculent was then sold to be broken up for scrap on 8 May 1950.Her loss led Peter de Neumann of the Port of London Authority to develop plans for a port control system, and the later introduction of the 'Truculent light', an extra steaming all round white light on the bow, on British submarines, to ensure they remained highly visible to other ships

Originally Posted by bob10

All good. Yes, tragic accident, in one of the most congested waterways in the World.

Peter de Neumann was a wonderful bloke. I hadn't heard of him previously. [Dips Lid]