The Royal Navy A-class submarine went missing after setting off from Portsmouth on a training exercise on 16 April 1951. A search and rescue operation was launched but it was two months before the sunk vessel was eventually found, 7.5 miles north-west of the island.
All 75 on board, including 50 crew, 21 officers on training and four marines, lost their lives in the disaster, the cause of which is still disputed.
It was the worst Royal Navy submarine accident since the Second World War.
Yesterday’s service took place at the Braye Beach memorial, which was first unveiled in 2012, and was attended by submariners and family members of those lost at sea, as well as members of the Alderney Branch of the British Legion and some Alderney States members.
Former submarine captain David Cust led the service of commemoration on behalf of the Submariners’ Association, before Guernsey-based vessel Access Challenger transported attendees to the Hurd Deep to lay a wreath at the wreck site.
You need to be logged in to comment.