Captain George Hunt, who died on August 16 aged 95, sank more enemy ships than any other British submariner of the war, commanding patrols that were considered of “unsurpassed” daring and brilliance.
His successes were based on a technical mastery that was allied to steely courage, and for these qualities he was awarded a DSC and Bar and a DSO and Bar as well as being twice mentioned in despatches – making him one of the nation’s most highly-decorated naval officers.
Perhaps his greatest feat came on June 27 1944, when he detected the 3,317-ton cargo ship Cap Blanc close to Cap Antibes; despite her four escorts he managed to sink her with four torpedoes. He was hunted for an hour, but eluded the depth charges and, as he slowly drew away, spotted the 5,260-ton tanker Pallas under tow of two tugs, with five more escorts and four aircraft circling overhead.
Though conditions were good for an anti-submarine chase, Hunt succeeded in penetrating the strong escort “screen”, and at 08h31 fired his last two torpedoes from 1,500 yards: both hit.
He dived to 300ft, near to maximum safe diving depth, to endure what he knew would be a heavy counter-attack; he stopped counting the depth charges after the first 100. The detonations started several leaks but none proved catastrophic and Hunt crept away until, at about noon, he came to periscope depth and saw his enemy hull down on the horizon.
His senior officer wrote that while the first attack was “brilliant”, the second – mounted only three hours later – was “the most superlative exhibition... [achieving] an unseen, undetected position inside such a massive and violently zigzagging screen suggests consummate technical skill, but shows, moreover, determination and courage of the highest order”. Hunt, who was awarded a Bar to his existing DSO, modestly preferred to describe the presence of so many escorts as “very off-putting”.
By the end of the war he held the title of deadliest submarine captain: of the 68 torpedoes he fired, 47 per cent were hits. While Lt-Cdr David Wanklyn, VC, sank most tonnage, Hunt, who attributed his success to his “marvellous team on-board”, sank most ships.
George Edward Hunt was born on July 4 1916 at Milton of Campsie, north of Glasgow, where his grandfather had founded a calico printing works. His father was a colonial officer in Africa and George was a child of Empire. Sent back home at the age of seven, he recalled that that on the solo train journey from Tilbury a luggage label on his coat read simply: “Moffat, Scotland”. He never saw his father again, but was educated at St Ninian’s and cared for on his holidays by two doting aunts.
Aged 13 he joined the Merchant Navy training ship Conway in the Mersey, and at 16 he joined the Glasgow-based Henderson Line, which sailed on routes to India and Burma; his first ship as deck cadet was the 5,000-ton passenger-cargo ship Arracan. In 1930 he was commissioned as a Midshipman RNR, and in 1938 transferred to the Royal Navy.
After a year of technical and tactical courses Hunt spent a short time in the destroyer Foxhound before volunteering for submarine service, training in L26 and L27. He then joined Unity as the signals and navigation officer and was soon awarded his first DSC for gallant service on several successful patrols.
On the night of April 29 1940 Unity was accidentally run down in fog by the Norwegian merchant ship Alte Jarl, which sliced into the forward section of the submarine. All but two men escaped, but after two others were swept away by the tide, Hunt helped keep the rest of the crew together until they were rescued. For this act of leadership he was mentioned in despatches.
Instead of survivor’s leave Hunt was appointed, in May and June 1940, as liaison officer to the Dutch submarine O10, patrolling the North Sea and covering the evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk. From July to December he undertook patrols in the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay as first-lieutenant of the submarine H31, and from December to March 1941 he was liaison officer of the Polish submarine Sokol.
Next Hunt was made the first-lieutenant of the submarine Proteus, which deployed to the Mediterranean. There, on February 8 1942, Proteus made a night attack on what the captain thought was a U-boat, firing two torpedoes on the surface at 700 yards from her stern tubes, without result. As Proteus turned to fire her bow torpedoes, the enemy ship, which turned out to be the Italian torpedo boat Sagittario, rammed Proteus in an attempt to sink her.
Proteus lost her port forward hydroplane and water began to pour into the torpedo room. As the crew scrambled to plug holes and drain the torpedo room, Hunt’s leadership and experience proved crucial in saving the boat from sinking; Proteus was eventually able to proceed slowly at periscope depth back to her base. Hunt, meanwhile, was awarded a Bar to his DSC.
He passed the submarine commanding officers’ “perisher” in April 1942 and took command of H33 and then of H50, which were employed as “clockwork mice” for destroyers practising their anti-submarine work.
It was in October 1942 that he took command of the submarine with which he would forge his reputation. This was known as P53 before Churchill decreed that all submarines should have names instead of numbers; Hunt settled on Ultor, after Mars Ultor, or Mars the Avenger.
After a very cold and unsuccessful patrol off North Cape, Norway, Ultor was sent to the Mediterranean in early 1943. There her fortunes changed entirely.
Hunt’s first success came in April, when he fired on, and sank, the 2,150-ton German motor vessel, Penerf. This scalp was soon followed by those of an auxiliary minesweeper and a large merchantman, both Italian, before in August Ultor accounted for the 800-ton Italian destroyer, Lince.
Other operations included a shore bombardment, landing special forces, and carrying manned torpedoes – known as chariots. In May 1944 Hunt was again mentioned in despatches during the Allied landings at Anzio, when Ultor was used as beacon to guide landing craft to their beaches.
At the end of the war Hunt took command of the T-class submarine, Taku, and following the conclusion of the conflict he was first-lieutenant of the aircraft carrier Triumph.
But by 1947 he was again in command of a submarine, Ambush, on trials under the ice of the Arctic Ocean, an experience which he described as a“memorable and unnerving experience”. In 1948 Hunt commanded the perisher course and was responsible for passing British officers fit to command submarines. Subsequently he was, until 1952, operations officer on the staff of the flag officer submarines.
