HMS Salisbury (I52)
 HMS Salisbury (I52) ex USS Claxton (DD-140)
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HMS Salisbury (I52) was built as the Wickes-class destroyer USS Claxton (DD-140) , which entered service with the United States Navy in 1919 . During the Spanish Civil War , from October 1937 to November 1938, the destroyer was part of Squadron 40-M of the US Navy, which observed the war and the development of European relations.
In the fall of 1940, the USS Claxton was surrendered to the Royal Navy under the destroyer-for-base agreement .
The ship, renamed HMS Salisbury , was passed on to the Royal Canadian Navy in September 1942 , which decommissioned the old destroyer in December 1943 and sold it for demolition.
History of the ship
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The destroyer USS Claxton was built on the Mare Island Naval Shipyard , the first state naval shipyard founded in 1854 on the American west coast on the Bay of San Francisco. The first destroyer of this shipyard, USS Shaw , was built in 1916/17, then the USS Caldwell of the class of the same name followed in 1916/17, then with DD 93/94 and DD 136 to 141 eight of the Wickes class , which included six destroyers of the Clemson- Class ( DD 336 to 341 ) followed. The Claxton was named Destroyer No. 140 laid down on April 25, 1918 as the shipyard's ninth destroyer, launched on January 14, 1919 and was named after the cadet Thomas Claxton , who died in the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813 . The destroyer was commissioned by the US Navy on September 13, 1919 and was used on the American west coast until June 18, 1922.
From the reserve in San Diego , the destroyer was activated again on January 22, 1930 and served first on the US West Coast and later in New Orleans to train reservists. In September 1933, the destroyer came to the US Navy Special Service Squadron stationed in the Canal Zone , whose units were primarily used to enforce American interests against states in the Caribbean and Central America . The Claxton was first deployed off Cuba . Further missions off Cuba followed up to October 1935, interrupted by lay times in the reserve in Charleston (South Carolina) . After participating in naval maneuvers in late 1935, the destroyer was assigned to the naval academy , for which the destroyer carried out three longer training trips in 1936 and 1937.
Observation of the Spanish Civil War
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In October 1937, the destroyer was assigned to Squadron 40-T . Unit 40-T (temporary) was formed in September 1936 under the command of Rear Admiral Arthur P. Fairfield for use in Spanish waters to protect American interests and citizens during the Spanish Civil War . The first units of this association were the cruiser Raleigh , the destroyers Kane and Hatfield and the US Coast Guard Cutter Cayuga . In the previous year, these units had rescued several hundred American citizens and citizens of other countries from the war zones in Spain. After first deployments on the Basque coast and off Galicia, the American units moved to the Mediterranean. The Squadron 40 T (temporary) carried out its tasks from the French Villefranche from late spring 1937 , but also called at other French and even Italian ports.
On October 26, 1937 the Claxton moved with the Manley from Boston to Europe. Kane and Hatfield were replaced by Claxton and Manley on November 9, 1937 (in Algiers?) And began their return journey to the States. The destroyers and the flagship Raleigh not only operated from Villefrance, they also visited other ports in France and French North Africa , but also Italian ports and gathered information. Omaha (CL-4) did not replace its sister ship Raleigh as the flagship of the association until April 28, 1938 in Villefranche and the Raleigh began her return journey to Hampton Roads two days later . The Omaha took just two days off their activity in the new station area and ran first to Gibraltar. The cruiser then visited various French ports on the Mediterranean. The Manley left Gibraltar on October 29, 1938 for the USA and arrived in Norfolk on November 11, 1938. The Claxton stayed in Europe until November 1938. The replacing destroyers Jacob Jones and Badger left Norfolk on October 26, 1938 and reached Gibraltar on November 6. The Jacob Jones then went on to Villefranche, where the destroyer arrived on November 17th. The Badger visited Naples before she too, together with the Jacob Jones, called at the French base of the US Navy units.
