Type IV HUNT-Class Escort Destroyer ordered on 28th July
1940 from Thornycroft of Woolston
under the 1940 War Emergency Programme. This ship was built to a Thornycroft design and laid down as Job J6140 on 28th
February 1941 (See General Information). She was launched on 15th September
1942 as the first RN ship to carry this name. Build was completed on 12th
February 1943. After a WARSHIP WEEK National Savings campaign in
March 1942 this destroyer had been adopted by the civil community of Barnes,
Surrey.
B a t t l e H o n o u r s
ATLANTIC 1943 - ARCTIC 1943 - ENGLISH CHANNEL 1943-45
- SICILY
1943 - NORMANDY 1944 -
BISCAY 1944
H e r
a l d i c D a
t a
Badge: On a field Green, a hare sejant affronte
Proper.
D e t
a i l s o
f W a r S e r v i c e
(for more ship information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and type name in Site Search)
1 9 4 3
February Contractors sea trials and
commissioned for service with Home Fleet.
12th Build completion and
commenced Acceptance Trials
On completion of
trials and storing took passage to Scapa Flow.
March Worked-up with ships of Home
Fleet at Scapa Flow
Deployed for patrol
and convoy defence in NW Approaches.
April Home Fleet duties in
continuation.
21st Joined HM Destroyers
ANTHONY and LEWES for Local Escort of military convoy
WS29A.
26th Relieved as escort by HM
Destroyer BOREAS and resumed Home Fleet duties
May Deployed for convoy escort
and patrol in NW Approaches.
Nominated for support
of allied landings in Sicily.
Operation HUSKY - For
details see ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY by C
Barnett, Naval Staff History
and BRITISH INVASION FLEETS by J de Winser).
June
21st Joined joint military
convoy WS31/KMF17 as escort during passage to Gibraltar with
other Home Fleet destroyers on
passage for HUSKY.
26th Remained as escort for
KMF17 with HM Cruiser UGANDA during passage to Gibraltar
when WS31 detached and took
passage to Cape of Good Hope.
Joined Destroyer
Division 58 under allied command.
July Passage to Bone to join
Support Force East.
7th Sailed from Bone as escort for Assault Convoy KMF18.
(Note: Deployed as Escort Group V with HM
Escort Destroyers BLANKNEY. .
BLENCATHRA, BRECON and BROCKLESBY.)
9th Refuelled and returned to KMF18.
10th Arrived at BARK WEST Beach Head and detached from KMS18
Provided naval support
and carried out patrol duty off beachhead.
Deployed with HM
Destroyer BLANKNEY to occupy Pozzallo.
13th In collision with HMS
BLANKNEY and sustained major damage to port bow structure.
Withdrawn from
operation and took passage to Malta for repair.
Repair to be carried out in UK when condition
satisfactory for passage.
August Passage to UK for repair.
21st Taken in hand for repair
in Liverpool at commercial shipyard.
September Under repair.
Nominated for service
in 15th Destroyer Flotilla at Plymouth.
October
2nd On completion took passage to Plymouth.
Deployed in English
Channel and SW Approaches for convoy defence and patrol.
November Nominated for detached duty with
Home Fleet.
Passage to resume Home
Fleet duties
10th Joined returning Russian
Convoy RA54A with HM Destroyer MIDDLETON and HM
Fleet Minesweeper HALCYON
off Iceland as escort for final leg of passage to Loch Ewe.
13th Detached from RA54A
15th Joined outward Russian
Convoy JW54A with H M Destroyer TERMAGANT and Polish
destroyer ORP BURZA as
escort for part of passage to Iceland.
18th Detached from JW54A on
arrival of Ocean Escort
(For details of all
Russian Convoy operations see CONVOYS TO RUSSIA by R A Ruegg,
THE RUSSIAN CONVOYS by
B Schoefield, CONVOY ! by P Kemp and ARCTIC
CONVOYS by R. Woodman.
December Resumed Channel duties with
Flotilla at Plymouth.
1 9 4 4
January Deployed in Channel and SW
Approaches for convoy defence and patrol with Flotilla.
February Nominated for TUNNEL
interception operation off French coast.
(See HOLD THE NARROW
SEA by P Smith).
5th In action with HM Destroyers TANATSIDE,
TALYBONT and WENSLEYDALE against
German
Torpedo Boat T29, Minesweepers M156 and M206 off North
Brittany coast,
(Note: M156 was badly
damaged and later sunk in harbour during an RAF attack on the
port of L'Abervrach, Brittany.
March Deployed as escort for
coastal convoys.
15th Intercepted E-Boats with
HM Destroyer MELBREAK in defence of Convoy WP492 north
of Lands End.
Damaged E-Boat S143.
April Channel deployment with
Flotilla in continuation
May Nominated for support of
allied landings In Normandy with Force B (Follow-Up Force
for
Western Task Force
Assault beaches under US command).
(For details of
activities prior to and during landings see OPERATION NEPTUNE by K
Edwards and LANDINGS IN
NORMANDY June 1944 (HMSO).)
Took part in
preparatory exercises.
June Joined Force B at Milford
Haven with HMS WENSLEYDALE.
4th Operation postponed for
24 hours.
5th Passage to Channel for
interception patrol to prevent access by surface warships
and
submarines into Western Task
Force area.
12th In action with
HMS WENSLEYDALE against E-Boats attempting to attack shipping
and
escorts.
(Note: It is assumed
that ship was deployed for escort of Follow-up convoys when not
deployed for interception
patrol.)
