HMS Somali (F33)
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2015) |
.jpg) Somali at anchor
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Somali |
| Namesake | Somalis |
| Ordered | 19 June 1936 |
| Builder | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear |
| Cost | £340,095 |
| Laid down | 27 August 1936 |
| Launched | 24 August 1937 |
| Completed | 7 December 1938 |
| Commissioned | 12 December 1938 |
| Identification | Pennant numbers: L33/F33/G33 |
| Fate | Torpedoed by U-703 and sank while under tow, 25 September 1942 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Tribal-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 377 ft (114.9 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 36 ft 6 in (11.13 m) |
| Draught | 11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
| Range | 5,700 nmi (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 190 |
| Sensors and processing systems | ASDIC |
| Armament |
|
HMS Somali was a
Description
The Tribals were intended to counter the large destroyers being built abroad and to improve the firepower of the existing destroyer
The primary armament of the Tribal-class destroyers was eight
The ships were fitted with a single above-water quadruple mount for
Wartime modifications
Heavy losses to German air attack during the
Construction and career
Authorized as one of nine Tribal-class destroyers under the 1936 Naval Estimates,
On 3 September 1939, Somali intercepted the
On 15 May 1940, during the
Somali was the leader of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla and spent most of the winter of 1940–41 screening Home Fleet sweeps. In May 1941, Somali boarded the German weather ship München. Prior to being boarded, the crew of München threw overboard the ship's Enigma machine in a weighted bag. However, documents on the operation of the Enigma machine were left on board, as were vital codebooks providing a breakthrough for Allied codebreakers.
On 13 August 1942, Somali rescued all 105 crew of the
Fate
Lieutenant Commander
Somali was the last Royal Navy Tribal-class destroyer to be sunk during the war.
Notes
- ^ Lenton, p. 164
- ^ English, p. 14
- ^ a b Lenton, p. 165
- ^ a b English, p. 12
- ^ March, p. 323
- ^ a b Whitley, p. 99
- ^ Hodges, pp. 13–25
- ^ Friedman, p. 32
- ^ Hodges, pp. 30–31, 40
- ^ English, p. 15
- ^ Friedman, p. 34; Hodges, pp. 41–42
- ^ Whitley, p. 116
- ^ Brice, p. 11
- ^ Colledge & Warlow, p. 326
- ^ English, pp. 13, 16
- ^ "ADM 199/393 - Home Fleet War Diaries 1939-41". Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904–1915. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
- ^ Derry, pp. 182–3.
- ^ Joslen, p. 270.
- ^ "Naval Events, October 1940 (Part 2 of 2) Tuesday 15th - Thursday 31st". Naval History. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "Joel Blane James". K Mahlberg. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ "No. 35877". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 January 1943. p. 493.
References
- Brice, Martin H. (1971). The Tribals. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0245-2.
- English, John (2001). Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937–43. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
- ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
- Haarr, Geirr H. (2010). The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-051-1.
- Haarr, Geirr H. (2009). The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-310-9.
- Hodges, Peter (1971). Tribal Class Destroyers. London: Almark. ISBN 0-85524-047-4.
- ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
- T.K. Derry, History of the Second World War: The Campaign in Norway, London: HM Stationery Office, 1952.
- Joslen, H. F. (2003) [1960]. Orders of Battle: Second World War, 1939–1945. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval and Military Press. ISBN 978-1-84342-474-1.
