The Unbeaten crew had embarked on their 4th patrol on 8 of July. Things on the domestic front would be slightly different during this patrol. The boat was only being victualed for one meal per day per man. The reason for this is not known by the author but one can surmise it may have something to do with the reduced availability of food on the island during the siege. This patrol was wholly un-eventful. The boat returned to Malta on 19 July 1941. Unbeaten would remain alongside the lazaretto and not embark on her fifth patrol until the 28th of this month. Sad times befell the crew of Unbeaten during their time alongside. The news filtered through that a fellow U-Class submarine HMS/M Union was sunk only days before, with the loss of all hands.
Unbeaten was recalled to Malta from her 3rd patrol, entering harbour on Friday the 27th of June 1941. The submarine and her crew would remain alongside for the next 10 days. This gave the men time to re-store, fix any outstanding defects and more importantly have some well-earned rest and relaxation. This was easier said than done on an island which was on the receiving end of one of the most concentrated bombing campaigns in World War II. Soon it was time for the submarine and her rested crew to leave Malta and embark on their 4th patrol. After sailing, and later that night, the lookouts on-board N93 witnessed a British fighter aircraft shoot down and enemy bomber. The burning aircraft thundered into the sea in a minefield area just over 10 nm from Unbeaten. The impact must have been hard as the patrol log says, ‘it was decided not to close the crash area as it appeared there would be no survivors’.
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September 2018
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