1 9 3 9
August Commissioned with Reservist
shop’s company
9th Attended Reserve Fleet Review by HM King George VI in Weymouth Bay
War Station
nominated
September Deployed with 11th Destroyer
Flotilla in Channel for convoy defence
and anti-submarine patrol.
(Note: Other ships in Flotilla were:
HM Destroyers
MACKAY (Leader), VANQUISHER, WALKER,
VERSATILE,
WALKER, WARWICK, WHIRLWIND and
WINCHELSEA.)
7th Escorted outward Convoy OB1 during initial stage of passage
from
Liverpool to Dispersal Point in SW
Approaches with HM Destroyer
VERSATILE.
10th Detached from OB1 on dispersal and took passage to join
outward
Convoy OB4
during passage in SW Approaches.
15th Joined HM Destroyers VERSATILE and VIVACIOUS escorting Convoy
OB4.
16th Detached from OB4 and returned to Plymouth.
For details of
Convoy identities and dates of passage see THE ALLIED
CONVOY SYSTEM
1939-45 by A Hague.)
October Channel deployment in
continuation.
to (For
details of naval activities in this period see ENGAGE THE
December ENEMY
MORE CLOSELY by C Barnett and the Naval Staff History.
1 9 4 0
January Convoy defence in Channel and North Sea.
(For details of
naval activities in North Sea during this period see
BATTLE OF THE EAST COAST by J P Foynes
February Deployed for convoy defence in
SW Approaches.
8th Escorted inward Convoy HG17 for final stage of passage in
SW
Approaches to
Liverpool from Gibraltar.
11th Detached from HG17 on arrival and took passage to Plymouth.
March Passage to Gibraltar to join escort for inward
Convoy HG21.
4th Sailed from Gibraltar as escort for HG21 with HM Destroyers
ACTIVE, VELOX
and VIDETTE during passage to Liverpool
10th Detached from HG21 and joined HM Destroyer WINCHELSEA and
two French Navy destroyers in escort of Outward Convoy OG21
during passage in SW Approaches to Gibraltar.
12th Detached from OG21 and returned to Plymouth.
April Resumed service in North Sea for defence of east coast and
Channel
traffic.
May Transferred to Dover
Command and joined 19th Destroyer Flotilla
for Channel convoy defence.
13th Escorted ss PERSEUS carrying
bullion from Ymuiden.
22nd Took part in evacuation of troops from Calais.
Carried out
bombardment of enemy troops and embarked contingent
of Welsh Guards for passage to Dover.
23rd Embarked Royal Marines demolition party
for passage to Boulogne.
(Operation XD
(G)).
30th Deployed for evacuation of allied troops
from Dunkirk.
(Operation
DYNAMO)
(Note: Four trips made to beaches and under air attacks.
Commanding
Officer missing after one attack and
First Lieutenant
assumed command..
31st Sustained damage in collision with yacht AMUREE and later in
air
attack.
(For details of Dunkirk operations see Naval Staff
History (HMSO)
and NINE DAYS OF DUNKIRK by AD Divine.
June Awaiting
repair at Dover.
Pennant Number
for visual signalling purposes changed to I33
July Under repair
August On completion transferred to
Home Fleet and took passage to
Scapa Flow for Fleet
duties.
September
11th Part of escort for ships of 1st Minelaying Squadron during
minelay
in NW Approaches (To be confirmed).
October Nominated for escort of
military convoy
7th Joined Convoy WS3B in Clyde with HM Destroyers ACHATES,
ARROW and SABRE
as Local Escort during passage in NW
Approaches
(Note: HM Cruiser KENYA was deployed as Ocean Escort
during
passage to Freetown.)
12th Detached from WS3B and returned to Clyde with Local Escort.
November Convoy
escort deployment in continuation.
to Nominated
for conversion to Long Range Escort.
December (For details see BRITISH
DESTROYERS by E March and V&W
DESTROYERS by A
Preston.)
1 9 4 1
January Under
conversion and refit by HM Dockyard, Portsmouth.
to (Note: This ship was first of the Class to be converted into the new role
April which ensured that this
type of destroyer could be used
as an Ocean Escort.
