HMS Deptford (L53)
 The Deptford 1935
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The HMS Deptford (L53) was a British sloop of the thirteen-ship Grimsby- class . After her commissioning in 1935, the Deptford was commanded in the Persian Gulf , but returned to England after the outbreak of World War II . During the Second World War , the ship was mainly used in convoy services on the North Atlantic and was involved in the sinking of a German submarine.
History of the ship
HMS Deptford was commissioned on January 10, 1934 as the first and only ship of the class at Chatham Dockyard and laid down on April 30, 1934. The floating of the ship in the construction dock (launching) took place on February 5, 1935. The christening of Deptford was performed by Mrs. Pearson, Mayor of Chatham . The Deptford was the ninth ship of the Royal Navy to bear this name since 1692 . On August 14, 1935, the Sloop was commissioned by the Royal Navy as the fifth Grimsby- class ship .
Like the previous sister ships, the Deptford was assigned to a foreign station and commanded to the Persian Gulf. On November 14, 1935, she arrived in Muscat , where she replaced the Sloop Lupine of the Arabis group of the Flower class , with the crews of the ships exchanged. The sloop remained in the Persian Gulf until the start of the World War. Since the sea area belonged to the East Indies Station , the scheduled docking times were in Bombay or Colombo . In November 1938, the ship served as the point of entry for a long-range record flight by three Wellesley bombers on the way from Ismailia in Egypt to Port Darwin in Australia .
In 1939 the ship was to be re- armed based on the model of the eighth sister ship, the Fleetwood , and to receive two 102 mm L / 45 Mk.XIX twin guns as new main armament. Due to the tense political situation, the shipyard lay-in time in Malta was shortened considerably in May 1939 and armaments were not exchanged. Only two additional Vickers quad machine guns were installed for close-range air defense.
When the war broke out, the Deptford was on a voyage to Singapore in Colombo and ran via Aden together with the sister (type) ship Grimsby , which was just assigned to the Persian Gulf Division, and the Fowey , which was overtaken in Bombay, into the Mediterranean to take on escort duties. She soon moved to Great Britain, where she arrived in Portsmouth on November 16, 1939 . From then on the sloop was mostly used in the area of western approaches as escort protection.
On December 21, 1941, as part of Convoy HG-76 led by Frederic John Walker , the Deptford sank under Lt. Cdr. Hugh Robert White and the British corvette Samphire under Lt. Cdr. Frederick Thomas Renny by depth charges that of Engelbert Endrass guided German submarine U 567 .
In May 1945 the ship was decommissioned and on March 8, 1948 sold to the company "BISCO". It reached the scrapping yard on May 11, 1948 and was then dismantled there.
Battle calendar
1939
- August : The ship was en route from the Persian Gulf to Singapore
- September : Recalled to Great Britain for escort purposes
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November :
- 16. - Arrival in Portsmouth and equipment for the tasks of the Atlantic escort
- December : Assigned to the "2nd Escort Division" in Liverpool
1940
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January :
- 14. - Parked to escort the Atlantic convoys in the Western Approaches.
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February :
- 3. - Collision with the merchant ship "SS Antigua" from convoy OB28. No major damage.
- 19. - Assigned together with the sloop Aberdare and the destroyer Wishart as escort for convoy OG19F, which is leaving for Gibraltar .
- 25. - Assigned to convoy OG19F to protect convoy HG20 coming from Gibraltar to Liverpool .
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March :
- 6. - Leave convoy HG20 for Plymouth .
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April :
- 5. to 15. - Parked as escort for convoy HG23 arriving in Liverpool.
- 18. - Found in the Western Approaches to convoy HG26F on the way to Liverpool
- 26./27. - Part of the escort of the departing convoy OG27
- May - October : escort in the Western Approaches
- November : Member of the “Sloop Division” in the “Western Approaches Command” in Liverpool. Escort in the Atlantic
- December : Escort in the Atlantic
1941
- January : Escort in the Atlantic
- February - March : shipyard lay in Liverpool with modernization of the radar system (Naval Type 286M)
- April : Convoy service in the Atlantic, assigned to escort the convoys OG and HG between Great Britain and Gibraltar
- May : Escort for convoy HG69, which was unsuccessfully attacked by the Italian submarine Marconi .
