HMS Gurkha (G63)

HMS Gurkha

The sinking Gurkha

Ship data flag  United Kingdom Ship type destroyer class L-class Shipyard Cammell Laird , Birkenhead Build number 1041 Order March 31, 1938 Keel laying October 18, 1938 Launch July 8, 1940 Commissioning February 18, 1941 Whereabouts Sunk on January 17, 1942

Ship dimensions and crew length 110.5 m ( Lüa ) 105.3 m ( Lpp ) width 11.2 m Draft Max. 3.05 m displacement 1,920 ts   crew 221 men

Machine system machine 2 × Admirality 3-drum steam boiler 2 × geared turbine Machine performance 48,000 PS (35,304 kW) Top speed 36 kn (67 km / h) propeller 2

Armament 8 × 102 mm L / 45 Mk XVI guns (4 × 2) 4 × 40 mm L / 39 - Flak (1 x 4) 2 × 20 mm Oerlikon cannons 8 × 12.7 mm Vickers Fla-MG (2 × 4) 8 × torpedo tube ø 533 mm (2 × 4) 110 depth charges , 8 launchers, 2 drainage rails Sensors Radar , ASDIC , Huff-Duff

HMS Gurkha (G63) was an L-class destroyer of the Royal Navy during World War II . The ship should originally be named Larne , as all ships of the class were given a name beginning with L. After the sinking of the tribal destroyer Gurkha on April 9, 1940, the officers and men of the Gurkha regiments collected money for a replacement building, in which they all donated the pay one day. To honor this mission, the Larne , which was under construction, was selected as a replacement ship and was named Gurkha when it was launched on July 8, 1940 . The destroyer was awarded the Battle Honors Atlantic 1941 , Mediterranean 1941 and Malta Convoys 1941-42 during its short service .

When securing a convoy from Alexandria to Malta, the destroyer put into service on February 18, 1941, was torpedoed off Sidi Barrani on January 17, 1942 after less than a year of service and sank after the Dutch destroyer Isaac Sweers took over the almost complete crew .

History of the destroyer

The Larne was one of eight L-class destroyers ordered on March 31, 1938. She was ordered from Cammell Laird , where the keel was laid on October 18, 1938 as the first ship of the class. After the tribal destroyer Gurkha was sunk off Norway in April 1940 and the Gurkha soldiers had carried out a collection for a replacement building, the government decided to launch the Larne as Gurkha in order to appreciate the behavior of the Gurkhas and the close relationship of the Royal Navy to the Gurkha Regiment . To emphasize the importance of Gurkhas for the Empire, the destroyer was on 8 July 1940 by the daughter of Mary of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill christened when he became the third ship of the class according to at Hawthorn Leslie ordered sister ships Legion and Lightning was launched .

Armament

The L-class destroyers were to receive six 120 mm Mk.XI ship guns in three newly developed, closed Mk.XX twin mounts. The delayed production of the new carriages led to the decision in July 1940 to arm the Gurkha and three other ships of the class. They were to receive eight 102 mm L / 45 Mk XVI guns as new main armament in four double mounts that were already in series production. Nevertheless, the recourse to an existing and deliverable main armament accelerated the completion of the four affected ships only insignificantly, since the superstructures of the four ships had to be redesigned for these weapons and the additional twin guns.

The anti-aircraft weapons at close range consisted of a 40 mm L / 39 - Flak-Vierling , two single 20-mm Oerlikon cannons and two 12.7 mm Vickers AA-MG -Vierlingen.

Eight 533 mm torpedo tubes in two sets of four and 110 depth charges completed the armament.

Calls

Gurkha reached 33.73 knots during her sea trials and was put into service on February 18, 1941 as the first L-class destroyer and assigned to the "11th Escort Group". It was no coincidence that Commander Charles Nugent Lentaigne (* 1901) became its first (and only) in command, whose brother Joe Lentaigne (* 1899) served as an officer in the 4th (Prince of Wales's Own) Gurkhas .

On March 25, 1941, the Gurkha and the Tartar rescued the survivors of the Beaverbrae (9956 GRT, 1928) south-east of Iceland, sunk by a German Condor . On the march back to Scapa Flow the following day, Gurkha rammed a wooden fishing boat, which sank immediately. The damage caused by the collision led to a stay in the shipyard in Rosyth until June 1941.

After the repair, the Gurkha was reassigned to the convoy security in the Western Approaches . From August 25, she was stationed in Gibraltar with the “4th Destroyer Flotilla”, which also included the sister ships Lance , Legion , Lively and the tribal destroyers Cossack , Maori , Sikh and Zulu .

In September, the Gurkha accompanied the carrier Ark Royal and then this and the Furious in Operations Status I and Status II , during which Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force were flown into Malta by the carriers , which were led by Blenheim bombers launched in Gibraltar . Since only one arrived at the meeting point for Status I , the Ark Royal canceled the operation after fourteen hurricanes had started . In Operation Status II , 46 hurricane fighters took off from the two carriers on September 13 and flew to Malta , guided by seven Blenheims . Only the third hurricane started crashed at the start. The carriers were secured by the battleship Nelson , the flak cruiser Hermione , the four 102 mm anti-aircraft destroyers of the L-class and the destroyers Foresight , Forester and Zulu .

