O 14 lying on the north wall of Camperdown Dock in Dundee.

For additional photos and information please check the 'related pages list' at the bottom of this page.

1928

4 May 1928: O 14 is ordered.

29 Dec 1928: O 14 is laid down at the K.M. De Schelde shipyard in Vlissingen.

1931

3 Oct 1931: O 14 is launched.

1932

4 Mar 1932: O 14 is commissioned to the Royal Netherlands Navy.

4 Mar 1932 - 1933: O 14 is under the command of ?

25 June 1923: His Royal Highness Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands visits the O 13 and the Dutch Minister of Defence visits the O 14. Both boats make a small trip to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dutch Submarine Service.

1933

3 Jul - 14 Jul 1933: O 13, O 14, O 15 and Z 5 sail to Esbjerg (Denmark).

1935

July 1935 - ?before spring 1937? : O 14 is under the command of Ltz. II  .

1937

? 1937 - ?: O 14 is under the command of Ltz. I  .

14 or 16 Apr - 24 Dec 1937: O 12 and O 14 take a journey to the Caribbean and Suriname.

14 or 16 Apr - 6 May 1937: O 12 and O 14 sail from Nieuwediep (Den Helder) via Ponta Delgada (Azores) and San Juan (Puorto Rico) )to Curaçao.

19 Jul - 8 Aug 1937: O 12 and O 14 sail from Curaçao to Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) and Suriname.

26 Nov - 24 Dec 1937: O 12 and O 14 sail from Curaçao to Den Helder. They make atleast one stop at San Juan (Puorto Rico).

1939

13 Feb 1939 - 24 Mar 1941: O 14 is under the command of Ltz. I  .

12 Apr - 11 May 1939: O 13 and O 14 sail from Nieuwediep (Den Helder) to Curaçao.

31 Jul - 29 Aug 1939: O 13 and O 14 sail from Curaçao to Nieuwediep (Den Helder).

11 May 1939 - 11 Sep 1940: O 14 is based at Curaçao.

1940

10 May 1940: Germany attacks the Netherlands.

May 1940 - Early Sept 1940?? : O 14 is overhauled. She will be moored in the Schottegat alongside the Juliana dock until early Sept 1940.

O 15 is undergoing her half yearly maintenance, including some very important repairs. At the end of June the O.A.Z. reports the O 15 will be ready within 4 weeks because the maintenance will completed with overhauled parts of the O 14. O 14 will be completed with some overhauled parts of the O 15. During O 15's engine trials cracks occur in the 3rd stage compressor-cylinder of the port diesel engine. Once again these parts are replaced by overhauled parts from the O14, the 4th stage compressor-cylinder and several other parts were already swapped at an earlier date.

Early July 1940: In a meeting between Dutch C.M.S. and the British 'Chief of Staff of the Vice-Admiral of Submarines' it is decided there is no need for Dutch subs in the Caribbean (Dutch West Indies). Therefore the submarines O 14 and O 15 will be ordered to the U.K. They will transit via Kingston, Bermuda and Halifax.

3 Sep - 4 Sep 1940: O 14 is undergoing trials off the south coast of Curaçao.

9 Sep - 10 Sep 1940: O 14 is dry-docked in the Wilhelmina dry-dock for the last time.

11 July: All maintenance is completed and the O 14 is ready to depart for Halifax. During this transit the O 14 will be under the command of  C in C AWI (Commander in Chief America and West Indies Station ).

12 Sep - 25 Sep 1940: O 14 sails from Curaçao via Bermuda to Halifax (Canada).

12 Sep 1940 at 10:40 hrs: After being inspected by Ktz. W v/d Donker the O 14 exits the Annabaai.

14 Sep 1940 between 04:00 and 08:00 hrs: O 14 passes the Mona Passage.

18 Sep 1940 at 09:15 hrs: O 14 arrives in Hamilton (Bermuda).

21 Sep at 09:30 hrs: O 14 departs Hamilton (Bermuda).

21 Sep at 11:00 hrs: O 14 passes the Narrows and heads for Halifax (Canada).

22 Sep - 23 Sep 1940: Because of the strong northern winds two casing plates above the port diesel exhaust get damaged.

25 Sep 1940 at 07:00: O 14 passes the Sambro light ship. Here the O 14 engages the HMCS Acodia, which will escort the submarine to Halifax (Canada).

