ESCORT Issue 88 June 2010
THE CAREERS OF R.N. DESTROYERS DESIGNED AND BUILT BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS
(Part Six - Conclusion)
The ‘Tribal’ Class were the most modern, largest and most heavily armed destroyers in the Royal Navy at the beginning of WWII and all saw a great deal of service, only four of the sixteen vessels constructed surviving the war. At the start of the war, Gurkha moved from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea but soon returned and was in Home Waters before the end of 1939. She sank U53 in March 1940 and, the next month, was hit aft by a bomb whilst screening cruisers, eventually capsizing and sinking with 16 casualties. Afridi started her short wartime career in the same way and survived for another month before being sunk by air attack whilst evacuating troops from Norway.
Mohawk suffered the fate of being hit by torpedoes fired by the sinking Italian Luca Tarigo whilst escorting a convoy in April 1941, eventually being sunk by gunfire from Janus. Initially in the Mediterranean at the beginning of the war, she had first transferred to the Red Sea before returning to the U.K. in October 1939, receiving casualties later that month from air attacks whilst in the Forth. Operations off Norway lasted until May 1940 when Mohawk transferred to the Mediterranean, where she remained until sunk, having participated in a number of convoys to Malta and the Battles of Calabria and Matapan.
Mashona spent her entire wartime career on Home Fleet duties and was present when Gurkha was sunk. She survived until May 1941 when she was struck by a bomb in her boiler room whilst returning to refuel after involvement in the search for Bismarck. Cossack began the war in the Mediterranean, joining the Home Fleet in October 1939. Probably her most famous exploit was the boarding of Altmark and the release of British prisoners in February 1940, and in April she was involved in the Second Battle of Narvik when, together with Foxhound, she sank the German destroyer Eric Giese. Cossack was damaged and grounded, refloating on the next rising tide and returning to Portsmouth for repair. Further Home Fleet duties followed, including an unsuccessful torpedo attack on Bismarck before temporarily deploying to the Mediterranean in July 1941, returning in August. A further relief convoy to Malta occurred in September and another in October, Cossack was hit by a torpedo fired by U563 whilst escorting a convoy to the U.K.
This photograph of H.M.S. Tartar in 1944 clearly shows the lattice foremast
Seven ‘Tribal’ Class destroyers were lost in 1942, the first, in January, being Matabele which was struck by a torpedo fired by U454 whilst escorting the Russian convoy PQ8. Matabele had been on Home Fleet duties since the beginning of the war and had run aground twice – once off Norway in April 1940 and on a second occasion when leaving Barrow in June 1942. It was shortly after her repair, that she started convoy duties to Russia. The following month (February 1942), Maori was hit by a bomb whilst in Grand Harbour, Malta. Following an explosion, she sank at her mooring but her wreck was raised and firstly moved to Sliema Creek, where it was scuttled, and then again raised and Maori was sunk for a third time in 1945 off Malta. Having begun the war in the Mediterranean, Maori transferred to home waters before the end of 1939. She was damaged by air attack when evacuating troops from Namsos in May 1940 and continued duties with the Home Fleet until April 1941 when she transferred to the Western Approaches for convoy duties, which were temporarily interrupted by a return to the Home Fleet during the search for Bismarck. Maori took part in an unsuccessful torpedo attack on Bismarck and rescued 25 survivors from the sunken ship before moving to the Mediterranean in July 1941, where she remained until returning to the U.K. for a refit in August, returning to the Mediterranean again before the end of the year. She took part in a successful torpedo attack on two Italian cruisers and was present at the First Battle of Sirte, both actions occurring in December.
Punjabi had not long completed her work up at the start of WWII and in December 1939, she was in collision with a merchant vessel. On completion of her refit in February 1940, she joined the Home Fleet and participated in the Second Battle of Narvik, requiring further repairs until June. Punjabi was involved in convoys to Russia and sank as a result of a collision with the battleship, King George V, in fog in May 1942. Duties with the Home Fleet and in the Western Approaches occupied H.M.S. Bedouin, interrupted by a temporary attachment to the Russian Convoys in November 1941 and then a move to the Mediterranean in the middle of 1942. In June, she was involved in an action with two Italian cruisers and five destroyers, during which she was hit by 6” gunfire and disabled. Taken in tow, she was hit by an aerial torpedo and sank.
In September of 1942, three more ‘Tribal’ Class vessels were sunk – Sikh, Somali and Zulu. Having been a member of the Home Fleet, including operations off Norway, and spent a considerable time in the Mediterranean where she was involved in sinking U372 in August 1942, Sikh received damage from shore batteries whilst attempting to land Royal Marines at Tobruk. Further damage by more shore fire, resulted in her sinking. Zulu shared the credit for sinking U372 with Sikh and was sunk later in the same day as Sikh, after coming under heavy air attack, during which she had been forced to sink Coventry which had sustained severe damage.