The destroyers of Squadron 40-T
| DD | Surname | Working hours | Squadron 40-T | Final fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 235 | Kane | 06/11/20 - 12/31/30 01/04/36 ==> |
08/17/36 - 11/22/37 | 28.4.38 a. D., 9/23/39 i. D., 2. – 4.43 conversion APD-18 , January 24, 1946 a. D., from 6.46 demolition |
| 231 | Hatfield | 04/16/20 - 01/13/31 01/04/32 ==> |
04/27/36 - 12/21/37 | 28.4.38 a. D., 25.9.39 i. D., 10:44 AM AG 84 , December 13, 1946 a. D., demolition |
| 74 | Manley | 15.10.17 - 14.06.22 1.05.30 ==> |
10/26/37 - 11/11/38 | AG-28 Schnelltransporter, 8.40 APD-1 , December 5, 1945 a. D., 11.46 abort |
| 140 | Claxton | 09/30/19 - 06/18/22 01/22/30 ==> |
10.37 - 28.11.38 | Training ship , 11.40 RN HMS Salisbury , 9.42 RCN; 12.43 a. D., June 24, 1944 sold for demolition |
| 126 | Badger | 29.05.19 - 27.05.22 1.10.30 ==> |
10/26/38 - 10/14/39 | July 20, 1945 a. D., 1947 demolition |
| 130 | Jacob Jones | 20.10.19 - 24.06.22 1.05.30 ==> |
10/26/38 - 10/14/39 | sunk by U 578 off the US east coast on February 28, 1942 |
| 157 | Dickerson | 9/3/19 - 6/25/22 1/05/30 ==> |
Summer 39 - 25.07.40 | After reconstruction 11.43: APD 21 , April 2, 1945 badly damaged by Kamikazes , sunk on the 4th near the Kerama Islands itself |
| 160 | Herbert | 11/21/19 - 06/27/22 01/05/30 ==> |
2.10.39 - 07.40 | after renovation 3.44 :: APD 22 , October 27, 1945 a. D., May 5, 1946 scrapped |
Escort destroyer HMS Salisbury
In January 1939, the returned USS Claxton resumed service with the Naval Academy. When war broke out in Europe, the destroyer took over tasks in the so-called neutrality patrol in Floridastraße in September . Service off the coast of New England followed in January and February 1940 . The ship then carried out training voyages on the east coast until autumn. On November 21, 1940, the destroyer ran at Halifax (Nova Scotia) to be handed over to the Royal Navy as part of the Destroyers-for-bases -deal . On December 5, the handover of the destroyer, which was put into service as HMS Salisbury , took place.
In order to be suitable for use in the Navy, a large number of changes had to be made to the destroyer. In addition, the destroyer moved across the Atlantic to Belfast before the turn of the year. On January 9, 1941, the newly acquired destroyer arrived in Plymouth , where the destroyer was adapted for use at the Royal Dockyard Devonport by March . The mission of the destroyed destroyer was to take place in the North Atlantic. However, the first missions of the destroyer took place on the route to Gibraltar . The first mission accompanied the outgoing convoy ON 56 from March 18 to 21, 1941, then the destroyer moved on the last day to secure the convoy SL 67 . After deployments in four other convoys, the destroyer was relocated to Canada in order to accompany convoys departing or arriving there. The first deployment from Halifax took place in mid-May 1941 for six days in HX 124 . Until October 1941, the destroyer was then used in 19 other convoys, often in both directions. In order to maintain the operational readiness of the old destroyer, an overhaul and further conversion seemed necessary, so that the destroyer visited the navy shipyard in Rosyth at the end of October 1941. In addition to the necessary repairs and basic maintenance, the formerly American ship was modified and adapted to British facilities and re-armament. The two laterally raised 102 mm guns and the two American triple torpedo tube sets were expanded. The destroyer escorted now received four 20 mm Oerlikon cannons and a new British triple torpedo tube set, which was now placed in the middle and could be used on both sides.
In March 1942, the modifications and repairs were completed and the first missions took place in the South West Approaches to the British Isles. The first deployment to secure an escort took place on April 15 in Troop escort WS 18 , which comprised 21 transporters and was supposed to transport reinforcements around Africa to Egypt , India and Malaysia . The convoy included the Hecla tender , five material transporters and 15 troop transporters with over 35,000 men, including three Dutch transporters. The original securing of the convoy included the Salisbury, its sister ships Georgetown and Lancaster , the destroyers Boadicea and Volunteer and the Hunt destroyers Badsworth and Lauderdale . On the open sea, the so-called ocean escort joined the cruisers Frobisher and Gambia , the Dutch destroyer Van Galen and the Hunt escort destroyer Tetcott . The Salisbury did not turn back after completing its tasks, but instead joined the security of the American aircraft carrier Wasp , which ran back to Great Britain after a transport mission with fighter planes for Malta ( Operation Calendar ).