25 Sep 1940 at 09:30 hrs: O 14 arrives in Halifax (Canada)  and moors alongside HMSAMC Ranpura.

25 Sep - 8 Oct 1940: O 14 is based in Halifax and is under CinC AWI operational control (Commander in Chief America and West Indies Station).

25 Sep - 26 Sep 1940: O 14's damaged casing plates are repaired at the Halifax Shipyard Ltd in Dartmouth Cove. The repairs are completed between 16:00 and 20:00 hrs.

Because the ordered distilled water (for the batteries) did not arrive on time the O 14 could not join the convoy HX  78 (Halifax/New York - U.K.). She now has to wait until Oct 8.

?O 14 assists during the transfer of Destroyers from the U.S. Navy to the British Royal Navy.?

8 Oct - 22 Oct 1940: O 14 sails from Halifax to Rothesay (Scotland) while escorting convoy HX 79 (Halifax/New York - U.K.).

The details on O 14's escort duty are from an account of O 14's commander Ltz. I  .

The convoy has carries no lights for the complete journey but every now and then some ships show their stern light. Generally the convoy zig-zags during the day with legs of 1 - 1,5 hrs and course changes of 40 degrees. During the night there is no zig-zagging (except for the night of Oct 19). During the night the legs are 5 and 10 minutes.

8 Oct 1940 at 10:45 hrs: After the merchants have left Halifax the O14 departs as well. She follows HMSAMC Montclare.

8 an 9 Oct 1940: The convoy is escorted by a local escort and is frequently 'visited' by airplanes.

10 Oct 1940 between 08:00 and 12:00 hrs:  The ships from Sydney Harbour join the convoy. The convoy now consists of 45 merchants divided in 9 columns. Including two Dutch merchants named Bilderdijk and Tiba. The "ocean escort" is HMSAMC  Montclare.

11/12 Oct 1940: Because the convoy has a higher speed than was agreed on (9 instead of 8.1 knots) the O 14 will not have enough fuel to make the crossing (including all zig-zags) and therefore it is decided on Oct 12th that she will transit on her own, escorted by Bilderdijk.

11 Oct 1940 between 08:00 and 12:00 hrs: Course is changed from East to North-East.

17 Oct 1940 between  16:00 and 20:00 hrs: After passing 59°N-26°W course is changed to East-North-East, heading for the Northern tip of Ireland.

18 Oct 1940 at +/- 12:00 hrs: "Ocean escort" HMSAMC Montclare leaves the convoy.

19 Oct 1940 between 08:00 and 12:00 hrs at position 57°N-20°W: The local escort for British water makes contact with the convoy. The escort consists off: 1 Gun boat, 2 destroyers, 2 convoyeurs and 3 trawlers.

19 Oct - 20 Oct 1940: The O 14 can not prevent a German Wolfpack attack, 12 ships are lost, 1 is damaged. Three torpedoes barely miss the O 14.

The weather is ideal for submarines/U-boats. Few waves, little wind (SE 2-3), some diffuse light from the moon and every now and then a little fog that made it hard to see the horizon.

19 Oct 1940 at 21:15 hrs at position 57°N-18°W: While at a 80° W course the convoy is attacked, forward starboard, by U-boats. At the same time the convoy changes course 40° to port side. This puts O 14 in a position at port of the convoy. Because of fog the O 14 looses contact with the convoy and has to increase her speed.

At 22:37 hrs she is in a position of 250 mtr abeam of Shirak (loaded with Kerosene) which is struck (port side aft) by a torpedo. A destroyer sailing half a mile behind O 14 fires flares over the port side of the convoy.

