1 9 3 9
February Completion delayed by late delivery
of gunnery equipment
March Contractors trials and commissioning.
30th Build
completion and commenced Acceptance Trials
April On completion of Acceptance Trials took passage
for work-up at Portland.
Work-up exercises and
shakedown in Channel area.
May Joined Flotilla to take part in Home Fleet exercise
and visits programme.
(Note: Work-up
may not have allowed ship to visit Cherbourg with Flotilla in early May
Other ships in Flotilla were:
HM Destroyers SOMALI (Leader), ASHANTI, MATABELE, BEDOUIN,
PUNJABI, ESKIMO and
TARTAR.
12th Escorted
rms EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA during passage in English Channel with HM King George VI
and Queen Elizabeth
embarked for Royal visit to Canada.)
June Diverted from programme to assist in rescue operations
for HM Submarine THETIS which had sunk
during builder's
trials in Liverpool Bay.
On release from THETIS diversion
resumed Home Fleet programme with Flotilla.
July Deployed with Flotilla in Home waters.
August Took up Home Fleet war station and deployed for interception
and anti-submarine patrol in Home waters.
September Deployed for Home Fleet screening and
patrol duties.
Part of screen for Anglo
French warships in NW Approaches.
(Note: Later duties included interception of German shipping
attempting to return to German ports and commerce
raiders on passage to attack British shipping
in Atlantic as well as U- Boats operating in Home waters.)
25th Deployed
with HM Destroyers SOMALI and MATABELE in Home Fleet search for HM Submarine SPEARFISH
which had been
badly damaged during patrol in Heligoland Bight,.
26th Escorted
submarine back to UK with covered by Home Fleet major warships.
October Flotilla deployment with Home Fleet
in continuation.
25th Taken in hand for repair by Middle Dock Engineering, South Shields.
(Note: This
may have been for investigation into propulsion machinery problems due to excess
stress during
during high speed
steaming in inclement weather. This defect was common to this
Class of Fleet destroyer.
To be confirmed.)
November
10th Resumed Flotilla duties in Home Fleet.
24th Deployed
with ships of Flotilla for screening of Home Fleet major warships during search
for German battleships
SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU after the sinking
of HM Armed Merchant Cruiser RAWALPINDI in defence
of an Atlantic
convoy.
December Home Fleet deployment in continuation.
1 9 4 0
January Home Fleet screening and patrol
duties in continuation
to February
March Withdrawn from Home Fleet duties and took passage
to Chatham for refit by HM Dockyard,
Taken in hand for refit
(Note: This
may have included replacement of turbine blades and hull repair to leaks.
See above Note.)
April On completion of refit joined Home Fleet.
6th Deployed
with HM destroyers SOMALI, MATABELE and TARTAR of Flotilla during
escort of inbound
convoy to Forth from Norway.
(Note: One record
states the ship also included the Norwegian torpedo boat DRAUG but
this is not included
in Naval Staff History.).
7th Passage
to join HM Destroyers AFRIDI, GURKHA, SIKH, MOHAWK, ZULU, COSSACK,
KASHMIR and KELLY in screen for HM Cruisers GALATEA and ARETHUSA deployed
in search for
German warships on passage in North
Sea.
(MASHONA, with MATABELE,
SOMALI,
TARTAR
may instead of have joined Adm Forbe's main force on this date)
For details see NAVAL OPERATIONS OF THE
CAMPAIGN IN NORWAY , April –June
1940 (HMSO).
9th Joined
Home Fleet ships with HMS GALATEA and HMS ARETHUSA and destroyer screen.
Detached with HM Destroyers AFRIDI, GURKHA,
SIKH, MOHAWK, SOMALI and
MATABELE as screen for HM Cruisers MANCHESTER,
SOUTHAMPTON, and GLASGOW
and SHEFFIELD to carry out an attack on German warships reported at Bergen.
When operation cancelled by Admiralty
took passage to rejoin Home Fleet ships.
After rejoining Fleet came under heavy
and sustained air attacks during which sister destroyer
HMS GURKHA was sunk.
11th Sailed
from Scapa Flow with HM Destroyers SOMALI, AFRIDI, SIKH, MATABELE and
MOHAWK to carry out sweep inshore northward
of Alesund to intercept enemy warship
movements prior
to planned allied landings in Norway.
12th Carried out search with same destroyers.
13th Under air attacks at Alesund without
damage.
14th Deployed
in support of landings by RM from cruisers at Namsos (Operation
HENRY)
On completion took passage to meet troopship
convoy
16th Under
heavy air attacks at Lillesjona
17th Deployed
with AFRIDI, NUBIAN, SIKH and MATABELE to ferry troops ashore
from transports
after refuelling. Under air attacks.
Passage to Namsos with mv CHOBRY as screen with
same sister ships.
18th After
taking part in landings at Namsos fuelled with NUBIAN
from GLASGOW
and SHEFFIELD before taking passage to Scapa Flow.
(Note: See references
for details of Operation MAURICE).
19th Arrived at Scapa Flow to refuel and replenish ammunition.
29th Passage
to Andalsnes with HM Destroyers SOMALI, SIKH, WANDERER, WALKER
and WESTCOTT
as screen for HM Cruisers GALATEA, ARETHUSA, SHEFFIELD
and SOUTHAMPTON to carry out evacuation of troops
30th Embarked
troops at Veblungsnes and supported evacuation.
May Pennant Number for visual signalling purposes
changed to G59.
