SC 343 served in Plymouth, England. On 5 May 1919, an explosion in the engine room caused a fire that destroyed the vessel.

The first image shows a war time photo, as evidenced by the equipment and armament on board, such as the K-Tube, covered in canvas and lashed to the front of the pilot house. The second shows SC 343 just after the explosion. Photographs of submarine chaser SC 343. T. Woofenden Collection.

Third photo: SC 343 taking on gas mid-ocean from USS Arathusa. Courtesy of Robert Held.

 

Janet Bein, of the OldWeather.org project, notes that the log of HMS Constance contains this entry:

I am currently onboard HMS Constance in Bermuda, North Basin, on 5th May 1919. We witnessed the accidently sinking of US Submarine Chaser Number 343.

1.08 Petrol explosion onboard US Submarine Chaser N.343 which caught fire & sank in N Basin at 3.40.
 

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