O 14 changes course 90° starboard and at +/- 23:00 hrs she spots,4° over port side, the convoy in the light of an explosion on board the Shirak. O 14 decides to follow the convoy on its general course of 110°. O 14 observes that on the other side of the convoy two ships are ablaze, one of them is a tanker.

The convoy still zig-zags with a general Western course of 110°. But because of all course changes the convoy has scattered somewhat.

O 14 has to increase speed several times because she is getting closed in by merchants.

At 01:00 hrs O 14 sails next to a tanker, possibly the Sandanger. The tanker is falling behind and not zig-zagging and O 14 increases speed in order to get ahead of the tanker.

At 01:15 hrs at a distance of 500 mtr from the O 14 the tanker is struck by a torpedo at her port side below the bridge. O 14 turns to ports and starts to sail an irregular course.

At 01:23 hrs two torpedo wakes pass the O 14 at a distance of 5 and 15 meters. The bubble trails are heading for the first ship in the 7th column, but the ship zig-zags to port side so the torpedoes pass aft of the merchant.

After O 14 has overtaken the convoy it shows that the first vessels form almost one line and behind them, probably too close, the other vessels. O 14 follows the zig-zag scheme which is ordered by a whistle.

At 04:30 hrs a large flame, at a distance of +/- 5 miles, is spotted at a bearing of 4 degrees starboard. This is probably the Loch Lomond which has radioed at 04:00 hrs that she is being hunted by a U-boat.

At 06:10 hrs a vessel, distance +/- 1500 mtr and bearing 10° port side, indicates by flare and whistle that she is being attacked by an U-boat. The vessel turns to port but resumes her course soon after.

At 06:25 hrs the O 14 crew hears the sound of a torpedo going from starboard to port below the forward battery compartment. The wake is not spotted from the bridge.

The escorts drop depth charges after almost every U-boat attack, but no successes have been reported.
When day breaks, and when the stragglers have re-joined the convoy, it turns out that only 36 of the 45 ships survived.

20 Oct 1940 at 10:00 hrs: Two British bombers appear above the convoy. The planes return the 21st between 00:00 and 04:00 hrs and during the day.

21 Oct 1940 at 16:15 hrs: The convoy is split up is a part sailing to Eastern ports and a part sailing to Western ports.

At 22:15 hrs Inishtrahull Light (Northern Ireland) is sighted.

22 Oct at 06:00 hrs: O 14 follows the part of the convoy that is heading for the Clyde.

At 14:20 hrs O 14 moors alongside HMS Cyclops in Rothesay (Scotland).

22 Oct - 20 Dec 1940: O 14 is based at Rothesay and is under British operational control. She is temporarily attached to the and is used as an ASDIC piggy boat for the training of convoy escort vessels off Campbeltown (Scotland).

6 Oct 1940 at 18:36 hrs: While moored at the westerly harbour dam of Campbeltown, Argyll (Scotland) the O 14 and other RN vessels and submarines are attacked by a German plane. The bombs miss the O 14 and only one bullet enters the boat via an open hatch.
Immediately after the explosion the loading of the batteries is stopped, the machine gun is manned and the boat is prepared to submerge. The machine gun is fired once, after which the gun jams. After the attack the crew helps to rescue people from the Royal Hotel, which is hit by bombs several times.

20 Nov 1940: The exercise area is now changed to the area off Tobermory. O 14 is based at the depot ship HMS  Alecto.

20 Dec 1940: O 14 departs from the west coast of Scotland and under the escort of HMS White Bear she sails via Pentland Firth to Dundee (Scotland).

22 Dec 1940: O 14 arrives in Dundee (Scotland) and moors in the Victoria-dock.

22 Dec 1940 - ?: O 14 is attached to the in Dundee (Scotland) and is under British operational control. The crew is boarded onshore and the following months are used for maintenance on. Among other things the batteries are completely replaced.

