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Ex
USS ROBINSON (Type C -
NEWPORT-Class) built by Union Iron Works and
launched on
28th March 1918. Build was completed on 19th October
1918 and in 1939 the ship was in Reserve.
Transferred under US/UK Lease Lend
Agreement in 1940 and taken over by the
Royal Canadian Navy at Halifax
on 26th November 1940, pending arrival of the Royal Navy
ship’s
company.. She
commissioned for Royal Navy service at Halifax
into the RN as HMS NEWMARKET
on 5th December 1940.
In common with other TOWN
Class ships the name was shared by a town in
Cambridgeshire and also a town in New
Hampshire, USA.
She was the
2nd RN warship to carry this name which
had been used for a WW1 minesweeper.
She was appropriately adopted by the civil
community of Newmarket,
Cambridgeshire after a
successful WARSHIP WEEK National Savings campaign
in March 1942.
B
a t t
l e H o n o u r s
ATLANTIC 1941-42
-
ARCTIC 1942
H
e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge:
On a Field Blue within a
horseshoe reversed Gold a mullet 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
November
Prepared for transfer and passage to Halifax
26th
Transferred to RCN custody at Halifax
pending arrival of RN personnel.
December
RN ship’s company arrived.
5th
Commissioned into RN service as HMS
NEWMARKET.
9th
Involved in minor collision with HM
Destroyer WELLS.
(Note: Sailing not delayed but damaged to
her sister ship required repair.)
Took passage to Plymouth but involved in further collision with sister ship HM S
NEWARK
Return passage to Canada for
repair.
1 9
4 1
January
Under repair
15th
Took passage to Plymouth
30th
Taken in hand for refit by HM Dockyard
Plymouth including modifications to suit RN
use as convoy escort.
February
Nominated for Atlantic convoy escort duty.
Refit suspended because of higher priority
work.
5th
Transferred to commercial shipyard in Humber
for completion of outstanding work.
March
Under refit.
April
Carried out post refit trials.
24th
On completion took passage to operational
base.
May
Deployed in NW Approaches for convoy
defence.
Withdrawn for repair
June
Passage to Sheerness.
Taken in hand for repair at Sheerness.
July
Under repair by HM Dockyard Sheerness.
to
Nominated for duty with 8th Escort Group at
Londonderry.
October
November
On completion of post repair trials took
passage to Join Group.
Deployed for convoy defence in NW
Approaches.
December
6th
In collision with mercantile GRENAA at
Londonderry and taken in hand for repair.
Resumed convoy defence duty with Group on
completion.
1 9
4 2
January
Deployed with escort for Convoy ON52.
Detached from escort with boiler defects.
Passage to Londonderry
Passage to Liverpool for completion of
repair.
February
Under repair at commercial shipyard.
to
On completion resumed convoy escort duty
with Group and deployed in NW Approaches.
March
Nominated for escort of Russian Convoy QP14
April
Deployed in Iceland.
8th
Withdrawn from escort for QP14 and returned
to
Iceland . See
ARCTIC CONVOYS by R Woodman.
May
Withdrawn from service and ship to be
surveyed by HM Dockyard Rosyth
On survey declared unfit for further
Atlantic convoy escort and elected for
further
service as an Air Target Ship.
Taken in hand for conversion to suit role as
Air Target Ship.
(Note: This included removal of main
armament and weapon equipment.
June
Under conversion.
July
Deployed as Air Target ship at Station in
North Sea for training of aircrew in
to
attacks on shipping.
December
1 9
4 3
January
Air Target ship duty in continuation.
to
High defect load made ship unreliable for
service.
June
July
Withdrawn from use.
to
Laid up at Rosyth..
December
1 9
4 4 a n d
1 9 4 5
Laid-up
N o t e
HMS
NEWMARKET had an
unsuccessful career and was one of the worst
examples of the service of this type of
destroyer built
in WW1. Other Ex US destroyers were able to
operate in the Atlantic, but none of this
type were
reliable for ocean escort work (See General
Information). This ship was finally Paid off
on 1st July 1945 and
placed on the Disposal List. She was sold to
BISCO in September 1945 for demolition by E
Rees Shipbreakers
at Llanelly,
South
Wales and arrived there in tow on 21st
September that year.
Addendum
CONVOY
ESCORT MOVEMENTS of HMS NEWMARKET
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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02/05/41
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02/05/41
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OB
318
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07/05/41
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10/05/41
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25/04/41
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09/05/41
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HX
123
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09/05/41
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13/05/41
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07/12/41
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09/12/41
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ON
044
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10/12/41
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15/12/41
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31/12/41
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03/01/42
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ON
052
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03/01/42
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11/01/42
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03/04/42
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03/04/42
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UR
018
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07/04/42
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07/04/42
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18/04/42
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18/04/42
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RU
019
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22/04/42
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22/04/42
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(Note
on Convoys)
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