As a backup of this carrier, which again transported fighter planes for Malta, the Salisbury left the United Kingdom on May 3, 1942. To secure the carrier, the sister ship Georgetown , the battle cruiser Renown , the British destroyers Echo and Intrepid and the American destroyers Lang and Sterett also ran to Gibraltar in this formation. There the association was reinforced by the British carrier Eagle , the anti-aircraft cruiser Charybdis and the destroyers Vidette , Westcott , Wishart , Wrestler , Antelope , Ithuriel and Partridge . On May 9th, 47 and 17 respectively Spitfire fighters take off from the carriers. Three machines were lost, but the rest reached Malta. Following the successes in April, this reinforcement marks the turning point for the German air offensive against Malta. From now on, the attacking German-Italian bomber groups suffered heavy losses. During the enterprise, the fast mine- layer Welshman left Gibraltar on May 8th and reached Malta with important supplies on May 10th. After unloading the cargo, the Welshman immediately set sail again and reached Gibraltar again on the 12th. The units for the carrier operations returned to Scapa Flow on May 16, 1942.
In the following months, the Salisbury was primarily used to secure military convoys ( WS convoys ) in the area of the North Western Approaches . In addition to convoys, individual ships were also secured, such as the Queen Elizabeth on departure from June 17, 1942 . When securing the world's largest merchant ship, the sister ships Leamington and St. Albans , the anti-aircraft cruiser Delhi and the destroyers Boadicea and Keppel were also used on the first stretch through the compulsory routes until the ocean liner made its own voyage in the open Atlantic could continue at high speed towards America.
In August 1942, the British Admiralty decided to loan the destroyer to the Royal Canadian Navy for use with the Western Atlantic Local Escort Force (WLEF) in Halifax. For future use, the ship was overhauled again and equipped with a Hedgehog launcher . In September 1942, the destroyer began service in St. John's, Newfoundland. The ship remained there, interrupted by two dry docking in the United States until November 1943 in the application, was found in December in Halifax decommissioned and the new, built on the Canadian west coast frigate HMCS '' Prince Rupert '' (K324) replaced .
Since the US Navy was no longer interested in taking over the old destroyer, the destroyer was sold for demolition in October 1944, which took place in Baltimore from April 1945.
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Renewed uses of names
Since December 8, 1942, the US Navy again had a USS Claxton (II) (DD 571) . The second US Navy ship with this name was ordered on September 9, 1940 as a Fletcher-class destroyer from the Consolidated Steel Corporation in Orange, Texas . After construction began on June 25, 1941, the new destroyer was launched and christened on April 1, 1942. On December 8, 1942, the destroyer was put into service by the US Navy.
→ see USS Claxton (DD-571)
The destroyer, which was released from active service in April 1946, was handed over to the German Navy on December 15, 1959 and used as the Z 4 (D-178). On February 26, 1981 it was decommissioned in Greece by the German Navy and at the same time taken over by the Greek Navy as a material replacement part carrier. In June 1992 the ship was then canceled in Eleusis .
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From February 1957, the Royal Navy again had an HMS Salisbury . This ship of the Type 61 (aircraft direction frigate) had been started on January 23, 1952 at the Devonport Dockyard; Launching and christening followed on June 25, 1953. The frigate was involved in the Beira Patrol - the unsuccessful attempt to cut off Rhodesia from the oil supply - and in the last of the so-called cod wars with Iceland . In the latter case, there were collisions with Icelandic patrol boats. A sale of the ship to Egypt , which was considered in 1978 , ultimately did not materialize. Temporarily used as a stationary training ship, the Salisbury was finally sunk on September 30, 1985 as a target ship.
literature
- Arnold Hague: Destroyers for Great Britain: A History of 50 Town Class Ships Transferred From the United States to Great Britain in 1940. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland 1988, ISBN 0-87021-782-8 .
- HF Lenton, JJ Colledge: British and Dominion Warships of World War II. Doubleday and Company, 1968.
- Marc Milner: North Atlantic Run. Naval Institute Press, 1985, ISBN 0-87021-450-0 .
-
Jürgen Rohwer , Gerhard Hümmelchen : Chronicle of the naval war 1939-1945. Stalling, Oldenburg 1968
( wlb-stuttgart.de ).
Web links
- Claxton I (Destroyer No. 140) on DANFS
- CLEMSON destroyers (1918-1922) on navypedia.org
- CLEMSON ex-US destroyers (1919–1921 / 1940) on navypedia.org
- USS Claxton (DD-140) images on navsource.org
- HMS / later HMCS Salisbury (I52)
swell
- ^ Claxton I (Destroyer No. 140)
- ↑ Kane I (Destroyer No. 235)
- ↑ Hatfield (Destroyer No. 231)
- ↑ Badger II (Destroyer No. 126) 1919-1945
- ↑ Dickerson (Destroyer No. 157)
- ^ Herbert (Destroyer No. 160)
- ↑ a b c d e HMS, later HMCS SALISBURY (I 52) - ex-US Destroyer
- ^ Rohwer: Sea War. 8-15 May 1942, Mediterranean Sea, Operation Bowery