O 14 (Photo: © Collection G.D. Horneman)

1941

? 1941: While on transit to or from her patrol area  the O 14 participates in ASDIC/ASW exercises at Scapa Flow (Scotland).

24 Mar 1941 - 16 Feb 1942: O 14 is under the command of Ltz. I  KMR .

Early Apr 1941: For several days the O 14 conducts trials on the Tay river.

7 Apr 1941: The O 14 is ready for active duty once again.

During the following months the O 14 is used as an ASDIC piggy boat for allied war ships. O 14 is still based in Dundee, but the exercise area is Scapa Flow. On the transits from Dundee to Scapa Flow the O 14 is either escorted by the Dutch Hr.Ms. Z5, a RN ship or she is attached to a convoy heading for Scapa Flow.

8 Aug 1941: O 14 receives orders from for a war patrol.

9 Aug 1941 between 20:00 and 24:00 hrs: The O 14 arrives in Lerwick (Shetlands).

13 Aug - 26 Aug 1941: O 14 patrols off Norway. No attacks are made.

13 Aug at 14:30 hrs: O 14 departs from Lerwick (Shetlands). The escort, drifter Harmatta, escorts the submarines until they are 12 nm east of Barhead. The submarine continued zig-zagging with a speed of 11,5 kts and submerged during the day.

14 Aug 1941: Until the 14th the O 14 stayed on a northerly course. North of the Viking Banks she headed for the Norwegian coast.

15 Aug 1941 at 01:00: O 14 passes to 100 vadem line.

15 Aug 1941 during the day: The O 14 arrives in the patrol area off Kors Fjord (Norway).

The following days only some light explosions are heard on the listening devices and only one patrolling (off the fjord entrance) Norwegian motor drifter is spotted.

20 Aug 1941 at midnight: The Admiralty informs the  O 14 that two Finnish ships, sailing a southerly course, are reported off Stadtlandet.
When the ships would take the inland route the O 14 would not have enough time to intercept the ships, therefore O 14 tries to position herself to intercept the ships on the other offshore route. She sails with a speed of 12 kts on a SE course, but the ships are not spotted, so they probably took the inland route.

22 Aug 1941 at 19:40 hrs: A loud screw noise, on a southerly course, is heard on the listening device. Because of the rainy wetter and the low visibility (about 200 m) the O 14 could not track the vessel.

23 Aug 1941 at midnight: O 14 is ordered to patrol in the southern part of her patrol area as close as possible to the position of the French submarine Rubis. In the afternoon the O 14 is ordered off Obrestad to assist Rubis. With a speed of 13,5 kts the O 14 heads for the Rubis. The bad visibility and the fact (radioed in at 18:15 hrs) that the Rubis is trying to reach port under her own power will make a rendezvous very difficult. On 22:35 hrs O 14 arrives at the position off Obrestad, but the Rubis is already gone. O 14 stays in the area until midnight, when she is ordered to return to port.

26 Aug 1941 at 15:00 hrs:  O 14 arrives in Lerwick (Shetlands).

28 Aug 1941 between 04:00 and 08:00 hrs: O 14 departs Lerwick (Shetlands) and heads for Dundee (Scotland).

29 Aug 1941 between 08:00 and 12:00 hrs: O 14 arrives in Dundee (Scotland).

5 Sep - 12 Sep 1941: O 14 patrols off Norway. No attacks are made.

During this whole war patrol the weather is bad and the Sperry gyro compass (fitted some three months ago) did not function properly. Therefore the O 14 has many troubles to calculate her position, which results in doubtful navigation.

5 Sep 1941: Escorted by HMS Cutty Shark the O 14 departs Dundee (Scotland). 8 nm East of Outer Skerries (Shetlands) she escort turns back to Dundee and the O 14 is on her own and continues to transit to the patrol area off Utsire (Norway).

8 Sep 1941: In the course of the day the O 14 is ordered by to return to Dundee (Scotland) . Before O 14 could start the transit to Dundee a new order is received: " German cruiser proceeding northward, remain on patrol".