Somali was engaged in the Norwegian campaign and, in early 1941, a boarding party captured some Enigma rotor disks from a Norwegian trawler being used by the Germans. She continued on Home Fleet duties, including being involved in a torpedo attack on Bismarck, interrupted in 1942 by attachment to the escort for convoys to Russia and Malta. Whilst escorting convoy QP14, she was struck by a torpedo from U703 and sunk while under tow by Ashanti, as the weather worsened.
The four members of the ‘Tribal’ Class that survived the war were all retired from active service shortly after the war’s end and quickly reduced to reserve but not actually broken up until 1948/9. Tartar was initially allocated to the Home Fleet and in March 1941, whilst supporting landings on the Lofoten Islands, she captured a trawler which was carrying an Enigma machine which was also captured and sent to Bletchley Park, where it was used to help with code breaking. She was present at the sinking of Bismarck and took part in Russian Convoys before being involved in the support of a convoy to Malta in August 1942. Briefly returning to home waters and Russian Convoys, Tartar operated off Algiers in late 1942 and early 1943. Following a refit in late 1943/early 1944, she operated off the French coast before transferring to the East Indies Fleet where she spent the remainder of the war.
In late 1939, Nubian was involved in trials towing captive balloons as protection against low level air attacks, a measure which had some success when used by minesweepers but was of little use when protecting convoys. She was involved with Home Fleet duties until transferring to the Mediterranean in May 1940, being involved in the sinking of the Italian cruiser, Pola, in March 1941. On May 26th, she was hit aft by a bomb which destroyed her steering and, after temporary repairs, she took passage to Bombay for a refit, lasting for a year until October 1942, when she returned to the Mediterranean, where she had some successes against Italian merchantmen. Transferring to the U.K. at the end of 1943, she joined the Home Fleet and then, in March 1945, the East Indies Fleet. She was involved in a night action against Japanese surface vessels in May, during which the cruiser, Haguro, was sunk and was present at the formal surrender of all Japanese forces in September.
H.M.S. Nubian, shown in November 1945, after the end of the war, carries a twin 4” AA gun in ‘X’ position
Ashanti was damaged by an air attack in April 1940 and again, by a collision with Fame, in October. A member of the Home Fleet until August 1942, when transferred to the Mediterranean, she was involved in the sinking of U589 on the 14th September. Various defects required a refit in the U.K. between July and September 1943, joining the Home Fleet upon its completion. Russian Convoys followed and then a spell in the English Channel, during which she was twice involved in successful actions against German destroyers and torpedo boats (April and June 1944). Under refit from October 1944 until July 1945, she was reduced to reserve in August. Eskimo began the war as a member of the Home Fleet and was involved in the Second Battle of Narvik, during which she was hit by a torpedo. Temporarily transferred to the Mediterranean in support of convoys to Malta in August 1942, Eskimo soon returned to the Home Fleet for operations on the Russian Convoys before participating in the landings in North Africa. She remained in the Mediterranean until hit by a bomb in July 1943, when she returned to the U.K. for repairs, moving to Plymouth upon its completion and being involved in the Normandy landings, taking part in an engagement with German destroyers and the sinking of U971 in June 1944. Damaged in a collision with Javelin during July, Eskimo transferred to the Far East in February 1945 where she remained for the remainder of the war.
The third of the ‘Tribal’ Class vessels constructed for Australia, Bataan, did not complete in time to actively participate in WWII but was present for the formal surrender of the Japanese forces in September 1945 and remained in Japanese waters until November. She then spent some months in home waters and was serving her fifth tour of duty in Japanese waters, when the Korean War started. Working with American and British forces, Bataan was involved in escorting convoys and on patrol duties before participating in a bombardment of Youjiko To Island in September 1950. Having operated on both east and west coasts, Bataan finally returned to Sydney for a refit in June 1951. In January 1952, upon completion of the refit, she returned to Korean waters and did not return to Sydney until October. Bataan remained in home waters for the remainder of her career, being involved in a collision with Vengeance in April 1954, and paid off in October 1954.
Arunta, the first of Australia’s ‘Tribal’ Class, commenced operational duties in May 1942, firstly operating off Australia’s east coast and then undertaking convoy duties between Australia and New Guinea. She successfully attacked and destroyed the Japanese submarine, RO33, in August and then joined the American Task Force 74, where duties included support of landings on Kiriwina and Woodlark Islands. At the beginning of 1944, Arunta joined Task Force 76 and provided support for various American landings before returning to Task Force 74 in April for landings in New Guinea. More bombardments and landings followed and then, in October, she was involved in the Battle of Surigao Strait when the Japanese lost two battleships and three destroyers in a night action. As part of Task Force 77 in January 1945, Arunta took part in the Philippines campaign, later in the year supporting Australian landings in New Guinea and Borneo. She was undergoing a refit at Cockatoo Dockyard on VJ Day but then spent some months in Japanese waters, from November 1945 until March 1946. After two more tours of duty in Japanese waters, Arunta spent four years at Cockatoo Dockyard for modernisation to an anti-submarine destroyer, recommissioning in November 1952. The remainder of Arunta’s career was spent either in home waters or in the Far East before paying off in June 1956 and entering Operational Reserve, finally sinking in February 1969 whilst being towed to Formosa for scrapping.
