Ex USS HERNDON (Type A - ANNAPOLIS-Class) built by Newport News SB Co. The ship
was launched on 31st May 1919 and transferred under the UK/US
Lend Lease Agreement in September 1940. When commissioned she was named HMS USS
HERNDON and later renamed CHURCHILL after the selected names for the Class were
approved. The selection of this name is in some doubt. Town Class destroyers
were given names common to places in USA and UK which in this case is common to
a village in Nevada, a Worcestershire Hamlet and
two places in Canada. This destroyer was the first RN warship to
bear the name but it is understood the post war submarine, second RN to bear
this name was considered to have been originally named after the famous WW2
Prime Minister. As he was Member of Parliament for Wanstead.
Essex it was particularly appropriate
that in March 1942 after a successful WARSHIP WEEK National Savings campaign
the ship was ‘adopted’ by the civil community of that area. now in the Greater
London Borough of Redbridge. This may well be why the later ship believes the
name was given to this renowned war leader.
B a t t l e H o n o u r s
None
H e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge: On a Field barry wavy of
six White and Blue a lion rampant gardant White,
holding
between the paws a staff Gold flying therefrom to the sinister a flag
Red
charged with a dexter hand couped white
and charged on the body with
a hurt, thereon
a mullet also White.
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 0
September Prepared for RN services.
9th Commissioned as HMS
HERNDON at Halifax.
Prepared for
passage to UK.
10th Names of TOWN Class
destroyers announced
Sustained serious
damage in collision with sister destroyer HMS WELBOURN C WOOD
(Later HMS
CHESTERFIELD.)
Taken in hand for
repair .
October Under repair
2nd Renamed HMS CHURCHILL
November On completion of repair and
sea trials took passage to UK with call at St Johns,
Newfoundland.
5th Diverted to search
for survivors from HM Armed Merchant Cruiser JERVIS BAY sunk in action
with German
pocket battleship ADMIRAL SCHEER on 3rd.
Called in Iceland
after search and resumed passage to Plymouth.
17th Arrived at Plymouth.
Taken in hand for
refit by HM Dockyard Devonport to suit RN convoy defence requirements.
December Under refit.
Nominated for
service with Liverpool Escort Group.
1 9 4 1
January On completion of sea
trials took passage to Liverpool to join Escort Group for service
in western
Approaches.
(Note: One
source records deployment as part of escort of ships on passage from Bristol
Channel to join
military convoy WS5B.
Convoy assembled
in Molfre Bay on 8th January)
Deployed for
convoy escort duty in NW Approaches based at Liverpool.
February Liverpool deployment in continuation.
to Transferred to
Iceland and later joined 18th Escort Group in Newfoundland.
July Part of escort for
Convoys SC39 and SC43/HX150.
For details of
dates for Atlantic passages see ALLIED CONVOY SYSTEM IN WW2 by
A Hague.)
August Passage to Liverpool for
repair.
September Under repair in commercial
shipyard at Liverpool
to
October
November Transferred to Dundee for
completion of repair.
December Under repair in commercial
shipyard at Dundee.
1 9 4 2
January On completion of repair
joined 5th British Escort Group.
Transferred to
Newfoundland with Group for convoy defence in support of US Navy.
(See ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY by C. Barnett
and THE BATTLE OF THE
ATLANTIC by D Macintyre, U-BOAT WAR IN THE ATLANTIC (HMSO) and HITLER’S
U-BOAT WAR by C Blair for details of US Navy
deficiencies in anti-submarine tactics).
February Deployment for Atlantic and US coastal convoy defence in
continuation.
to (For details of
U-Boat operations and poor tactical reactions by RN during 1940 and 1941 see
above
May references.
June Deployed with HM Destroyer HAVELOCK as escort for
Convoys WAT13 and TAW12 in
Windward Passage.
July Convoy defence in
western Atlantic continued.
to
August
September Under refit in Charlestown,
SC.
to December
1 9 4 3
January On completion of post
refit trials transferred to 4th Canadian Escort Group.
Deployed for
defence of Atlantic convoys
9th Part
of escort for Convoy ONS158 with Group..
Under attack by
FALKE Group of U-Boats
See above
references.
February
1st Part of escort for
Convoy hx224 with HM Canadian Destroyer RESTIGOUCHE, HM Canadian
Corvettes AMHERST,
COLLINGWOOD, BRANDON, SHERBROOKE and HM Corvette
CELANDINE.
Under attack by
FALKE Group of U-Boats which sank three ships over a three day period.
Later joined
escort for military Convoy KMF10B to Algiers.
March Returned to Newfoundland
from Algiers.
Resumed North
Atlantic convoy escort duty.
April Part of escort for
Convoy CN177 with Group.
23rd Part of escort for
Convoys HX234 under threat from MEISE Group of U-Boats.
(For details of
improved tactical measures and improvements in weapons see SEEK AND STRIKE
by W Hackmann and
U-BOAT WAR IN THE ATLANTIC
May
2nd Part of escort for
Convoy ONS8 and supplemented by British 2nd Support Group.
June Atlantic convoy
escort with Group in continuation.
to
August
September Part of escort for Convoy
HX254 with Group.
28th Part of escort for
Convoy ON203 with HM Destroyer HOTSPUR .HM Canadian Corvettes
COLLINGWOOD,
WOODSTOCK and HM Corvettes NASTURTIUM, ORILLIA and
TRILLIUM.
