Strana 17
failures that led to a partially flooded the
battery compartment. Acid fumes began to
escape from the batteries, forcing the boat
to surface. It had to remain on the surface
while the water was pumped out, the faults
were repaired and the boat was ventilated.
The commanding officer therefore ordered the
boat to proceed south on the surface at full
speed and simultaneously called the gun crew
to the deck, where they stood ready for action.
After two hours, most of the damage had been
remedied and the submarine was able to take
shelter beneath the surface. Nevertheless,
poisonous fumes continued to escape, leading
the commanding officer to terminate the patrol
and return to base. Headquarters approved his
decision, and the boat moored at Salamina
Base on the morning of 6 March.
5th war patrol: 14–19 April 1941, Adriatic
Sea area, commanding officer: Cdr Miltiadis
Iatridis.
The submarine departed Salamina Base
once again on 14 April for its next patrol.
To provide the full context, by then Greece was
already under German attack, which had begun
eight days earlier. The commanding officer
was advised that, if a return to the home port
proved impossible, the submarine would be
sent to the British base at Alexandria in Egypt.
After three days at sea, the commanding
officer was instructed to proceed immediately
to Alexandria because of the continuing
German advance. Nevertheless, Iatridis
requested permission to return to the home
base for essential repairs, and permission
was granted. The boat returned to Salamina on
the evening of 19 April, and work to rectify the
defects began immediately.
On 22 April, in accordance with its previous
orders, it departed for Alexandria, arriving on
27 April 1941. Beforehand, the boat made a brief
stop at the Greek base at Souda on Crete.
At Alexandria, the submarine underwent
essential repairs to prepare it for the next
phase of the war.
6th war patrol: 4–17 July 1941, Mediterra-
nean Sea area, commanding officer: Cdr
Miltiadis Iatridis.
The boat was sent from Alexandria Base
to the area around the island of Kastellorizo
in the Eastern Mediterranean, with orders to
attack enemy convoys heading for Syria and
Palestine. Although the submarine sighted
several vessels, checks showed them to be
Turkish, so no attack was made. Owing to
continuing technical failures, the boat achieved
no successes and returned to base.
7th war patrol: 6–20 June 1942, Aegean
Sea area, commanding officer: Cdr Athanasios
Spanidis.
After several months of repairs in Alexandria
and Port Said, the submarine was once again
ready for action. In the meantime, there had
also been several changes of commanding
officer. The officer of greatest interest to us
is Commander Athanasios Spanidis, who was
appointed to the post in April 1942.
The boat left Alexandria Base on the evening
of 6 June with orders to patrol the area
between the Peloponnese coast and Crete, in
the south-western part of the Aegean Sea.
Its mission also included landing members of
the Greek resistance movement on occupied
Crete, while the submarine picked up a group
of Allied commandos there.
Its first success came on 11 June with the
sinking of a cargo sailing vessel in enemy
service. To conserve valuable torpedoes and
artillery shells, the small craft was destroyed
by ramming. The following day brought further
prizes: first, two sailing vessels were sunk,
the larger by gunfire and the smaller by a blow
from the submarine‘s bow. Later that same day,
a cargo sailing vessel carrying fuel was sunk,
and in the evening the submarine destroyed
another sailing vessel carrying salt.
Two days later, the crew accomplished
a daring feat. The commanding officer sent
a boarding party in a boat to a cargo sailing
vessel in the service of the occupiers, anchored
near Porto Cayo. The party seized the guarded
vessel and sailed it out to sea, where the
submarine promptly sank it by ramming. It was
discovered that the cargo consisted of many
tonnes of food intended for German garrisons
in Greek territory.
On the night of 15/16 June, the submarine
covertly landed resistance fighters on the
Cretan coast and evacuated Allied troops
from there. It returned to Alexandria on 20
June after a dangerous voyage through enemy
waters.
TWO TOWERS
Detail of the preserved torpedo tube.
The original periscope of the submarine Papanikolis in the museum‘s collection.
INFO Eduard
17
August 2026