Today in History – 14 July

Submarine Atılay sank

Of the four submarines Saldıray, Batıray, Atılay amd Yıldıray named by Atatürk, Atılay sank in the Strait of Çanakkale on July 14, 1942. Atılay was the first Turkish submarine to have sunk with casualties while it was submerged.

80 meters long with a crew of 52, Atılay was manufactured at the Taşkızak Shipyard and went into service in 1939. The submarine reached Çanakkale on July 14th for the control of new equipment and began to submerge at Morto Bay at 2:30 PM under the command of Lieutenant Commander Sadi Gürcan. The tugboat Kartal followed the submarine for some time, but was forced to return to shore due to worsening weather conditions. When the submarine did not return at the expected hour, a search was issued. The submarine’s wreck buoy was found the same evening.

What sank Atılay remained a secret for years. The location of the wreck was discovered nearly fifty years later through underwater search. The studies revealed a large mark on the level of the engine room of the vessel’s starboard. It thus appeared that Atılay sank because of a naval mine from World War I.

6 naval officers, 17 non-coms, and 16 privates were martyred in the accident.