Charles William Hatton

HM Submarine Simoom

HMS Simoom was a third-batch S-class submarine. She was laid down on 14 July 1941 and launched on 12 October 1942.After an initial patrol off Norway, Simoom sailed to Gibraltar, then to Algiers, French North Africa. From there, she conducted four patrols and attacked several ships, but only sank an Italian destroyer.

From 3 to 17 October 1943, Simoom sailed to Port Said, passing through Malta, Beirut, and Haifa. She underwent repairs to her battery, and then departed for a patrol between Naxos and Mikonos, Greece on 2 November. The submarine did not return to Beirut on 19 November as planned, and was declared overdue on the 23rd. Simoom may have been sunk by the German submarine U-565 on 15 November. German radio broadcast at this date claimed that a submarine was sunk in the Aegean with some members of the crew rescued.
The incident was never confirmed since the Germans were not able to visibly identify the enemy submarine, which it hit with a Zaunkönig torpedo. However, this was considered unlikely; post-war studies concluded that the most probable cause of her sinking is that she had hit a mine on 4 November in a new minefield off Donoussa. 49 men were lost including Able Seaman Charles Hatton from Nottingham.

Simoom’s wreck was discovered in 2016 off Tenedos, Turkey. Simoom's starboard (right) hydroplanes showed extensive damage, and it is now considered most likely that she hit a mine while on the surface. (Wikipedia)

CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL 69, 1.

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