22nd After weather abated enemy
operations increased with air support.
Under air attacks
during patrol.
On release from
NEPTUNE returned to Flotilla duties and deployed on convoy defence
in
English Channel area.
July Deployed with Flotilla in
SW Approaches for convoy defence.
to
November
December Taken in hand for refit at
Pembroke Dock.
1 9 4 5
January Under refit.
February Nominated for transfer to 21st
Destroyer Flotilla at Sheerness.
On completion of post
refit trials took passage to join Flotilla.
(Note: Enemy
submarine activity was concentrating on focal points of convoys in
English Channel which was
being used by re-routed Atlantic convoys.
Mining by E-Boats and
submersibles had also increased in Thames Estuary area.
These threats made
heavy demands on escorts.
Submarines were those
fitted with SCHNORKEL device.
See ENGAGE THE ENEMY
MORE CLOSELY and HOLD THE NARROW SEA by
P Smith.)
March Deployed with Flotilla in
Channel area and Nore Command.
to
May
June Transferred to
Mediterranean for use as Reserve if required for deployment with Eastern
to Fleet in Indian Ocean.
August (Note: Ships in Mediterranean
were deployed for support of occupation garrisons and
for exercises with ships
on passage to join Fleets in the Far East.)
P o s
t W a r N o t e s
HMS BRISSENDEN remained in the Mediterranean after VJ Day
and was deployed with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1947. In this period she carried out Palestine
Patrol. After returning to UK this ship Paid-off and reduced to Reserve status
at Portsmouth on 19th June 1948. She laid-up there until 1953 when she was
transferred to the Reserve Fleet at Lisahally,
Ulster. Although under consideration by Kuwait for purchase and conversion to
become the Royal Yacht this was not agreed and the ship was put on the Disposal
List (Sales) in 1962. After sale on 18th February 1965 to BISCO for demolition by Arnott Young at Dalmuir on 18th
February 1965 for £29,000 she arrived at the breaker’s yard in the Clyde on 3rd
March that year.
Addendum
CONVOY ESCORT MOVEMENTS of
HMS
BRISSENDEN
by Don Kindell
These convoy lists have not been cross-checked
with the text above
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Date convoy sailed
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Joined convoy as escort
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Convoy No.
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Left convoy
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Date convoy arrived
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28/04/43
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28/04/43
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XK 005
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06/05/43
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06/05/43
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18/06/43
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26/06/43
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KMF 017
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27/06/43
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27/06/43
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13/06/43
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02/07/43
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UGS 010
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06/07/43
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10/07/43
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28/06/43
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07/07/43
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KMF 018
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10/07/43
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11/07/43
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05/07/43
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unknown
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MKF 017A
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unknown
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17/07/43
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28/07/43
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02/08/43
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GUS 011
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08/08/43
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26/08/43
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28/07/43
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10/08/43
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SL 134
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15/08/43
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19/08/43
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01/11/43
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10/11/43
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RA 054A
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13/11/43
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14/11/43
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15/11/43
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15/11/43
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JW 054A
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18/11/43
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24/11/43
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26/11/43
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05/12/43
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RA 054B
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09/12/43
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09/12/43
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14/12/43
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14/12/43
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WP 446
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16/12/43
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16/12/43
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24/12/43
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24/12/43
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WP 451
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26/12/43
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26/12/43
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09/01/44
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09/01/44
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WP 459
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10/01/44
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11/01/44
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17/01/44
|
17/01/44
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WP 463
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19/01/44
|
19/01/44
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21/01/44
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22/01/44
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WP 465
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24/01/44
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24/01/44
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08/02/44
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08/02/44
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WP 474
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09/02/44
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10/02/44
|
10/02/44
|
10/02/44
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WP 475
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11/02/44
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12/02/44
|
12/02/44
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12/02/44
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WP 476
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13/02/44
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14/02/44
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14/02/44
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14/02/44
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WP 477
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15/02/44
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16/02/44
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18/02/44
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18/02/44
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WP 479
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19/02/44
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20/02/44
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20/02/44
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20/02/44
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WP 480
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21/02/44
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23/02/44
|
24/02/44
|
24/02/44
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WP 482
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26/02/44
|
26/02/44
|
26/02/44
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27/02/44
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WP 483
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28/02/44
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28/02/44
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03/03/44
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03/03/44
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WP 486
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04/03/44
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05/03/44
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05/03/44
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05/03/44
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WP 487
|
07/03/44
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07/03/44
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11/03/44
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11/03/44
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WP 490
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12/03/44
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13/03/44
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13/03/44
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13/03/44
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WP 491
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15/03/44
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15/03/44
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19/03/44
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19/03/44
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WP 494
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20/03/44
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21/03/44
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31/03/44
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31/03/44
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WP SP 26
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02/04/44
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02/04/44
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04/04/44
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04/04/44
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WP 502
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05/04/44
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06/04/44
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06/04/44
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06/04/44
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WP 503
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07/04/44
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08/04/44
|
10/04/44
|
10/04/44
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WP 505
|
12/04/44
|
12/04/44
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16/04/44
|
16/04/44
|
WP 508
|
17/04/44
|
18/04/44
|
18/04/44
|
18/04/44
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WP 509
|
19/04/44
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20/04/44
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24/04/44
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24/04/44
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WP 512
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25/04/44
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26/04/44
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08/05/44
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08/05/44
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WP 519
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10/05/44
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10/05/44
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24/02/45
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24/02/45
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BTC 079
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27/02/45
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27/02/45
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(Note on Convoys)
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