Commissioned on 7 June 1941, her first mission was the delivery of mines to Murmansk. Manxman then transferred to the Mediterranean, where she was employed on relief runs to Malta. In August she took part in Operation Mincemeat, which involved mine-laying in the Gulf of Genoa while disguised as the French destroyer Léopard. From October 1941 to February 1942, Manxman was returned to the Home Fleet and took part in a number of mine-laying operations in the North Sea and the English Channel. In March, she joined the Eastern Fleet at Kilindini in the Indian Ocean. After escort and patrol duties, on 8 October she participated in the assault and capture of the island of Nosy Be on the north west coast of Madagascar, which was occupied by Vichy French forces.
The ship remained in Australia until June 1946, then underwent repairs at Chatham back in England before returning to the far East from February to December 1947.[3] Following a refit, Manxman joined the Mediterranean Fleet in 1951. In 1953, she appeared in the film Sailor of the King as the German cruiser Essen.[4] She was fitted for the film with enlarged funnels and mock-up triple-gun turrets over her 4-inch guns. The "torpedo damage" which forces her delay at "Resolution Island" was painted on the side of her port bow. The scenes when she is holed up for repairs were filmed in the semi-circular Dwejra bay, guarded by Fungus Rock on the west coast of Gozo Island in Malta. In 1953 she also took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[5]
In 1956, Manxman was deployed for headquarters duties during the Suez operation. She is said to have outrun an American Carrier Group during the Suez Crisis of 1956. Manxman reportedly shadowed them; the US Admiral increased speed, eventually to over thirty knots – and then Manxman swept past at full speed, showing the signal "See you in Egypt". It is far from clear whether this episode happened; 'knowledge' about it was common in the Merchant Navy of the 1970s. This story was often told in the Royal Navy (not the Merchant Navy which is not technically an organisation), long before 1956; it was supposed to have happened in the Pacific at the end of World War II.
In reserve at Malta and refitting
She was refitted in Chatham in the early 60s and converted to a minesweeper support vessel. When the forward boiler was removed and the compartment was fitted with diesel generators to supply outboard power to minesweepers, she was fitted with a dummy forward funnel, which housed the diesel exhausts and ventilation for the compartment. Much of the mine stowage was removed to make way for additional accommodation. Commissioning in 1963, she was subsequently stationed in Singapore.[6]
Returning to the UK in 1968, Manxman was used for engineering training at Devonport and following a fire, was transferred to the reserve at Chatham Dockyard until broken up at Newport in 1973.[1]
HMS Ivanhoe was an I-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, the ship enforced the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides as part of the Mediterranean Fleet. Before the start of World War II, the ship was modified so that she could be used to lay mines by removing some of her armament. Ivanhoe was transferred to Western Approaches Command shortly after the war began and helped to sink one German submarine in October 1939. She was converted to a minelayer while undergoing a refit in November–December and laid minefields in German coastal waters as well as anti-submarine minefields off the British coast until she was reconverted back to her destroyer configuration in February 1940. Ivanhoe reverted to her minelaying role during the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940 and then laid a number of minefields off the Dutch coast during the Battle of the Netherlands in May. The ship participated in the Dunkirk evacuation until she was badly damaged by German aircraft on 1 June. On her first minelaying mission after her repairs were completed, she struck a German mine and had to be scuttled on 1 September 1940 during the Texel Disaster.
HMS Gallant (H59) was a G-class destroyer, built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Gallant was transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet shortly after the beginning of World War II to the British Isles, to escort shipping in local waters. She was slightly damaged by German aircraft during the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk at the end of May 1940. Following repairs, Gallant was transferred to Gibraltar and served with Force H for several months. In November, the ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she escorted several convoys. She struck a mine in January 1941 and was towed to Malta for repairs. These were proved extensive and Gallant was further damaged by near-misses during an air raid in April 1942, before they were completed. The additional damage made the ship uneconomical to repair so she was scuttled as a blockship in 1943. Her wreck was broken up in 1953.
HMS Hotspur was an H-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. During the Norwegian Campaign of the Second World War, she fought in the First Battle of Narvik in April 1940 where she was badly damaged. After her repairs were completed, Hotspur was transferred to Gibraltar where she participated in the Battle of Dakar in September. A month later the ship was badly damaged when she rammed and sank an Italian submarine. She received permanent repairs in Malta and was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet when they were finished in early 1941. Hotspur participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan in March and evacuated British and Australian troops from both Greece and Crete in April–May. In June the ship participated in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign and was escorting convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet until she was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in March 1942.
HMS Havock was an H-class destroyer built for the British Royal Navy in the mid-1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, the ship enforced the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides as part of the Mediterranean Fleet. During the first few months of the Second World War, Havock searched for German commerce raiders in the Atlantic Ocean and participated in the First Battle of Narvik during the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940 before she was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet in May where she escorted a number of convoys to Malta. The ship took part in the Battle of Cape Spada in July 1940, the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941 and the evacuation of Greece in April 1941. She was damaged during the Battle of Crete the following month, but participated in the Syria–Lebanon Campaign in June.