1st Under
air attacks,
Returned to take part in further evacuation
operation at Andalsnes with
HM Destroyers INGLEFIELD, DELIGHT, DIANA
and SOMALI, HM Cruisers
BIRMINGHAM, MANCHESTER and CALCUTTA.
2nd Return
passage to Scapa Flow with evacuated troops without air attacks.
(Note: HMS CALCUTTA
remained to evacuate rearguard.)
Resumed Flotilla duties with Home Fleet
June
7th Deployed
with HM Destroyers TARTAR, BEDOUIN and ASHANTI as screen
for HM Battleship
VALIANT to provide cover for final. evacuation Group I
during passage
from Norway.
8th After
meeting Group I ships off Faeroes, detached with HMS VALIANT and screen
when relieved
by additional escorts.
(Note: For full
details of the disastrous operations off Norway see above reference,
NARVIK by D Macintyre, THE DOOMED EXPEDITION
by J Adams and
CARRIER GLORIOUS by
J Winton.)
9th Home
Fleet screening and patrol duties in continuation with Flotilla.
20th Deployed
with HM Destroyers MAORI and TARTAR to impound Swedish warships
in Faeroes.
(Note: Two destroyers
and two torpedo boats purchased from Italy for service in the
Swedish Navy had arrived there during
passage. After protests from this
neutral state
these ships were handed back to Sweden at Scapa
Flow.)
27th During
deployment as screen for Home Fleet major warships during search for German
ships reported
on passage in NW Approaches, sustained structural damage in heavy weather.
30th At Rosyth
for inspection of defects and extensive replacement of riveting discovered.
July On completion of repair resumed Home Fleet duties
with Flotilla.
July Home Fleet deployment at
Scapa
Flow
in continuation.
to September
October Under refit and repair in Liverpool commercial shipyard
(Note: During
this refit the twin 4.7in mounting in X position was replaced by a
Twin 4in HA Mounting to improve AA defence.
Repair to propulsion
machinery and
structure to be confirmed )
November On completion resumed Fleet duties
with Flotilla.
December Deployed for patrol and convoy defence
in NW Approaches.
12th Rescued survivors from ss ROTORUA torpedoed
on 11th by U96 west of St Kilda.
1 9 4 1
January
3rd Deployed
with HM Destroyers TARTAR and BEDOUIN as screen for
HM Destroyers INTREPID and ICARUS during
minelay in Norwegian
coastal waters
(Operation DZ – See Naval Staff History (Mining) for details.)
(Note: Despite
a series of unfortunate incidents lay was successful.)
5th Resumed
Flotilla duties on return to Scapa Flow.
6th Sustained
damage in collision with HM Destroyer SIKH at Scapa Flow.
(Note: This
was during departure for Fleet screening duties.)
7th Extent
of damage determined and repair arrange at West Hartlepool.
13th Taken in hand by Gray’s shipyard.
February Under repair
March
3rd Resumed
Flotilla duties at Scapa Flow.
24th Joined
military convoy WS7 in Clyde with HM Destroyers BEDOUIN, MATABELE
and SOMALI as
Local Escort during passage in NW Approaches.
(Note: HM Destroyers
LEGION, BROADWATER and Polish Destroyer
ORP PIORUN were also deployed as part
of Local Escort and HM Cruiser
CAIRO joined on 25th to provide additional AA defence. HM Cruiser
EDINBURGH , HM
Battleships REVENGE and NELSON provided cover
against surface
attack.)
28th Detached
from WS7 with BEDOUIN, MATABELE and SOMALI for return
passage to Clyde.
April Western Approaches deployment
in continuation.
May
22nd Deployed
with HM Destroyers ESKIMO, TARTAR and SOMALI as screen for
HM Battleship RODNEY to provide cover
for passage of mv BRITANNIC during
Atlantic passage to
Boston.
24th Detached
from mv BRITANNIC with HMS RODNEY and destroyer screen
to join
Home Fleet ships in search for German
battleship BISMARCK and German cruiser
PRINZ EUGEN after sinking
of HM Battlecruiser HOOD.
25th Deployed
with HMS RODNEY and screen to carry out search between French coast
and the last
known position of BISMARCK.
27th Detached
from operations due to low fuel state and took passage with HMS TARTAR
at economical
speed to refuel.
(Note: For details
of the search and sinking of BISMARCK see THE BISMARCK
EPISODE by G. Russell, LOSS OF BISMARCK by B Schoefield and
BATTLESHIP BISMARCK by Mullenheim
Rechberg.)
28th Under sustained and heavy air attacks and hit on port side in
Boiler Room.
Damage control to reduce ingress of water
failed and ship had to be abandoned.
Scuttled and sunk in position west of
Irish coast (52.58N 11.3W).
36 of ship’s company lost their lives.
184 survivors rescued by HM Destroyers
TARTAR and SHERWOOD, and Canadian
destroyer HMS ST CLAIR.
Casualty List TIMES 30 July 1941.
Addendum
CONVOY ESCORT MOVEMENTS of HMS
MASHONA
by Don Kindell
These convoy lists have not been cross-checked
with the text above
|
|
|
|
|
Date convoy sailed
|
Joined convoy as escort
|
Convoy No.
|
Left convoy
|
Date convoy arrived
|
|
|
|
|
|
10/12/39
|
unknown
|
TC 001
|
17/12/39
|
17/12/39
|
31/03/40
|
02/04/40
|
ON 024/1
|
04/04/40
|
04/04/40
|
04/04/40
|
04/04/40
|
HN 024
|
07/04/40
|
07/04/40
|
11/05/41
|
16/05/41
|
OB 321
|
16/05/41
|
17/05/41
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Note on Convoys)