Greek submarine Katsonis (Y-1)

History
Greece
Name:	Katsonis (Greek: Y-1 Κατσώνης)
Namesake:	Lambros Katsonis
Builder:	Gironde Bordeaux shipyards
Laid down:	1925
Launched:	1927
Commissioned:	8 June 1928
Fate:	Sunk 14 September 1943
Notes:	Historical summary from the Hellenic Navy website
General characteristics
Class & type:	Katsonis-class submarine
Displacement:	surfaced: 576 tons submerged: 775 tons
Length:	62.5 m (205 ft)
Beam:	5.3
Draft:	3.6 m (12 ft)
Propulsion:	one 1,300 hp (970 kW) diesel engine, one 1,000 hp (750 kW) electric engine
Speed:	surfaced: 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) submerged: 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement:	30
Armament:	2 × 21-inch (533 mm) internal bow T/T, 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) external bow T/T, 2 × 21-inch (533 mm) external stern T/T, 1 × 100 mm gun, 2 MGs

Y-1 Katsonis (Greek: Y-1 Κατσώνης) was a Greek submarine active during the Second World War. Katsonis, together with her sister ship, Papanikolis, formed the first class of Greek submarines ordered after the First World War. The submarine was built at the Gironde Bordeaux shipyards between 1925–27, and commissioned into the Hellenic Navy on 8 June 1928. Her first captain was Cdr Κ. Arvanitis.

Service history

Under the command of Cdr Athanasios Spanidis, Katsonis participated in the 1940-41 Greco-Italian War, carrying out four war patrols, and sinking one vessel, the 531-ton Italian freighter Quinto, on 31 December 1940. After the German invasion of April 1941, together with the rest of the fleet, Katsonis fled to the Middle East, from where she would operate during the next years, with the British pennant number N 16. On 2 July 1942, she was damaged while exiting a dry dock at Port Said.

After overhaul, under the command of Cdr. Vasileios Laskos, she went on further three patrols in the Aegean. During these patrols, Katsonis ambushed and sank an Italian minelayer in the port of Gytheio on 2 April 1943, the Spanish 535-ton merchant vessel San Isidoro off Kythnos three days later, and the freighter Rigel near Skiathos on 29 May. On 14 September however, while trying to intercept a German troop transport, she was attacked and sunk by the German submarine chaser UJ-2101 (ex Greek mine sweeper Strymon, Cdr Kptlt. Vollheim). 32 men of the crew, including Cdr Laskos, went down with her, and 15 were captured. Among them was Konstantinos Stamoulis, a survivor who was considered dead for decades. However, Lt Elias Tsoukalas, the ship's XO, and petty officers Antonios Antoniou and Anastasios Tsigros, managed to swim for 9 hours and reach Skiathos. There they hid and managed to return to Egypt and rejoin the Greek fleet.

Patrol history

In all, Katsonis' career in World War II encompassed seven patrols and four ships sunk:

Patrol No.	Dates	Ships sunk	Patrol area	Duration in hours (surfaced/submerged)
1	3–10 Nov 1940		Adriatic Sea	216 (132/84)
2	22 Dec 1940 – 4 Jan 1941	petrol carrier Quinto	Adriatic Sea	312 (180/132)
3	14–21 Feb 1941		Adriatic Sea	168 (108/60)
4	24 Mar 1941 – 1 Apr 1941		Adriatic Sea	216 (132/84)
5	28 Mar 1943 – 10 Apr 1943	1 German minelayer, freighter San Isidoro, 2 schooners	Aegean Sea/Crete	408 (170/238)
6	21 May 1943 – 4 Jun 1943	freighter Rigel	Aegean Sea	456 (86/270)
7	5–14 Sep 1943		Aegean Sea	212 (107/105)

Tradition

The submarine was named after the 18th-century Greek naval hero, admiral Lambros Katsonis. The name "Katsonis" has been given to three other Greek ships: a Town-class light cruiser that was taken over by the Royal Navy during World War I as HMS Chester, the Tench-class submarine Katsonis (II), and the modern Type 214 submarine Katsonis (S-123) (III).

A memorial to the submarine and its crew stands on shore at the old port in Skiathos town. Remembrance services are held annually.

External links

• Detailed operational record of Y-1 Katsonis
• RHS Katsonis (Y-1) at uboat.net
• Submarine Katsonis From the Greek's Navy website (Greek)