Master diver Kostas Toktarides and his team discovered the wreck at a depth of about 203 meters, somewhere “tens of kilometers” from Cape Sounion, in the Aegean Sea. Closed hatches and a retracted periscope indicate that the sub was submerging when it sank.

How does HMS Triumph look today?

The bow of the boat was badly damaged by the explosion, which almost certainly sank the submarine. But it’s unclear whether the explosion was external—perhaps from a depth bomb or a sea mine—or internal, that is, caused by one of the submarine’s own torpedoes. The team is working with submarine and torpedo experts to “give us the answers we’re looking for,” the researchers said.

Toktarides has been searching for Triumph’s wreckage for over 20 years and says it’s extremely difficult due to strong currents and frequent storms. He says the history of this ship is unique and inextricably linked with the Greek resistance and the secret services operating during the Italian-German occupation.

Remains of the “Triumph” submarine / Photo: K. Thoctarides/PlanetBlue.gr

• HMS Triumph was launched in 1938 and performed more than 20 missions during the Second World War, including attacks on ships and submarines.
• The largest ship is best known for its role in covert operations, including the rescue of several Allied soldiers stranded in North Africa and the infiltration of British intelligence agents into then-hostile Greece to aid the resistance movement there.
• Among other missions, in 1941 a submarine secretly transported Captain Bill Hudson, a British Special Operations Administration (SOE) officer, to the enemy-controlled port of Petrovac on Serbia’s Adriatic coast to assist Yugoslav partisans, one of the SOE’s first missions. . precursor to all other special operations.

According to naval documents, Triumph secretly entered Despotikos Bay, off the island of Antiparos in the Cyclades, in December 1941. On 30 December, the submarine sent a cryptic message that it had landed a British military reconnaissance team and would rescue more than 30 British prisoners from nearby Antiparos on 9 January. But “Triumph” never appeared. The fugitives were arrested. On 23 January 1942, the submarine was reported lost at sea by the Royal Navy with 64 crew on board.

Crew

Apparently the crew perished while sinking.

I believe all 64 heroes are in submarines because they are under deep water and all hatches are closed. The “Triumph” should be treated with the respect and sanctity it deserves as a naval war grave,
– says Rena Giatropoulou Toktarides, one of the researchers.

It is also important to inform the families of the deceased crew members, as they never learned what really happened to their relatives.