HMS Bideford (L43)
![]() | |
History | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Name | HMS Bideford |
Builder | Devonport Dockyard |
Laid down | 10 June 1930 |
Launched | 1 April 1931 |
Completed | 27 November 1931 |
Commissioned | 23 February 1932 |
Identification | Pennant number: L43 (later U43) |
Motto | 'Bide your time' |
Honours and awards |
|
Fate | Sold for scrapping on 14 July 1949 |
Badge | On a Field Blue, a Bridge silver, beneath it a ship silver upon 2 wavelets gold and green. |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Shoreham-class sloop |
Displacement | 1,150 tons |
Length | 281 ft (86 m) |
Beam | 35 ft (11 m) |
Draught | 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
Complement | 95 |
Armament |
|
HMS Bideford was a Royal Navy Shoreham-class sloop. She was named after the town of Bideford in Devon and was launched on 1 April 1931.
Construction and design
The
Bideford was 281 feet 4 inches (85.75 m)
The ship's main gun armament consisted of two 4-inch (102 mm)
Bideford was laid down at Devonport on 10 June 1930, launched on 1 April 1931 and completed on 27 November 1931.[3]
Modifications
In 1938, Bideford's anti-aircraft armament was improved by replacing the aft 4-inch gun by a similar gun on a HA mounting, while a quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun mount was fitted for close-in anti-aircraft duties.[3] The ship's 3-pounder saluting guns were removed during the Second World War to allow the addition of Oerlikon 20 mm cannon,[4] with two Oerlikons being fitted in March 1941 and a further two fitted in March 1942.[3] The ship's anti-submarine armament was gradually increased during the war, with the number of depth charges carried increasing from 15 to as many as 90.[4] Other wartime changes included the fitting of radar and HF/DF radio direction-finding gear.[3]
Service
Following commissioning Bideford was sent to the
In August 1938, Bideford started a more extensive refit at
Bideford was still part of the China Station on the outbreak of the
In April 1941 Bideford returned to escorting convoys to and from Gibraltar after completing repairs.[5] In August 1941, Bideford was part of the escort of the Freetown, Sierra Leone-bound Convoy OS.4, which came under attack by U-boats, with five merchant ships being sunk.[7][13] She rescued 63 survivors of the torpedoed MV Edward Blyden on 3 September 1941.[14] On the return journey, Bideford, together with the Banff-class sloops Gorleston and Lulworth, the corvette Gardenia and the Free French Aviso Commandant Duboc, formed the escort for Convoy SL 87 of 11 merchant ships. The convoy came under attack by four U-boats (U-107, U-68, U-103 and U-67). The escort was ineffective, being inexperienced and short of fuel (having not refuelled at Freetown), and failed to counter-attack against the German submarines. Seven merchant ships were sunk, with no U-boats lost or damaged. The captain of Gorleston, commander of the escort, was heavily criticised for his handling of the convoy, and did not command another escort group.[15][16]
On 31 October 1942, Bideford rescued 31 survivors from the torpedoed MV Abosso.[14] On 25 August 1943 while serving with the 40th Escort Group in the Bay of Biscay, Bideford was damaged by a Henschel Hs 293 guided missile launched by a Luftwaffe aircraft, from II.Gruppe/KG 100.[17] After repair, Bideford joined the 41st Escort Group, escorting convoys to Freetown.[5] In January 1944, Bideford transferred with the rest of the 41st Escort Group to the Mediterranean and in April that year joined the 50th Escort Group, also in the Mediterranean.[5] Bideford returned to home waters in January 1945, being refitted at Devonport, and then re-joined the 41st Escort Group, which was now employed on escort duties in the Southwest Approaches operating from Devonport.[5][7] These duties continued until the end of the war in Europe.[5]
Bideford was laid up at Milford Haven on 8 June 1945, and was transferred to BISCO for disposal on 14 September 1949, with the ship being scrapped by Howells at their Milford Haven yard.[5][18]
References
- ^ Hague 1993, pp. 6, 12, 31.
- ^ Campbell 1980, pp. 55–56.
- ^ a b c d e f Hague 1993, p. 32.
- ^ a b c d Campbell 1980, p. 56.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hague 1993, p. 33.
- ^ "Desert Landing: Airliner Forced Down: Stranded on Persian Gulf Coast". Western Mail. Perth, Western Australia. 3 September 1936. p. 24.
- ^ Kindell, Don (7 April 2012). "Naval Events, January 1940 (Part 1 of 2): Monday 1st to Sunday 14th". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ^ Kindell, Don (7 April 2012). "Naval Events, February 1940 (Part 2 of 2): Thursday 15th to Thursday 29th". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ Kindell, Don (7 April 2012). "Naval Events, March 1940 (Part 2 of 2): Friday 15th to Sunday 31st". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ Winser 1999, pp. 19–20, 83.
- ^ Kindell, Don (7 April 2012). "Naval Events, May 1940 (Part 4 of 4): Wednesday 22nd – Friday 31st". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 80.
- ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Bideford (L 43 / U 43): Sloop of the Shoreham class". uboat.net. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
- ^ Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 87.
- ^ Blair 2000, pp. 381–383.
- ^ Ford 2013, p. 224.
- ^ Colledge and Warlow 2006, p. 39.
Bibliography
- Blair, Clay (2000). Hitler's U-boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
- Campbell, N. J. M. (1980). "Great Britain (including Empire Forces)". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 2–85. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Ford, Roger (2013). Germany's Secret Weapons of World War II. London, United Kingdom: Amber Books. ISBN 9781909160569.
- Hague, Arnold (1993). Sloops: A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946. Kendal, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-67-3.
- Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (1992). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1-85367-117-7.
- Winser, John de S. (1999). B.E.F. Ships before, at and after Dunkirk. Gravesend, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-91-6.
Further reading
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
- ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.