Warramunga completed at the end of 1942 and began the war by carrying out convoy escort duties before bombarding shore installations at Gasmata in November 1943 and, as part of Task Force 74, providing cover for the landings at Arawa. Between the 29th of February and the 5th March 1944, she was also part of the force providing cover for the landings in the Admiralty Islands, subsequently carrying out shore bombardments at Tanahmerah Bay and in the Biak and Yakasui areas. As part of Task Force 77, Warramunga was present at the American landings at Leyte Gulf in September and also at Lingayen in January 1945 and Wewak in May. Following a short refit, she was present in Subic Bay for the formal surrender and after assisting with the repatriation of prisoners, returned to Sydney in October. Warramunga’s time was divided between home and Japanese waters before she began operations off Korea in August 1950 as part of the screen for the aircraft carrier, Triumph. She returned to Sydney in September 1951 having carried out a number of bombardment operations and, following a refit, left for Korean waters again in January 1952. Whilst patrolling on both the east and west coasts of Korea, Warramunga fired in excess of 4,000 rounds of 4.7” ammunition before returning home in August 1952. Following conversion to an anti-submarine destroyer, Warramunga exercised with both the Royal and Royal New Zealand Navies and remained in Far East waters until December 1955. She remained primarily in home waters for the next two years before returning to the Far East for 9 months, then returning to home waters before paying off at the end of 1959, then spending 18 months in Reserve before being towed to Japan for breaking up in 1963.
H.M.C.S. Haida whilst in service with the Royal Canadian Navy – note the modified funnel caps
Of the eight ‘Tribal’ Class vessels constructed for the Royal Canadian Navy, only the four built in Great Britain completed in time to participate in World War II. The construction of the first vessel to be laid down, Iroquois, was delayed due to enemy action and hence the second vessel, Athabaskan, was renamed at launch so that Iroquois was the first vessel to be launched and commissioned. The original Iroquois was renamed Athabaskan at launch. Following considerable structural damage due to inclement weather, Iroquois was based at Plymouth until transferring to Scapa Flow in July 1943, where she participated in some Russian Convoys, before returning to Plymouth in January 1944. Although nominated to undertake a refit in Canada, Iroquois was sent to Scapa Flow for a short period in February before returning to Plymouth and eventually sailing to Canada at the end of the month. Iroquois returned to U.K. waters on completion of her refit and operated off the French coast where she was involved in numerous successful actions with minesweepers and patrol craft before joining the Home Fleet in March 1945 for operations off Norway and on Russian Convoys. She returned to Canada in June 1945 and started a refit to suit her for operations in tropical waters but was reduced to Reserve after VJ Day. A refit was carried out before Iroquois recommissioned as a Cadet Training Ship in June 1949 and was then converted to an anti-submarine escort, recommissioning once again in October 1951. She participated in U.N. operations and exercises until paying off in October 1962 and being sold in 1966.
Athabaskan(i), so identified because she was lost early in World War II and one of the later Canadian built vessels was given the same name, worked up with the Home Fleet in early 1943 before transferring to Plymouth in June. She carried out a number of anti-submarine operations in the Bay of Biscay before being struck by a bomb in August, repairs lasting until November. In December 1943, Athabaskan(i) rejoined the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow, where she took part in convoys to Russia and operations off Norway, and returned to Plymouth in February in preparation for the landings in Normandy (‘Operation Neptune’). On April 26th, she was involved in an action against three German destroyers, during which T29 was sunk by gunfire. Whilst protecting minelaying operations off the French coast by small craft in late April, Athabaskan(i) and Huron engaged two German destroyers, Athabaskan(i) being hit by a torpedo fired by T24. A few minutes later, a second torpedo hit caused the destroyer to sink, 127 of the crew loosing their lives.
The third ship to be completed, Huron, commissioned in mid-1943 and initially moved to Scapa Flow to join the Home Fleet, where she was involved in escorting Russian Convoys until February 1944, when she transferred to Plymouth in preparation for ‘Operation Neptune’, Haida and Iroquois having transferred the previous month. Huron was involved in the successful action against three German destroyers on April 26th 1944 before escorting H.M.S. Apollo on three minelaying operations off the French Coast during May. In June, she was engaged in a second action against four German destroyers, all of which were severely damaged, Z32 running ashore and ZH1 being sunk, Z24 and T24 escaping. In August, Huron sailed for Canada and a refit, returning to the U.K. in December when new radar equipment was fitted. On completion of trials with the new equipment, she was based at Plymouth before transferring to Scapa Flow for Russian convoy duties. In June, Huron, together with Haida and Iroquois, moved to Halifax, N.S., and began a refit to suit her for operations in the tropics. This refit was suspended during August and Huron was reduced to Reserve. In early 1950, she was recommissioned and, in 1951, participated in operations off Korea. Conversion to an anti-submarine destroyer took until 1953 and Huron then returned to Korean waters for a short while before returning to Canada. She took part in various N.A.T.O. exercises during the next ten years before being put up for disposal and sold in 1965.
H.M.C.S. Haida as a museum ship in Toronto (Photograph courtesy of Mike Davey)