Submarine Wrecks at Tabarka, Tunisia

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jbryce1437
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Submarine Wrecks at Tabarka, Tunisia

Unread post by jbryce1437 »

Some of you may remember Jean-Pierre Mission from the old Forum. Whilst surveying the sea bed at Marsa el Hilal in Libya he believes he discovered the wreck of HMS Urge, lying on the sea bed there. However, before he could conduct further investigations there, the situation in Libya changed and he could no longer carry that out.
Consequently, his research then continued off the coast of Tabarka in Tunisia and, with his sonar equipment, he believes that he found the wrecks of eight British submarines, the wreck of HMS Quentin, the wreck of the Italian submarine Smeraldo and a German Schnellboot. There was evidence of a minefield in that area and the most of the wrecks are believed to be casualties of the mines. HMS Quentin, on the other hand, had been attacked by aircraft and fatally damaged. Her crew were taken off and she drifted for quite a distance before sinking off Tabarka.
Similar to what I did with his evidence about HMS Urge, I helped to put the evidence relating to the Tabarka minefields into an easier to understand format and produced a video, which is now on YouTube.
J.P. Misson readily accepts that the wrecks off Tabarka require more detailed study and the current pandemic is affecting that. However, it is hoped that the area can be surveyed in greater detail and identities of the wrecks confirmed. If his discoveries, so far, are confirmed then the wrecks contain the remains of over 440 British submariners:

HMS Tetrarch - October 1941 - Crew of 62
HMS Talisman - September 1942 - Crew of 63
HMS Utmost - November 1942 - Crew of 32
HMS P222 - December 1942 - Crew of 47
HMS Tigris - March 1943 - Crew of 63
HMS Thunderbolt - March 1943 - Crew of 64
HMS Turbulent - March 1943 - Crew of 67
HMS Usurper - October 1943 - Crew of 46

The Italian submarine:
Smeraldo - September 1941 - Crew of 45

It would be great if a programme such as "Drain the Oceans" was able to survey that location, which is only around 600 metres by 200 metres.

Form your own opinion:

https://youtu.be/Wgj8HXss3o4



JIm
tabarka map.jpg
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HMS Raleigh 1963 , HMS Collingwood 1963 & 67 , HMS Ark Royal 1964-7, HMS Undaunted 1968-71, HMS Victory (Fleet Maintenance Group) 1971-72, HMS Exmouth 1972-74
JEM, EM, OEM, LOEM, POOEL
Then 28 years in the Fire Brigade
Retired since 2002
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ivorthediver
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Location: Cambridge Shore Battery

Re: Submarine Wrecks at Tabarka, Tunisia

Unread post by ivorthediver »

I can see why you are so interested in these Jim , as the likelihood is huge !

Shame its so deep in this area that they cant by dived more easily , as I am sure you are well aware , and mixed gas / rebreather dives could answer the question .

This is a challenge awaiting discovery and could well be a block buster in media terms ,but the expense otherwise is prohibitive , and the costs horrendous as mixed gas diving is very expensive as I know , but I can.t think of a more worth while expedition .....keep us posted please if anything more develops .
"What Ever Floats your Boat"
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jbryce1437
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:28 pm
Location: Roker, Sunderland

Re: Submarine Wrecks at Tabarka, Tunisia

Unread post by jbryce1437 »

Thanks Ivor, I would love to see something done to confirm the identities of these wrecks lying on the sea bed. Whilst many of the names that have been proposed fly in the face of what is written in archives and history books, the sonar images are definately recording something on the sea bed. This could be one of the biggest submarine graveyards, with their crews, in history.

Jim
HMS Raleigh 1963 , HMS Collingwood 1963 & 67 , HMS Ark Royal 1964-7, HMS Undaunted 1968-71, HMS Victory (Fleet Maintenance Group) 1971-72, HMS Exmouth 1972-74
JEM, EM, OEM, LOEM, POOEL
Then 28 years in the Fire Brigade
Retired since 2002
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ivorthediver
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Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:42 pm
Location: Cambridge Shore Battery

Re: Submarine Wrecks at Tabarka, Tunisia

Unread post by ivorthediver »

Well maybe when things are more stabilised eh Jim
"What Ever Floats your Boat"
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