Nominated for service at Freetown with 18th
Destroyer Flotilla.
May On completion of post
refit trials took passage to Freetown.
June Deployed at Freetown for Local Escort and passage of
Atlantic
convoys to and from Gibraltar.
July Deployed at Gibraltar
23rd Despatched with HM Destroyers VIDETTE and WISHART to
reinforce escort of damaged cruiser HMS MANCHESTER by
HM Destroyer AVONVALE
during return passage to Gibraltar
(Operation
SUBSTANCE – See MALTA CONVOYS by R
Woodman for details.)
August Gibraltar deployment in
continuation.
September Atlantic convoy defence in
continuation
17th Joined inward Convoy HG73 with two sloops and eight corvettes
as escort during passage
from Gibraltar to Liverpool.
20th Carried out attack on Italian submarine
LUIGI TORELLI with HM Destroyer WILD SWAN.
(Note: This was assessed as having damaged the submarine.)
21st Sank Italian submarine ALESSANDRO MALASPINA
24th Under air attacks which were driven off.
26th Under sustained attacks by U124, U200, U201 and U203 during
which nine mercantiles were
to sunk. See BRITISH LOSSES AT SEA 1939-45 (HMSO), HITLER’S U-BOAT
WAR
27th by C Blair and THE REAL CRUEL SEA by R
Woodman.)
October
1st Detached from HG73 with escort on
arrival at Liverpool.
Passage to
Freetown to resume Local Escort duties.
November
21st Joined military convoy WS12Z with HM Destroyer VELOX as
Local Escort during passage into Freetown from UK.
25th Detached from WS12Z on arrival at Freetown.
December
25th Joined military convoy WS14 with HM Destroyer BRILLIANT
as Local Escort from Freetown during initial stage of passage
off
West Africa for Capetown.
26th HMS BRILLIANT detached.
27th Detached from WS14 and made independent
return passage.
1 9 4 2
January
21st Joined military convoy WS15 with HM Destroyer VANSITTART on
departure from Freetown as Local Escort.
25th Detached from WS15 and took passage to return to Freetown
with HMS VANSITTART.
February Atlantic convoy defence based at
Freetown in continuation.
to
July
August Escorted HM Battleship QUEEN
ELIZABETH with HM Destroyers
PATHFINDER and
QUENTIN during Atlantic passage from Freetown
to Norfolk, Va, USA for repair to damage after
attack by frogmen at
Alexandria.
Detached from
HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH at Norfolk and took
passage with the other two destroyers to Port of Spain, Trinidad for convoy defence.
September Deployed in West Indies for convoy defence with HM
Destroyers
PATHFINDER and QUENTIN.
3rd Carried out depth charge attacks with HMS PATHFINDER and
HMS
QUENTIN after submarine torpedo attack. When submarine U162
surfaced five hours later obtained radar contact and made
ramming
attack after radar contact followed by further depth charge
attack
which sank U162. Sustained damage to Port shaft requiring
docking
Took part in rescue of German crew, all of whom survived.
(For details see
U-BOATS DESTROYED by P Kemp and HITLER’S
U-BOAT WAR by C Blair.)
(Note: Surface warning Radar Type 271 was fitted in this
ship and
installation is unlikely to have been carried out on
conversion
in early 1941.)
10th Deployed for Local Escort of four ships
on Atlantic passage to Barbados.
14th Opened fire on object believed to be a surfaced submarine.
When raft
lowered improvised sail ceased fire and rescued survivors from US mercantile
which had been sunk by U66 on 30th August and been adrift on
a raft ever since.
(Note ; Survivors were later transferred to Dutch mercantile
in the convoy.
See THE REAL CRUEL SEA by R Woodman.)
October Nominated for service with 2nd
Escort Group on completion of repair.
November Deployed for Atlantic convoy
defence with Group.
to (Note: During this period the Group escorted Convoys HX213, ONS218,
December and
HX219 all without loss.
1 9 4 3
January Atlantic
convoy defence in continuation with Group.
