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Withdrawn for repair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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