Convoy diverted
North of ROSSBACH U-Boat Group patrol line.
October Part of escort for
Convoy HX260 with Group.
November Atlantic convoy defence
with Group in continuation.
December Withdrawn from operational
service because of increasing defect load and the availability
of new escorts.
1 9 4 4
January Passage to UK to pay off
and de-store
Reduced to
Reserve.
February Laid up in Tyne.
to Nominated for loan
to USSR.
March
April Under refit prior
Russian naval service.
May Russian crew arrived.
30th Transferred to
Russian Navy and renamed DEYATELNYI
S p e c i a l N o t e s
HMS CHURCHILL as DEYATELNYI
sailed to North Russia with Convoy JW59 that included the battleship
ARKHANGELSKI (Ex HMS ROYAL SOVEREIGN) and other Ex USN Land-Lease destroyers
being transferred to Russia. She then Joined the Northern Fleet and was
deployed for convoy defence in the Arctic. On 16th January 1945 she was
torpedoed and sunk by U956 in defence of a White Sea convoy. This destroyer was
the only one of the TOWN Class loaned to the Soviet
Navy which was lost.
Addendum
CONVOY ESCORT MOVEMENTS of HMS
CHURCHILL
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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28/01/41
|
29/01/41
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OB 279
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01/02/41
|
02/02/41
|
21/01/41
|
03/02/41
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HX 104
|
06/02/41
|
08/02/41
|
17/02/41
|
26/02/41
|
TC 009
|
27/02/41
|
27/02/41
|
06/05/41
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16/05/41
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HX 125A
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18/05/41
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22/05/41
|
01/06/41
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07/06/41
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HX 130
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13/06/41
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20/06/41
|
11/06/41
|
17/06/41
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OB 334
|
23/06/41
|
25/06/41
|
30/06/41
|
06/07/41
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HX 136
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13/07/41
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18/07/41
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01/07/41
|
06/07/41
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SC 036
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13/07/41
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19/07/41
|
11/07/41
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16/07/41
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OB 345
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24/07/41
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26/07/41
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01/08/41
|
05/08/41
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HX 142
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12/08/41
|
18/08/41
|
15/08/41
|
21/08/41
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ON 007
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23/08/41
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25/08/41
|
10/08/41
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24/08/41
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HX 144
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unknown
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30/08/41
|
10/09/41
|
12/09/41
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HX 149
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20/09/41
|
25/09/41
|
16/09/41
|
25/09/41
|
HX 150
|
28/09/41
|
30/09/41
|
03/03/42
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05/03/42
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ON 072
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14/03/42
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19/03/42
|
21/03/42
|
23/03/42
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NA 006
|
28/03/42
|
28/03/42
|
08/04/42
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08/04/42
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CT 014
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16/04/42
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16/04/42
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20/04/42
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23/04/42
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HX 186
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01/05/42
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02/05/42
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15/05/42
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16/05/42
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ON 095
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25/05/42
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29/05/42
|
07/06/42
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07/06/42
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TO 005
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09/06/42
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09/06/42
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13/06/42
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13/06/42
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OT 008
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16/06/42
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16/06/42
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19/06/42
|
19/06/42
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TO 008
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21/06/42
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21/06/42
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28/06/42
|
28/06/42
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OT 012
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02/07/42
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02/07/42
|
12/07/42
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12/07/42
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TAW 004
|
21/07/42
|
21/07/42
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22/07/42
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unknown
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WAT 008
|
22/07/42
|
31/07/42
|
08/08/42
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08/08/42
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TAW 012
|
17/08/42
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17/08/42
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21/08/42
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21/08/42
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WAT 016
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01/09/42
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01/09/42
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19/09/42
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19/09/42
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GN 005
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26/09/42
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26/09/42
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04/12/42
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11/12/42
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SC 112
|
25/12/42
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25/12/42
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02/01/43
|
05/01/43
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ON 158
|
17/01/43
|
23/01/43
|
10/03/43
|
10/03/43
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MKF 010B
|
17/03/43
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17/03/43
|
02/03/43
|
02/04/43
|
KMF 010B
|
09/03/43
|
09/03/43
|
06/04/43
|
07/04/43
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ON 177
|
17/04/43
|
23/04/43
|
18/04/43
|
24/04/43
|
HX 235
|
03/05/43
|
05/05/43
|
17/05/43
|
18/05/43
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ONS 008
|
29/05/43
|
01/06/43
|
05/06/43
|
08/06/43
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SC 133
|
19/06/43
|
19/06/43
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03/07/43
|
04/07/43
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ONS 012
|
15/07/43
|
18/07/43
|
19/07/43
|
23/07/43
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SC 137
|
03/08/43
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03/08/43
|
14/08/43
|
15/08/43
|
ON 197
|
22/08/43
|
28/08/43
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27/08/43
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02/09/43
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HX 254
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09/09/43
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12/09/43
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22/09/43
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23/09/43
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ON 203
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03/10/43
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10/10/43
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05/10/43
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11/10/43
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HX 260
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18/10/43
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20/10/43
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31/10/43
|
09/11/43
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ON 209
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10/11/43
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17/11/43
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13/11/43
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18/11/43
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HX 266
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26/11/43
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27/11/43
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09/12/43
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10/12/43
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ON 215
|
22/12/43
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28/12/43
|
22/12/43
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27/12/43
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HX 272
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04/01/44
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06/01/44
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(Note on Convoys)
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