After a short time as executive officer of the aircraft carrier Theseus, Hunt was promoted captain and went to run the Admiralty Underwater Detection Establishment at Portland, Dorset.
His next appointment was in command of the anti-submarine frigate Bigbury Bay on the West Indies station; as senior naval officer West Indies he took the ship to Jamestown, Virginia, and hosted President Eisenhower on-board during celebrations to mark the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the first successful English settlement in North America.
Hunt’s last two appointments were as chief of staff to the flag officer submarines and director of naval equipment but, at the age of 46, he realised that the Navy had few other challenges to offer. He migrated to Australia in 1963 and settled in Brisbane, where he worked until 1976 for the British High Commission.
George Hunt married Phoebe Silson, a fellow Scot, in 1939; she predeceased him in 2005 and he is survived by their daughter.
George Edward Hunt was born on July 4 1916 at Milton of Campsie, north of Glasgow, where his grandfather had founded a calico printing works. His father was a colonial officer in Africa and George was a child of Empire. Sent back home at the age of seven, he recalled that that on the solo train journey from Tilbury a luggage label on his coat read simply: “Moffat, Scotland”. He never saw his father again, but was educated at St Ninian’s and cared for on his holidays by two doting aunts.
Aged 13 he joined the Merchant Navy training ship Conway in the Mersey, and at 16 he joined the Glasgow-based Henderson Line, which sailed on routes to India and Burma; his first ship as deck cadet was the 5,000-ton passenger-cargo ship Arracan. In 1930 he was commissioned as a Midshipman RNR, and in 1938 transferred to the Royal Navy.
After a year of technical and tactical courses Hunt spent a short time in the destroyer Foxhound before volunteering for submarine service, training in L26 and L27. He then joined Unity as the signals and navigation officer and was soon awarded his first DSC for gallant service on several successful patrols.
On the night of April 29 1940 Unity was accidentally run down in fog by the Norwegian merchant ship Alte Jarl, which sliced into the forward section of the submarine. All but two men escaped, but after two others were swept away by the tide, Hunt helped keep the rest of the crew together until they were rescued. For this act of leadership he was mentioned in despatches.
Instead of survivor’s leave Hunt was appointed, in May and June 1940, as liaison officer to the Dutch submarine O10, patrolling the North Sea and covering the evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk. From July to December he undertook patrols in the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay as first-lieutenant of the submarine H31, and from December to March 1941 he was liaison officer of the Polish submarine Sokol.
Next Hunt was made the first-lieutenant of the submarine Proteus, which deployed to the Mediterranean. There, on February 8 1942, Proteus made a night attack on what the captain thought was a U-boat, firing two torpedoes on the surface at 700 yards from her stern tubes, without result. As Proteus turned to fire her bow torpedoes, the enemy ship, which turned out to be the Italian torpedo boat Sagittario, rammed Proteus in an attempt to sink her.
Proteus lost her port forward hydroplane and water began to pour into the torpedo room. As the crew scrambled to plug holes and drain the torpedo room, Hunt’s leadership and experience proved crucial in saving the boat from sinking; Proteus was eventually able to proceed slowly at periscope depth back to her base. Hunt, meanwhile, was awarded a Bar to his DSC.
He passed the submarine commanding officers’ “perisher” in April 1942 and took command of H33 and then of H50, which were employed as “clockwork mice” for destroyers practising their anti-submarine work.
It was in October 1942 that he took command of the submarine with which he would forge his reputation. This was known as P53 before Churchill decreed that all submarines should have names instead of numbers; Hunt settled on Ultor, after Mars Ultor, or Mars the Avenger.
After a very cold and unsuccessful patrol off North Cape, Norway, Ultor was sent to the Mediterranean in early 1943. There her fortunes changed entirely.
Hunt’s first success came in April, when he fired on, and sank, the 2,150-ton German motor vessel, Penerf. This scalp was soon followed by those of an auxiliary minesweeper and a large merchantman, both Italian, before in August Ultor accounted for the 800-ton Italian destroyer, Lince.
Other operations included a shore bombardment, landing special forces, and carrying manned torpedoes – known as chariots. In May 1944 Hunt was again mentioned in despatches during the Allied landings at Anzio, when Ultor was used as beacon to guide landing craft to their beaches.
At the end of the war Hunt took command of the T-class submarine, Taku, and following the conclusion of the conflict he was first-lieutenant of the aircraft carrier Triumph.
But by 1947 he was again in command of a submarine, Ambush, on trials under the ice of the Arctic Ocean, an experience which he described as a“memorable and unnerving experience”. In 1948 Hunt commanded the perisher course and was responsible for passing British officers fit to command submarines. Subsequently he was, until 1952, operations officer on the staff of the flag officer submarines.
After a short time as executive officer of the aircraft carrier Theseus, Hunt was promoted captain and went to run the Admiralty Underwater Detection Establishment at Portland, Dorset.
His next appointment was in command of the anti-submarine frigate Bigbury Bay on the West Indies station; as senior naval officer West Indies he took the ship to Jamestown, Virginia, and hosted President Eisenhower on-board during celebrations to mark the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the first successful English settlement in North America.
Hunt’s last two appointments were as chief of staff to the flag officer submarines and director of naval equipment but, at the age of 46, he realised that the Navy had few other challenges to offer. He migrated to Australia in 1963 and settled in Brisbane, where he worked until 1976 for the British High Commission.
George Hunt married Phoebe Silson, a fellow Scot, in 1939; she predeceased him in 2005 and he is survived by their daughter.
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