Gurkha then took part with her sister ships in a large supply convoy to Malta ( Operation Halberd ). The transporters coming from Great Britain were secured by Home Fleet units , including those of Laforey and Lightning , two sister ships that had received the originally planned 120 mm armament of the L-class. The four anti-aircraft destroyers remained to secure the heavy units of the Navy off the Strait of Sicily , while Laforey and Lightning escorted the last eight transporters with four cruisers, another five destroyers and two Hunt destroyers to Malta. After taking up the security units for the last part of the passage, all units began the march back to Gibraltar, on which the Gurkha sank the Italian submarine Adua on September 30th together with the Legion .

From November 10th, the Gurkha was again at sea with Ark Royal and the old Argus as part of Operation Perpetual , which launched 37 hurricanes to Malta. On the march back, U 81 managed to break through the destroyer protection and torpedo the Ark Royal , which finally had to be abandoned shortly before Gibraltar and sank.

In addition to securing the advance of Force H, the destroyers of the "4th Flotilla" also supported the securing of the convoys to and from Great Britain. Gurkha and the Australian Nestor sank U 127 west of Portugal with depth charges on December 15 .

The Gurkha was then assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in the eastern Mediterranean and left Gibraltar on December 22, 1941, together with the cruiser Dido and the destroyers Arrow , Foxhound and the Australian Nestor to move via Malta to Alexandria . The unit reached Malta on December 24th and continued the march to Alexandria on the 26th with four empty transporters. Despite air raids, the convoy reached its destination undamaged on the 29th.

The Gurkha was first deployed from the new base from January 5 to 9, 1942, when, in addition to three light cruisers and three other destroyers, the Glengyle transporter secured the meeting point with Force K units coming from Malta , and the retreating ones from them Breconshire took custody.

The end of the Gurkha

Survivors of the Gurkha be of Isaac Sweers added

On January 16, 1942 the Gurkha left Alexandria with the destroyers Maori , Legion and the Dutch Isaac Sweers to escort the Convoy MW8B to Malta. The two transporters were merged at sea with the convoy MW8A, which had already leaked, whose two transporters were secured by three light cruisers and five destroyers.

The Dutch destroyer Isaac Sweers

The unit of Operation MF 3 was attacked on the 17th by U 133 west of Sollum . The Gurkha was hit by a torpedo and caught fire. Spilled fuel oil burned around them. The Isaac Sweers succeeded in towing the sinking destroyer out of the burning oil slick and taking over the crew of the Gurkha up to nine men before the ship reached the position at 31 ° 50 ′ 0 ″  N , 29 ° 14 ′ 0 ″  E coordinates : 31 ° 50 ′ 0 ″  N , 29 ° 14 ′ 0 ″  E sank. The survivors were given ashore by the Sweers in Tobruk .

literature

• James J. Colledge, Ben Warlow: Ships of the Royal Navy. The complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th century to the present , Chatham, London 2006, ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8 , OCLC 67375475 (EA London 1969).
• John English: Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937-43 , World Ship Society, Gravesend 2001, ISBN 0-905617-95-9 .
• Robert Gardiner, Roger Chesneau (eds.): Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 . Conway Maritime Press, London 1980, ISBN 0-85177-146-7 .
• HT Lenton: British Fleet and Escort Destroyers Volume One . Macdonald & Co., London 1970, ISBN 0-356-02950-6 .
• Peter C. Smith: Fighting Flotilla: RN Laforey Class Destroyers in WW2 , 2nd. Edition, Pen & Sword Maritime, Barnsley, UK 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-273-1 .
• MJ Whitley: Destroyers of World War: An International Encyclopedia . Cassell & Co., London 2000, ISBN 1-85409-521-8 .

Web links

Commons : HMS Gurkha (G63)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Service history HMS Gurkha (ii) (G 63, ex-Larne) - L-class Destroyer on naval-history.net; accessed October 31, 2017
• HMS Gurkha (II) (G63) on uboat.net; accessed October 31, 2017
• List HMS Gurkha (G63) on HMS Cavalier Association
• "L" and "M" destroyers (1940-1943) ; accessed August 5, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} English 2001, p. 100.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} HMS GURKHA (II) (G 63, ex-Larne) - L-class Destroyer on naval.history.net
3. ^ Whitley 2000, p. 122.
4. ↑ Lenton 1970, pp. 128-129.
5. ↑ Gardiner, Chesneau 1980, p. 41.
6. ↑ English 2001, pp. 100f.
7. ↑ ^{a b} English 2001, p. 104.
8. ↑ Don Kindell: Naval Events, March 1941 (Part 2 of 2): Saturday 15th - Monday 31st . In: British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day . naval-history.net. April 7, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
9. ^ Operation Status II Christopher Chant: Codenames Operations of World War II
10. ^ HMS Gurkha (II) (G63) UBoat.net