- June - July : Protection of the Gibraltar convoys
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August : Part of the "36th Escort Group", convoy service for convoy HG71
- 11. - Hunt for a radar-detected submarine
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September :
- 13. - Escort for convoy HG72, together with the destroyers Faulknor , Encounter and the Australian Nestor (RAN) and the hunt destroyer Avon Vale . An attack by Italian submarines was prevented.
- 15. - Together with corvettes of the Flower class of the "36th Escort Group" escort for convoy OG74. For the first time, air security was carried out by aircraft from the escort carrier Audacity . Together with the corvettes Pentstemon and Marigold, unsuccessful hunt for the submarines attacking the convoy.
- October : Convoy service in the Atlantic
- November : Convoy service in the Mediterranean during the North African operations of the 8th Army in El Alamein (Operation Chieftain - maritime protection of Operation Crusader ).
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December :
- 14. - with the "36th Escort Group" part of the escort of convoy HG76 (escort carrier Audacity , seven corvettes of the Flower class and three destroyers) on the way from Gibraltar to Great Britain.
- 18. - The submarine U 434 shadowing the convoy is sunk by the destroyers Blankney and Stanley .
- 21. - Audacity is sunk by U 741 . Together with the corvette Samphire, the Deptford sinks the German submarine U 567 in the Atlantic at position 44.02N 25.32W near the Azores .
- 22. - Serious damage from collision with the stork . Two German sailors are killed by the sunk U 574 , who had been rescued by the Stork .
- 28. - Arrival in Liverpool for repairs
1942
- January - February : docking time and repairs
- March : After the test drives, the ship rejoined the "36th Escort Group" and ran for convoy service on the Freetown route.
- April to September : Convoy service in the Atlantic
- Deptford was used for convoy service in the intended Allied invasion of North Africa ( Operation Torch ).
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October :
- 26. - Drive from the Clyde to Gibraltar as part of the escort group to protect convoy KMF1
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November : Arrival in Gibraltar and preparations for Operation Torch
- 8. - Departure for Arzue, ( Oran ) as escort of the attack forces . Protection of the amphibious forces on landing. Then released for escort on the North African coast.
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December :
- 7. - Escort off the Algerian coast
- 9. - Grounding off Algiers with serious damage.
1943
- January : Journey with the convoy MKS8 to Liverpool
- February - August : Dockyard time in Liverpool.
- September : Test drives after the repair
- October : Equipment for trips to Tobermory. Was then assigned to the "37th Escort Group" in escort protection in the Mediterranean.
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November :
- 11. - Arrival in Gibraltar and on to Alexandria .
- December : Escort duties in the eastern Mediterranean
1944
- January - February : escort duties in the eastern Mediterranean
- March : Stopped to protect the convoy UGS36 from the USA to the eastern Mediterranean. (37 merchant ships and 18 LST ). Then assigned to reinforce the securing "US Task Force 64" with the British cruiser Colombo , the Sloops Black Swan , Amethyst and the corvette Campion .
- April - July : escort duties in the Mediterranean with a base in Alexandria
- August - November : escort duties in the Mediterranean with a base in Taranto .
- December : Trip to Great Britain with the assumption of escort duties for coastal convoys.
1945
- January : docking time for overhaul
- February : Assigned to Portsmouth to take over escort duties in the Western Approaches and the English Channel .
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March : Escorts in the English Channel
- 16. - Escort for the coast miner Plover during a mine operation in the D1 minefield in the English Channel. (Operation Buttermilk).
- April : Escorts in the English Channel
- May : Decommissioned after the end of the war
- June : Moved to reserve status
- July : Hung up in Milford Haven
Awards for ships with the name "HMS Deptford"
BEACHY HEAD 1690 - BARFLEUR 1692 - CARTAGENA 1741 - MAURITIUS 1748 - MINORCA 1756 - HAVANA 1762 - ATLANTIC 1939–43 - NORTH AFRICA 1942 - MEDITERRANEAN 1944 - ENGLISH CHANNEL 1945
Ship coat of arms
The coat of arms shows a black heraldic swallow under a golden wall crown on a white background. (On a Field White, a Martlet Black under a mural crown Gold.)
Motto
Sicut clim (continue as before)
Individual evidence
- ↑ ROYAL NAVY SHIPS, September 1939
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. September 2–12, 1941, North Atlantic
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. September 18-21, 1941, North Atlantic
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. December 14-23, 1941, North Atlantic
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 30.3. – 1.4.1944, Mediterranean