HMS Nelson was the name ship of her class of two battleships built for the Royal Navy in the 1920s. They were the first battleships built to meet the limitations of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Entering service in 1927, the ship spent her peacetime career with the Atlantic and Home Fleets, usually as the fleet flagship. During the early stages of World War II, she searched for German commerce raiders, missed participating in the Norwegian Campaign after she was badly damaged by a mine in late 1939, and escorted convoys in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Abdiel class were a class of six fast minelayers commissioned into the Royal Navy and active during the Second World War. They were also known as the Manxman class and as "mine-laying cruisers". These ships were armed with a wide variety of defensive weapons from 0.5-inch (13 mm) machine guns to the 4-inch (100 mm) main armament. They were also equipped with a wide array of radars, along with their normal complement of mines. They were easily mistaken for destroyers. Half the class was lost through enemy action during the Second World War; the others saw post-war service, and the last example was scrapped in the early 1970s.
HMS Hercules was a central-battery ironclad of the Royal Navy in the Victorian era, and was the first warship to mount a main armament of 10-inch (250 mm) calibre guns.
HMS Abdiel was an Abdiel-class minelayer that served with the Royal Navy during World War II. She served with the Mediterranean Fleet (1941), Eastern Fleet (1942), Home Fleet (1942–43), and the Mediterranean Fleet (1943). Abdiel was sunk by German mines in Italy's Taranto harbour in 1943. Although designed as a fast minelayer her speed and capacity made her suitable for employment as a fast transport.
HMS Adventure, pennant number M23, was an Adventure-class minelaying cruiser of the Royal Navy built in the 1920s that saw service during the Second World War. Her commander between 1928 and 1929 was the future First Sea Lord John H. D. Cunningham. Laid down at Devonport in November 1922 and launched in June 1924, Adventure was the first vessel built for service as a minelayer; she was also the first warship to use diesel engines, which were used for cruising. Adventure first joined the Atlantic Fleet, then was transferred to the China Station in 1935. In World War II, the ship was damaged in 1941 and 1944, and was converted to a landing craft repair in 1944. In 1945 Adventure was reduced to reserve and in 1947 she was sold and broken up for scrap.
HMS Ariadne was an Abdiel-class minelayer of the Royal Navy.
HMS Esk was an E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. She was designed to be easily converted into a fast minelayer by removing some guns and her torpedo tubes. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36, during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Esk was converted to a minelayer when World War II began in September 1939, and spent most of her time laying mines. During the Norwegian Campaign of April–June 1940, the ship laid mines in Norwegian territorial waters before the Germans invaded, but was recalled to home waters to resume her minelaying duties in early May. During one such sortie, Esk was sunk during the Texel Disaster on the night of 31 August 1940, when she ran into a newly laid German minefield.
HMS Fury was an F-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, she spent time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. The ship escorted the larger ships of the fleet during the early stages of World War II and played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Fury was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir and the Battle of Dakar. The ship escorted numerous convoys to Malta in 1940–41 and Arctic convoys during 1942.
Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Manxman, after the term for an inhabitant of the Isle of Man:
HMS Tetcott was a Type II British Hunt-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was the only Royal Navy ship to be named after the Tetcott fox hunt.
HMS Welshman was an Abdiel-class minelayer of the Royal Navy, launched in September 1941. During World War II she served with the Home Fleet carrying out minelaying operations, before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in mid-1942 for the Malta Convoys. She also saw service during Operation Torch. The ship was torpedoed and sunk off Tobruk by the German submarine U-617 on 1 February 1943, with the loss of 157 lives.
HMS Avon Vale(pennant number L06) was an escort destroyer of the Hunt Type II class. The Royal Navy ordered Avon Vale's construction three days after the outbreak of the Second World War. John Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd laid down her keel at their Clydebank yard on 12 February 1940, as Admiralty Job Number J1569. After a successful Warship Week national savings campaign in February 1942, Avon Vale was adopted by the civil community of Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
HMS Apollo was an Abdiel-class minelayer of the Royal Navy, the eighth RN ship to carry the name. She served with the Home Fleet during World War II, taking part in the Normandy Landings before being transferred to the British Pacific Fleet. Put into reserve in 1946, she was recommissioned in 1951, serving until 1961, and was sold for scrapping in 1962.
HMS Abdiel was a Marksman-class flotilla leader of the Royal Navy, built by Cammell Laird during the First World War. She was converted to a minelayer during construction, commissioning during 1916, and served at the Battle of Jutland. Following the end of the war, Abdiel served in the Baltic during the Russian Civil War. She was sold for scrap in 1936.
HMS Speedy was a Alarm-class torpedo gunboat of the British Royal Navy. She was built by Thornycroft from 1892–1894. She was converted to a minesweeper in 1908–1909 and continued these duties during the First World War. Speedy was sunk by a German mine on 3 September 1914.
HMS Stubbington was a Ton-class minesweeper which saw service with the Royal Navy during the Cold War. Built by Camper & Nicholson, Portsmouth, she was launched on 8 August 1956. She served as a minesweeper in the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the 1950s and 1960s, and in the Royal Navy Reserve under the name HMS Montrose from 1972 to 1976. She then was used for Fishery Protection duties. Stubbington was broken up in 1989.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
United Kingdom
