B-Class Fleet Destroyer ordered from Hawthorn Leslie, Newcastle on 4th March 1929
under the 1928 Programme and laid down on 29th July 1929. She was launched on
29th May 1930 as the 12th RN ship to bear the name, introduced in 1779 for a 36
Gun French ship taken as Prize It was last used by a 1911 cruiser sold in 1921.
Build completion date was 14th February 1931 for a contract price of £225,195
excluding items supplied by the Admiralty such as weapons and communications
outfits. The ship was deployed in the Mediterranean till 1935 and later in the
Home Fleet. In 1938 whilst on detached duty at Gibraltar during the Spanish
civil war she came under attack by five Nationalist aircraft but was not hit by
any of the bombs. In 1939 she was deployed as Emergency Destroyer for Nore
Command and based at Sheerness,
B a t t l e H
o n o u r s
COPENHAGEN 1801 - CURACOA
1804 -
SOUTH AFRICA 1901
- JUTLAND 1916
H e r a l d i c
D a t a
Badge: On a Field
White. a lion rampant holding a sword and wreath all Properr.
M o t t o
Dum spiro spero: 'While I breathe I hope'
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 3 9
September
Joined 19th Destroyer Flotilla at Dover for
escort duties including covering passage of ships
taking troops of BEF to French ports.
October Channel and North Sea convoy defence in continuation.
November
11th Escorted HM
Minelaying Cruiser ADVENTURE with HM Destroyer BASILISK for passage
from Humber to Portsmouth.
13th Stood by HMS
ADVENTURE after she was mined near the Tongue Lightship in Thames
estuary.
Ship also
detonated another magnetic mine which caused major structural damage aft and
disabled with
significant flooding.
Taken in tow by
tug FABIA but but during passage to Sheerness the ship capsized in position
one mile north of
Spit Buoy (51.29N 01.3
One rating was
killed and 12 others injured,.
(Note: HMS
BLANCHE was the first British Destroyer to be lost by enemy action in WW2.
The mines which
were responsible had been laid early the same night by German
destroyers KARL
GALSTER, HANS LUDEMAN, HERMAN KUNNE and
WILHELM HEIDKAMP)
Addendum
CONVOY ESCORT MOVEMENTS of
HMS BLANCHE
by Don Kindell
no escort information is available