P311 shows how an administrative naming decision could be overtaken by wartime events. Winston Churchill wanted the boat named Tutankhamun, a highly unusual choice for the Royal Navy, and the service eventually accepted it. Commissioned in August 1942 and sent to the 10th Submarine Flotilla that November, she disappeared in the Mediterranean between December 1942 and January 1943 with all hands. The debate delayed formal assignment of the name until it was too late. She consequently served and was lost under her number rather than becoming the Royal Navy ship named for the Egyptian pharaoh.
Notable Point · 27:48-30:24
P311 and the name Tutankhamun
P311 was lost with all hands before Churchill's proposed name Tutankhamun could be formally assigned.