Memorial plaque of E18 crew to be opened in Tallinn

08.02.2010
Memorial service and opening of memorial plaque mentioning names of submariners of British submarine E18 will be held on May 31, 2010 at 12.00 pm (local time) at the Holy Spirit Church in Tallinn. The submarine was scuppered in the Baltic Sea during WW1; there were three Russian sailors on board the sub.

Among attendants will be relatives of died submariners. The remembrance action is assisted by British Submariners Association and St. Petersburg Submariners' Club.

In Oct 2009 Swedish divers from MMT marine research company using submersible robot found a well preserved hull of WW1 British sub E18 at 100-m depth off Estonian island Hiiumaa.

Upper conning tower hatch was opened. That presumably means that the sub collided with mine while being on surface.

British E18 was one of those submarines which helped Russian Navy to counter ironstone delivery from Sweden to Germany; she sailed off Revel (now called Tallinn) on May 25, 1916 and did not return. Reportedly, the sub torpedoed German ship the next day, and in few days she sank along with 33 crewmembers. Among them were 3 Russian submariners – Lt. Vasily Mikhailovich Polikarpov, senior telegraphist Fedor Nikolayevich Markovsky and signalman Ivan Yefimovich Pantiukhov.

The Submariners' Association consolidates retired and actual Royal Navy's submariners with a view to preserve naval traditions, perpetuate historical memory and render social assistance to British submariners and their families.

St. Petersburg Submariners' Club was established on Nov 25, 1994 on the initiative of Northern Fleet's officers and numbers over 2,000 members from Russia and other countries.

The club actively cooperates with state and municipal authorities, Russian Navy command; enjoys confidence of naval personnel and veterans of the Navy; it is considered an independent and professional expert center dealing with problems and history of submarine fleet.

The club is initiator of international meetings of submariners, memorial programs in honor of died submariners of K-129, K-219, K-278, K-429, K-141 Kursk and others. In 2009 the club along with Central Navy Portal arranged search of relatives of died crewmen of Soviet Baltic Fleet's S-2 submarine. Presently, relatives of five died submariners are found.

Source: RusNavy.com, photo: HM Submarine E18 before her last cruise (by British Museum from deepsea.se)