A memorial commemorating the wartime submariners who operated from the River Tay has been unveiled at Victoria Dock in Dundee Harbour.
The new memorial, unveiled at a ceremony on Thursday, is dedicated to the six British, Dutch, Norwegian and Russian submarines lost while on patrol from Dundee.
From 1940 to 1946 Dundee was the home port of the Royal Navy's 9th Submarine Flotilla - a unique international force composed of British units along with Free French, Dutch, Norwegian and Polish crews after the countries had been overrun by the Nazis.
Russian submarine crews were also based in Dundee in the summer of 1944.
The Dundee submarines played a role in some of the most daring naval operations of the war.
Patrols were maintained perilously close to the enemy-held coastline and enemy warships were attacked, one Dundee submarine heavily damaging the battlecruiser Gneisenau and another blowing the stern off the cruiser Prinz Eugen.
The fleet also patrolled far inside the Arctic Circle to protect convoys carrying war supplies to the Soviet Union, on occasion even dicing with the mighty German battleship Tirpitz.
One submarine, the O 22, slipped its moors a few minutes after this photo was taken on the afternoon of November 5 1940. Its crew of 42 Dutch and British men, sent to relieve the British submarine HMS Sturgeon on patrol off south-west Norway, were never heard from again.
The mystery of the submarine's disappearance was only solved in 1993 when a Norwegian survey vessel stumbled upon its wreck 40 miles off the Norwegian port of Egersund. It is thought she struck an enemy mine three days after leaving Dundee.
Historian Dr Andrew Jeffrey, a member of the Dundee Submarine Memorial project, said: "The submarines from here were working well into the Arctic, guarding convoys going to Russia, landing saboteurs in Norway and going to the North Atlantic to intercept U-boats.
"It has been a marvellous day here with veterans and ambassadors representing their countries."
Commander Timothy Henry, the commanding officer of HMS Portland, currently docked in Dundee, added: "This is an important day for the Royal Navy and for all the nations who are represented here.
"I have sailors onboard my ship who are 16, 17, 18 and 19, and this brings home the sacrifice of those that have gone to sea before them to protect their country.
"These men were the elite of what they did - they were at the forefront. They performed amazing feats of navigation, seamanship and warfare."
Last updated: 17 September 2009, 20:26
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Memorial to lost WWII submariners
Nearly 300 Allied personnel at the Ambrose base died during WWII
A Royal Navy memorial honouring hundreds of Dundee-based sailors killed during WWII has been unveiled.
Almost 300 Allied sailors and commandos at the HMS Ambrose Royal Navy base in the city lost their lives during the war.
A Royal Navy frigate formed the backdrop to the event, which was attended by the Duke of Gloucester.
Hundreds of veterans and serving personnel also attended the formal ceremony at Victoria Dock.
Between 1940 to 1946, Dundee was the home port of the 2nd and 9th Submarine Flotilla.
The submarines based there were used to patrol the North Atlantic and in covert operations against the German occupying forces in Norway.
'Striking tribute'
The base sent out six vessels which never returned, carrying crews from Britain, the Netherlands, Norway and Russian.
The names of the 296 personnel who lost their lives will be remembered at the permanent tribute titled "Still On Patrol".
Speaking ahead of the event, Dundee's Lord Provost John Letford said: "The memorial is a striking tribute to the vital contribution to Allied victory made by Dundee-based submarines.
"It will inspire the young of today and tomorrow to study the truly remarkable story of the Dundee flotillas and, in years to come, it will serve as the focus for remembrance of the 296 Allied sailors and commandos who gave their lives in the noble cause of freedom from tyranny."
Also attending were ambassadors from the Russian Federation, the Netherlands and Poland as well as the heads of the Norwegian, French and British submarine services.
The role of guard ship was taken by HMS Portland, a Duke class Type 23 Frigate, which has recently returned from an eight-month tour of duty in the Middle East.
The memorial, which has been funded by the Unicorn Property Group, is sited at Victoria Dock, where the submarine base was located.
