![]() One associates a submarine with confined space, but Rorqual, launched at Barrow in 1936, was 280 feet long and had a beam width of 29 feet. A number of convoys had run the gauntlet from Gibraltar or Alexandria to Malta and all had suffered casualties.Īdmiral Andrew Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief of the British Naval Forces in the Mediterranean, boldly decided to use the Rorqual and her sister submarine Cacholot to get supplies to the island. Under daily siege, Malta had to be supplied with both food and fuel for domestic purposes, as well as for its RAF Squadrons fighting for the survival of the island. With the capture of Crete, it was imperative that Malta did not fall into German hands. ![]() ![]() Napier, who had been in the submarine service since 1934, took command of Rorqual, a Porpoise class submarine in June 1941. For Captain Lennox Napier’s inspired and courageous captaincy of the mine laying submarine Rorqual, he was appointed DSO in 1943 and won the DSC in 1944. ![]()
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