9 Sep 1941: During the day the weather improves and O 14 starts patrolling closer to the shore in order to get some fixes for her navigation. Only at 10:30 a reasonable reliable fixed is obtained. This fix shows O 14 will not be able to reach the assigned patrol position on time, the submarine's position is south of the assigned position.

9 Sep 1941 at 20:45 hrs: While continuing to patrol  near the 100 vadem line (water depth) the listening device reports a small vessel at large distance. O 14 surfaces, but because of a shower the visibility is only 1 1/2 nm, there fore the ship is not spotted.

10 Sep 1941: O 14 departs the patrol area and heads back Dundee (Scotland).

12 Sep 1941 at 15:30 hrs: O 14 arrives in Dundee (Scotland).

? - 13 Oct 1941: The following maintenance period lasts until 13 Oct.

14 Oct 1941: O 14 test fires torpedoes off Bell Rock.

17 Oct between 12:00 and 16:00 hrs: O 14 transits to Lerwick. At Lerwick (Shetlands) she is probably refuelled before she starts her war patrol.

19 Oct - 27 Oct 1941: O 14 patrols off Norway. No attacks are made.

During this war patrol the weather is very bad.

19 Oct 1941 at 19:00 hrs: Together with the French submarine Minerve, and escorted by a plane and HMS Loch Monteith, the O 14 departs Lerwick (Shetlands). At  61°36'N-00°02'E (90 nm North of Lerwick) the two submarines continue on their own.

21 Oct 1941: O 14 arrives in her patrol area off Frojen and Hovden (Norway). Due to bad weather O 14 is not able to get an fix on her position.

24 Oct 1941: The weather improves a bit, so the O 14 is able to get a good fix on her position and she inspects the entrance of the Hell fjord and Froysjoen fjord.

25 Oct 1941 between 00:00 and 04:00 hrs: O 14 receives the following message: " Two transport ships and one tanker N-bound, probably rounding Stadtlandet on Saturday". O 14 can not make it to Stadtlandet in time, so she tries to intercept the convoy off the Froysjoen fjord. O 14 submerges near the 100 vadem line off Hovden. At day break the visibility is only 2 - 3 nm, so it is impossible to get a fix on O 14's position. O 14 closes in on the shore in order to be able to spot the ships, relying heavily on depth sounding she is barely able to navigate through the shallows. At 11:00 hrs the boat is back at the 100 vadem line were she continued, while being submerged, to search for the convoy.

25 Oct 1941 at 22:30 hrs:  O 14 surfaces and it receives order to head back to  Lerwick (Shetlands).

27 Oct 1941: Because of a NW storm the rendezvous with the escort HMS Loch Monteith off Outer Skerries is delayed by 5 hours, but at 14:00 hrs the O 14 arrives in Lerwick (Shetlands).

Nov - Dec 1941: The British Admiralty still preferred "fighting the U-boats" over "sinking German tonnage". Therefore the O 14 has to assist in ASW exercises once again. She is used as a piggy boat in order to train surface units at Scapa Flow. These months were also used to improve their (officers and commander) torpedo launching skills and to workup new submarine personnel.

3 Dec - 25 Dec 1941: O 14 is at Dundee (Scotland) for maintenance and repairs.

7 Dec 1941: The USA declares war on Japan after Japanese forces attack Pearl Harbour. Approximately 7 hours after the attack the Netherlands also declares war on Japan.

14 Dec 1941: Japanese planes bomb Tarempah (Anambas Islands) which is Netherlands East Indies territory.

27 Dec 1941: Japanese invaders occupy Tambelan Islands, Dutch territory, between Borneo and Singapore.

1942

3 Jan - 9 Jan 1942: O 14 participates in operation Kitbag. During this operation the shore installations of Fjora (South of the Njord Fjord) will be attacked. The details and date of this operation was changed several time

3 Jan 1942 at 09:30 hrs: Escorted by HMS Stella Pagasi the  O 14 departs from Scapa Flow (Scotland) and heads for Lerwick (Shetlands).