(Note: Group escorted Convoy ON159 without loss.)
February Deployed with Group as part of
escort for Convoy SC118 with HM Destroyers VANESSA,
WITCH, BEVERLEY,
HM Corvettes CAMPANULA, MIGNONETTE, ABELIA, Free French
LOBELIA and US Coastguard Cutter GEORGE M BIBB.
(Note: The Commanding Officer was Lieutenant R B Stannard, RNR
who was awarded the Victoria Cross when in command of
HM Trawler ARAB
during the Norwegian campaign in 1940.)
4th Convoy under attack by PFEIL and HAUDEGEN U-Boat Groups.
Attacked and
sank U187 after this submarine had been detected
by radio transmissions intercepted by escorts and located.
Carried out depth charge attacks on U262.
(For details see
HITLER’S U-BOAT WAR and for details on
tactics and weapons used in defence and attacks SEEK AND STRIKE
by W Hackmann.)
6th During further sustained attacks by HAUDEGEN Group carried
out
attacks on U267 which was damaged.
(Note: See above references, ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY
by C Barnett,
CONVOY by M Middlebrook, THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC by D Macintyre
and THE REAL CRUEL SEA by R Woodman.))
7th Carried out further anti-submarine operations against
further sustained attacks during
which U6089 was sunk by HMS ABELIA.
8th Took disabled FS LOBELIA in tow
10th Detached and took passage with four ships destined for Iceland and with LOBELIA under tow.
(Note: For details of defence of this convoy which arrived at
Liverpool on 12th having lost
nine ships during passage, see THE REAL CRUEL SEA by R Woodman.
March Despatched from Iceland to join escort for Convoy HX229
known to
be at risk of attacks by RAUBGRAF, STURMER and DRANGER
U-Boat Groups and requiring reinforcement of escort.
19th Joined escort for HX229 by 4th Escort Group with US destroyer
BABBITT.
(Note: 21 ships were sunk in attacks on these two convoys.
The attacks on convoys
during this month were especially heavy and lead to serious
consideration of abandonment
of the convoy system but fortunately this was maintained. See
references.)
April Transferred to 6th Escort
Group and deployed as escort for Convoy
ON176 with HM Destroyers HIGHLANDER and BEVERLEY.
10th Under attack by ADLER U-Boat Group
during which HMS BEVERLEY
was sunk.
12th Series of attacks ceased. Two ships were sunk
See HITLER’S
U-BOAT WAR Volume 2.
May Atlantic convoy defence with
Group including Convoy ONS6 without
loss.
June Deployed with Group for
defence of UK-Gibraltar route convoys.
to (Note: Extensive traffic of military convoys took place during this
December period associated with the
military operations in the
Mediterranean.)
1 9 4 4
January Atlantic
convoy defence in continuation.
to Nominated
for support of planned allied landings in Europe
April (Operation
NEPTUNE).
May Transferred to Plymouth
Command and allocated to 141st Escort
Group with HM Canadian
Corvette KITCHENER based at
Milford Haven. Took part in
preliminary exercises.
28th Escorted HM Motor Launch 10 for last minelay off Brittany before
landings (Operation HOSTILE 28)
June Deployed with Build-Up
Force B for escort of military convoys
to Western Task Force area from embarkation ports.
7th Escorted Convoy EMB3.
8th Detached on arrival off beachhead.
(For details of
naval activities prior to and during landings see
OPERATION NEPTUNE by K Edwards and LANDINGS IN
NORMANDY, June 1944 (HMSO) )
July On release from NEPTUNE deployed for coastal convoy
defence in
in Channel and SW Approaches.
August Channel
deployment in continuation.
to (Note: German U-boats fitted with SCHNORKEL were being
December increasingly deployed for attacks
on shipping.)
1 9 4 5
January Channel area convoy defence in
continuation..
to (Note: Atlantic convoys were re-routed through English Channel
April after threat of air
attacks from French bases had been removed.)
May Remained in commission
after VE Day but nominated for reduction
to to
Reserve status. Paid-off and de-stored.
August