Parnall Peto Submarine Launched Seaplane and the HMS M2

[jonajonesyboy]

Off to weymouth this weekend , hopefully diving this wreck, weather permitting

[quickscope2011]

great footage! I have only really know about the Japanese and French designs, didn't know the Brits also exp with it.

[Bagpusspoon]

Amazing footage. My husband's Great Uncle, Tony O'Dwyer was also lost in this accident. Thanks so much for posting.

[KrillLiberator]

Lovely to see the little Peto in action; and rather a pretty little aeroplane she was too.

Somewhat forgotten or perhaps just overlooked in relation to her mothership. This isn't surprising, I suppose; M2 was the most experimental submarine the RN ever operated, from her genesis as a submarine monitor (conceived to shell the German-held Belgian coast without receiving return fire from shore batteries, btw) to her reconstruction as the RN's only ever submarine aircraft carrier. Great vid!

[Hanglands]

Great footage, as always. Such great ingenuit. I hadnt heard of the M2 tragedy before.

[12ock]

wow... awesome footage... i believe it was almost acertain if they where not careless on closing the hatches... cause its flood on inside the sub... my respect to those who made the sub... and those those people inside

[Mikeydsmith]

great footage/. Thanks - it makes diving it a very different thing where one can pay respects to the men that died in this tradgedy

[thisisnev]

@UKkid19 Mounting naval artillery on submarines was never going to work. Subs are inherently unstable on the surface, and any kind of swell made accurate aiming impossible - not to mention the extremely limited traverse of the mounting, which meant the whole submarine had to be laboriously pointed at the target.

Meanwhile, of course, the enemy would presumably be letting fly with everything they had, and submarines are horribly prone to gunfire.

Devastating? Only for the the sub and its crew!

[Wallys3rdSon]

Great footage. Very interesting and moving. Thanks. I've just been reading articles in The Times on the losses of HM Submarines Poseidon (1931) and M 2 (1932). creweeagle's grandfather, Able Seaman Thomas Morris was fortunate to have survived the Poseidon sinking but sadly not so lucky the next year on the M 2.

[nighttrain1550]

My grandfather Leading Seaman Albert Jacobs was one of only 2 crew recovered, he was in the hanger waiting to time the launch of the plane. He's now buried at the Navel Cemetery at Portland, only 28 years of age!

[ginav100]

my great grandfather was one of the crew ! its amazing 2 see some footage !

[507921e]

My great uncle John Edwards went down with her on 26th January 1932. My mother still has the telegram dated the 27th to her grandmother. Fantastic find.

[creweeagle]

My Grandfather Thomas Morris was an able seaman on the M2 when it was lost. No idea about this film it is as has been said remarkable

[bi111ion]

My grandfather served on an M-class submarine after WWI, but I am not sure which. I do know it was involved in an accident that left it trapped on the sea bed for a while. Fortunately he survived. Anyway it was really special to see this film.

[wallett23]

My Grandad also died on the M2 another leading stoker Edward Matthews only film Ive seen,Thanks

[scratchpost10]

My great uncle, Sidney Jarrett, was also one of the crew aboard the M2 Submarine when it sank.

[paullytheplumber]

The M2 still lives. I have dived on her several times, she lies in about 120 feet of water a few miles west of Portland. She was moved to this position by an aborted salvage operation soon after her sinking. She is totally intact and sits upright on the seabed. The pressure casing has been sealed by the navy as she is a grave site, but I have been all over her and in the hangar. it is quite a moving experience to stand on the bridge and look out over the bows (visibility allowing).

[khakiwolf]

Such a lovely ship. It's a shame that the M-class submarine proved to be such a waste of time and money. Subs weren't meant to multitask, and the M-class is a sad lesson in this.

[barryrate]

My grandfather, Leading Stoker George Sharpe, was one of the crew on the M2 submarine at the time of the accident. This is a remarkable film.

[rmorecook]

incredible story. I had no idea subs ever launched planes. Sad though Bob M

[DartDakota]

I thought I knew most things about aviation history but this one has totally escaped me until now. Thanks BG.

[denberg2]

The saddest video you've ever posted...

[2775754raf]

Wonderful bit of history. Thanks BG. These old newsreels give a much better story than the 2 second slots we get on today's TV.