HMS Stubborn S-Class Sub. Malta -56 meters.

 

HMS Stubborn was an S-class submarine of the Royal Navy, and part of the Third Group built of that class. She started life on 10 September 1941 Cammell Laird Shipyard (Birkenhead, U.K.) and launched on 11 November 1942. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Stubborn. While on patrol in the Bay of Biscay, she fired torpedoes at a group of three German submarines (U-180, U-518, U-530) escorted by two destroyers. The torpedoes however missed their targets and the attack was not observed by the Germans. The two escorts were identified by Stubborn as Narvik-class destroyers. The German submarines were returning from patrol and were bound for Bordeaux.

Stubborn also made an unsuccessful attack on a German convoy off the Follafjord, west of Namsos, Norway, and on 11 February 1944, she sank the German merchant Makki Faulbaum and torpedoed and damaged the German merchant Felix D. some 25 miles north-west of Namsos, Norway. She later made an unsuccessful attack on a German convoy of five ships off the Folda Fjord, Norway. Stubborn fired six torpedoes but none found their target. Stubborn was heavily damaged by the German escort ships and had to be towed home, with her crew acting as human "balance weights" to maintain the submarine on an even keel when her after hydroplanes were jammed "hard-a-dive”. Stubborn was transferred, arriving in mid 1945, but had a distinguished career there before the war ended. She sank the Japanese patrol vessel Patrol Boat No.2 (the former destroyer Nadakaze) in the Java Sea. The survivors were shot in the water. She went on to sink a Japanese sailing vessel and an unidentified small Japanese vessel. Stubborn survived the Second World War and was sunk on 30 April 1946 as an ASDIC target off MALTA

This boat dive is about 30minutes out from st, Pauls bay

Now sitting on a sand bed at 57 meters this is a technical diver due to depth and time. Descending down the shot line on a good day at 30 meters the outline of the sub should come into view through the crystal clear waters, once on the wreck you will notice it has a slight list.

There are 2 hatches on the forward deck and 1 on the coning tower is open...DO not enter!. The wreck itself is perfectly intact, conning tower, torpedo tubes and propellers. For the photographer even at this depth you can still get great shots. Marine life is limited due to open sea and  at depth some divers do report large shoals of jack/ tuna and sea bream.