HMS Azalea (K25)

Last updated

HMS Azalea WWII IWM FL 1300.jpg
HMS Azalea
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Azalea
Builder Cook, Welton & Gemmell
Laid down15 November 1939
Launched8 July 1940
Commissioned27 January 1941
Identification Pennant number: K25
FateSold 5 April 1946 as mercantile Norte, and sank on 19 January 1955
General characteristics
Class and type Flower-class corvette

HMS Azalea was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy during World War II.

Contents

Construction

Azalea was laid down by Cook, Welton & Gemmell of Beverley on 15 November 1939; launched on 8 July 1940; and commissioned on 27 January 1941.

World War II service

On 12 April 1941, Azalea and Kenogami fired a shot over the bow of the U.S.-flagged American Export liner Siboney 320 nautical miles (590 km) out of Lisbon. After crew aboard Azalea questioned Wenzel Habel, the captain of the unarmed passenger liner, Siboney was allowed to go on her way. [1]

HMS Azalea was the sole allied warship present during the German raid on allied landing craft during Exercise Tiger off Slapton Sands, England in the early morning of 28 April 1944. Although Azalea received word via radio of the presence of German torpedo boats from naval headquarters ashore, because of a typographical error in orders, the escorted LST's did not. Azalea did not relay the notice. In the attack, three LST's were hit by torpedoes, two were sunk. [2]

Fate

Azalea was sold on 5 April 1946 and became the merchant ship Norte. She sank on 19 January 1955.

Related Research Articles

Armed merchantman Merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes

An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in long distance and high value trade.

HMS <i>Dragon</i> (D46) Danae-class cruiser

HMS Dragon, also known in Polish service as ORP Dragon, was a D- or Danae-class cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was launched in Glasgow, in December 1917, and scuttled in July 1944 off the Normandy beaches as part of the Arromanches Breakwater.

Exercise Tiger D-Day rehearsal in 1944

Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, was one of a series of large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, which took place in April 1944 on Slapton Sands in Devon. Coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire injuries during the exercise, and an Allied convoy positioning itself for the landing was attacked by E-boats of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, resulting in the deaths of at least 749 American servicemen.

Landing Ship, Tank Amphibious assault ship of World War II

Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with no docks or piers. This enabled amphibious assaults on almost any beach.

HMS Audacity was a British escort carrier of the Second World War and the first of her kind to serve in the Royal Navy. She was originally the German merchant ship Hannover, which the British captured in the West Indies in March 1940 and renamed Sinbad, then Empire Audacity. She was converted and commissioned as HMS Empire Audacity, then as HMS Audacity. She was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat in late 1941.

HMS <i>Bluebell</i> (K80) Flower-class corvette

HMS Bluebell was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy in World War II. Ordered from Fleming & Ferguson of Paisley, Scotland on 27 July 1939, she was launched on 24 April 1940 and commissioned in July 1940. She served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arctic campaigns, escorting several convoys to Russia, and also took part in the invasions of Sicily and France. She was torpedoed and sunk by U-711 in the Kola Inlet on 17 February 1945 while escorting the convoy RA 64 from Murmansk. Only one member of her crew survived.

Battle of the Mediterranean World War II naval campaign in the Mediterranean Sea

The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945.

HMS <i>Salmon</i> (N65) Submarine

HMS Salmon was a second-batch S-class submarine built during the 1930s for the Royal Navy. Completed in 1935, the boat fought in the Second World War. Salmon is one of twelve boats named in the song "Twelve Little S-Boats".

USS <i>Siboney</i> (ID-2999) United States Navy ship transport

USS Siboney (ID-2999) was a ship transport for the United States Navy during World War I. She was the sister ship of USS Orizaba (ID-1536) but neither was part of a ship class. Launched as SS Oriente, she was soon renamed after Siboney, Cuba, a landing site of United States forces during the Spanish–American War. After her navy service ended, she was SS Siboney for the New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co.. The ship was operated under charter by American Export Lines beginning in late 1940. During World War II she served the U.S. Army as transport USAT Siboney and as hospital ship USAHS Charles A. Stafford.

Mediterranean U-boat campaign of World War II

The Mediterranean U-boat Campaign lasted from about 21 September 1941 to 19 September 1944 during the Second World War. Malta was an active British base strategically located near supply routes from Europe to North Africa. Axis supply convoys across the Mediterranean Sea suffered severe losses, which in turn threatened the fighting ability of the Axis armies in North Africa. The Allies were able to keep their North African armies supplied. The Kriegsmarine tried to isolate Malta but later it concentrated its U-boat operations on disrupting Allied landing operations in southern Europe.

Arthur Hezlet

Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur Richard Hezlet, nicknamed Baldy Hezlet, was a decorated Royal Navy submariner. He became the Royal Navy's youngest captain at the time – aged 36 – and its youngest admiral, aged 45. In retirement he became a military historian.

HMCS <i>Kenogami</i>

HMCS Kenogami was a Royal Canadian Navy Flower-class corvette that served during the Second World War. The corvette served primarily in convoy escort duties during the Battle of the Atlantic. Following the war, the ship was sold for scrap and broken up.

HMS <i>Opportune</i> (G80)

HMS Opportune was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was ordered from John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston on 3 September 1939 for the 1st Emergency Flotilla. She was commissioned on 14 August 1942. She was the second Royal Navy ship borne Opportune.

Indian Ocean in World War II Naval theatre of operations

Prior to World War II, the Indian Ocean was an important maritime trade route between European nations and their colonial territories in East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, British India, Indochina, the East Indies (Indonesia), and Australia for a long time. Naval presence was dominated by the Royal Navy Eastern Fleet and the Royal Australian Navy as World War II began, with a major portion of the Royal Netherlands Navy operating in the Dutch East Indies and the Red Sea Flotilla of the Italian Regia Marina operating from Massawa.

HMS <i>Artifex</i> (F28) Cruiser of the Royal Navy

HMS Artifex was a repair ship of the Royal Navy from late in the Second World War and into the Cold War. Launched as the Cunard liner RMS Aurania she was requisitioned on the outbreak of war to serve as an armed merchant cruiser. Damaged by a U-boat while sailing with an Atlantic convoy, she was purchased outright and converted to a floating workshop, spending the rest of her life as a support ship for the navy.

HMS <i>Westcott</i> (D47) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Westcott (D47) was a Royal Navy Admiralty W-class destroyer that served in the Second World War. In the Second World War Westcott served in an anti-submarine role and escorted numerous Atlantic and Malta convoys.

HMS <i>Lightning</i> (G55) L-class destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Lightning was an L-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 22 April 1940 and sunk on 12 March 1943 by German Motor Torpedo Boat S-55.

German submarine U-410 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II, operating mainly in the Mediterranean. Her insignia was a sword & shield, she did not suffer any casualties until she was sunk.

HMS <i>Puckeridge</i> Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Puckeridge was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy and first and so far only warship to bear the Name. The vessel was ordered on 4 September 1939 as part of the 1939 wartime emergency program. She was laid down on 1 January 1940 at the J. Samuel White yard, East Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, launched on 6 March 1941 and commissioned on 30 July 1941.

References

  1. "U.S. liner halted by warships' fire" (fee). The New York Times . 22 April 1941. p. 5. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
  2. MacDonald, Charles B. 'Slapton Sands: The Cover-up That Never Was'. Army Magazine, June 1988, cited on The Navy Department Library, http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq20-2.htm