4 Jan 1942 at 12:50 hrs: The ships are 90 nm North of Lerwick (Shetlands) and the O 14 continues the transit to the Norwegian coast on her own.

O 14 is assigned to a position 15 nm off the Norwegian coast. Bearing of 280º on the K van Hovden light house. She has to function as an radio beacon for the destroyers heading towards the entrance of Hell fjord. The British Admiralty has specially requested the O 14 because she had been patrolling the area before and therefore knew the area quite well.

6 Jan 1942 at 04:40 hrs: O 14 receives the message that operation Kitbag has started. Details have changed again. The raid by special forces is cancelled and 'only' two ships (HMS Inglefield and HMS Intrepid) will attack the local shipping.

 O 14 starts signalling (via radio) at 18:00 hrs. At 19:35 hrs O 14 has to change position because they spot a small vessel, but soon the original position is reached again. At 21:05 hrs the HMS Inglefield and HMS Intrepid are spotted. The RN ships immediately head to the Froysjoen entrance and attack the shore installations and vessels in the Nacro fjord, Helle fjord and Flora harbour. The raid lasted  for two hours. In the mean time other targets are attack by airplane. O 14 is ordered to leave the area on a Northern course, in order to get out of the way of the returning RN ships.

7 Jan 1942: O 14 is still patrolling off the fjords, but at 12:00 she receives the message that operation Kitbag has ended. and is ordered back to base.

9 Jan 1942 at 10:00 hrs: O 14 arrives at the rendezvous point off Outer Skerries. At 12:00 her escort, HMS Stella Pegasi, is spotted.

9 Jan 1942 at approx 24:00 hrs: O 14 and her escort arrive in Scapa Flow (Scotland).

In these days between war patrols the O 14 is available for ASW training duties at Scapa Flow (Scotland). These exercises are suddenly broken of because the Secret Service reports that the German battle cruiser Tirpitz left the Bay of Danzig. Therefore the O 14 has to patrol the Norwegian coast once again.

17 Jan - 5 Feb 1942: O 14 patrols off Norway. No attacks are made. O 14 tries to locate the Tirpitz off Trondheim, but the German battleship is not to be found.

17 Jan 1942 at 19:00 hrs: Escorted by HMS Eday the O 14 departs for another patrol off the Norwegian coast in order to track down the German battle cruiser Tirpitz. O 14 transits to her  patrol area via the Shetlands.

18 Jan 1942 at 13:15 hrs: 15 nm East of Muckle Flugga  the escort HMS Eday turns around and O 14 continues her transit unescorted.

21 Jan 1942: In the course of the day O 14 arrives in her patrol area. The area is off the Kalten islands, near the Northern entrance to Trondheim (Norway). O 14 spots two torpedo boats and a small patrol vessel near the entrance to the fjord.

The following days are very foggy. No ships are spotted, although enemy planes were quite active. Depth sounding is used to get a reliable fix on O 14's position.

30 Jan 1942 during the night: That is unusual heavy enemy plane activity. Because of reduced visibility the commander decided to dive in order to listen for any enemy surface activity. Only some distance explosions were heard. At 17:00 hrs the submarine surface again and O 14 started to head for home. The patrol duty of O 14 off Trondheim is taken over by the HMS Tigris.

2 Feb 1942: O 14 radios her patrol report.

4 Jan 1942 at 14:00 hrs: O 14 arrives at the rendezvous point off Bressay and engages her escort HMS Monteith.

5 Feb 1942: O 14 arrives in Scapa Flow (Scotland) and moors alongside depot ship HMS Duncle Castle, but O 14 departs again the same day. Escorted by HMS Monteith she sails to her home port Dundee (Scotland) for maintenance and repairs.

