July 22: Three British submarines that all shared the same sad fate sailed on this date, two on the same day.

In 1940 HMS Narwhal N-45 sailed from Blyth to lay mines off Trondheim, Norway, the type of mission the
boat had already done several times. This time however something went wrong and the boat was never heard
from again. The Luftwaffe reported attacking a submarine on July 23 about 170 miles northeast of Blyth, which
if true could have been Narwhal, but the wreck has never been found.

The same day from Dundee the HMS Thames N-71 sailed into the North Sea on her first war patrol, while she is
thought to have sunk the German torpedo boat Luchs on July 26, Luchs could have been sunk by another
submarine. Thames never returned and has still not been found. Both of these boats were built at Vickers in
Barrow which gives them a third element of similarity. Built at the same place, sailed the same day, missing
for unknown reasons with the entire crew.

Three years later on July 22, 1943 the HMS Parthian N-75 sailed from Malta for a patrol in the Adriatic west
of Greece. She received new orders to patrol off Otranto on July 26 and other orders were given at least twice
more. On Aug. 11, 1943 the boat was reported overdue and has still not been found.

Three entire crews lost, and over 60 years later still laying somewhere on the bottom of the sea their location
known only to God.