Sinking of Jastrząb

2 May 1942, Norwegian Sea, off northern Norway

Allied loss; the Polish submarine sunk in error

To cover convoy PQ 15 against a sortie by Tirpitz and the German cruisers, five Allied submarines patrolled off the Norwegian coast, among them the old Polish Jastrząb, an American S-boat lent the year before. On 2 May 1942 the Norwegian-manned destroyer St Albans and the minesweeper Seagull, escorting the convoy, picked her up on their ASDIC well away from where a friendly submarine was expected, and depth-charged her to the surface. She was then raked by gunfire before she could be identified; five men were killed, among them the British liaison officer, and her captain was wounded. Too badly damaged to save, she was scuttled. Whether the convoy or the submarine was out of position has been argued ever since.