In his patrol report O 14's commander was extremely positive about the O 14's batteries: " . . . .after being submerged for over 20 hours O 14 wanted to recharge the batteries. But after 20 min recharging (+/-400 Ah. in.) she was forced, by a German plane, to submerge once again. The O 14 did not surface until the next night. So submarine had been submerged for almost 40 hours and recharged only 25 min. After surfacing the capacity was +/- 50 % or 4000 Ah. It only took 5 hours to recharge the batteries again (10% extra recharging) In these 5 hours the high pressure air system was also pumped up from 150 to 200 atm and the submarine covered a distance 45 nm at a minimum speed of 7 kts. All this while only using 80% of the engine capacity and one diesel using only 5 cylinders. This is far better then any RN submarine of the same size and newer design. . . ."

16 Feb 1942 - 26 June 1943: O 14 is under the command of Ltz. I  .

Late Feb or early March: O 14 is dry docked in Blyth (Scotland).

In the dry docked it shows that the port side aft dive plane is not o.k. and that the middle/centre axes is broken.

2 Mar 1942: A new aft dive plane is installed.

20 Mar 1942: O 14 is at Lerwick (Shetlands) once again.

21 Mar - 8 Apr 1942: O 14 patrols off Norway. No attacks are made.

21 Mar 1942 at 09+:25 hrs: O 14 departs Lerwick (Shetlands) unescorted and transits to her patrol area.

Off the Outer Skerries the changes course and heads for the Norwegian coast.

23 Mar 1942: O 14 arrives in her patrol area. The area is off Trondheim (Norway). She has to patrol this area once again because of the presence of several major the German war ships (Hipper, Tirpitz, Scheer and Prinz Eugen) at Trondheim.

The weather is very bad and depth sounding has to be used to navigate. O 14 patrol's the North side of the Froya banks and the East side of Halten bank.

26 Mar 1942: The weather conditions improve and the Halten islands light house is visible.

28 Mar 1942 at 14:00 hrs: A ship is heard, bearing East. But no ships are sighted through the scope, although visibility is good. After dark O 14 heads for a more Northern position, as ordered by , off the South side of Sklinden bank.

3 Apr 1942: O 14 still patrol's off the South side of Sklinden bank.

4 Apr 1942 between 16:00 and 20:00 hrs: O 14 is back at her previous position  between the North side of the Froya banks and the East side of Halten bank. No ships were spotted at the old position.

5 Apr 1942 between 20:00 and 24:00 hrs: O 14 is ordered by to return to port.

8 Apr 1942 at 21:15 hrs: O 14 arrives in Lerwick (Shetlands).

10 Apr 1942: Under the escort of HMS Loch Monteith the O 14 departs Lerwick (Shetlands) and sails via Scapa Flow to Dundee (both Scotland).

Apr - 3 May 1942: Maintenance and repairs. Several topside beams and plates are replaced. A cracked cylinder head is replaced.

3 May 1942: O 14 is ready for active duty again. Under the escort of HMS Loch Monteith she sails to Scapa Flow (Scotland).

May 1942: O 14 is used as piggy boat during ASW exercises at Scapa Flow.

1 June - 26 Oct 1942: O 14 returns to Dundee (Scotland) for repairs/refit. Among others Asdic and R.D.F. are installed.

26 Oct 1942: They refit goes well, and the Asdic / R.D.F. can be tested. These tests are mainly conducted on the River Tay near Bell Rock.

21 Nov 1942: O 14 is transferred to the 3rd Flotilla at Holy Loch for further workup and testing.

1 - 11 Dec 1942: O 14 is moored alongside depot ship HMS Forth for repairs. Cracks in the port diesel cylinder block are being welded by the Barrmar company

21 Dec - 23 Dec 1942: Under the escort of HMS Lord Weston the submarines O 14, P 312, P 216, Graph, Sealion sail to Lerwick (Shetlands), where they arrive in the afternoon of the 23rd.

24 Dec - 30 Dec 1942: O 14 departs Lerwick (Shetlands) unescorted and sets sail to her patrol area West of Alten Fjord (Norway). No attacks are made during this patrol.

O 14 patrols this area in order to assist in protecting the Russian convoys JW-51a and JW-51b.

When departing from Lerwick (Shetlands) it is noticed that the cylinder head of the port side diesel is leaking again (see Dec 1 1942). But the commander hopes that the single 'hole' will not become a crack and he decides to continue the transit.

24 Dec - 25 Dec 1942, during the night: The hole in the cylinder block of the port side diesel has become a V-shaped crack and it is decided to use the port side diesel as little as possible. During the remainder of the patrol it should be used to recharge the batteries only. The use of the starboard diesel only reduces the submarine's speed with 2 kts.

26 Dec 1942 between 12:00 and 16:00 hrs: While recharging the batteries with the port side diesel engine a second leak is discovered.

27 Dec - 27 Dec 1942 at night: During the night the starboard diesel is under repair (oil pump) and therefore the port side diesel must be used. Now the second leak has time to become a crack (12.5 cm) as well and shortly afterward a third crack is discovered.

27 Dec 1942 between 04:00 and 08:00 hrs: Due to the engine trouble and to the fact that O 14 was still 300 nm away from here patrol area O 14's commander decides to return to Lerwick (Shetlands).

30 Dec 1942 between 16:00 and 20:00 hrs: O 14 arrives in Lerwick (Shetlands).

Although the war patrol has been very short and unsuccessful there had been time to test the new R.D.F. gear. The O 14 had to dive for planes 7 times. On all occasions the R.D.F. was switched on and the plane was spotted 6 times. It turned out that the R.D.F. even located hail and rain showers up to a distance of 2 nm. A disadvantage was the fact that the R.D.F. produced quite a lot of false visible echoes, which looked exactly the same as a real contact. These echoes occur at a distance of 1 to 1 1/2 nm in all directions. Unfortunately the crew could not find out what caused these false echoes. The R.D.F. was manned by the deck crew and was calibrated regularly by a radioman who had a special R.D.F. course. O 14's commander concluded that the R.D.F was a very valuable asset that could probably assist in navigation as well.

1943

2 Jan 1943: O 14 departs Lerwick (Shetlands) and heads for Dundee (Scotland) in order to get the port diesel engine's leaking cylinder block repaired

28 Mar 1943: O 14's repairs (leaking cylinder block of port diesel engine) are completed and O 14 is ready for active duty once again.

28 Mar 1943 and onwards: O 14 is available for A/S exercises at Scapa Flow.

25 Apr 1943 at 18:00 hrs: O 14 departs Lerwick (Shetlands) unescorted and sets sail to her patrol area to conduct a anti submarine (homecoming U-Boats) patrol. No attacks are made during this patrol.

The patrol area is a imaginary line from North to South,  from 63°30'N-00°30'W to 64°10'N-00°30'W.

27 Apr 1943: O 14 reaches the most Southern point of here patrol line.

5 May 1943 at 09:00 hrs: O 14 is ordered to leave the patrol line and return to port.

6 May 1943 at 10:00 hrs: O 14 arrives in Lerwick (Shetlands).

During her transit back to Lerwick (Shetlands) cracks are noticed in the port side diesel cylinder block once again. This time the crack occurs at the back side of the engine. The diesel is shut down.

The Department of the Navy in London decides that O 14's port diesel will not be repaired again and that because of O 14's old age the submarine will be decommissioned.

May - June 1943: During several days in May and June the O 14 serves (with starboard diesel only) as a target vessel at the 'approaches' of Firth of Forth

26 June 1943: The O 14 is decommissioned (Dundee) due to a lack of spare parts and because of the poor condition her machinery. 

20 Jul 1943: O 14 is stricken.

The good parts of the submarine are stripped off and some of them are used for the O 15. The hull is sold to a breaker in Rosyth (Scotland).

The Zeehond (1) (ex Sturgeon) is obtained as a loan from the British Royal Navy in order to have a new boat for the crew of the O 14. 

 

 

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