Crew of HMS Petunia | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Petunia |
Namesake | Petunia |
Builder | Henry Robb, Leith |
Laid down | 4 December 1939 |
Launched | 19 September 1940 |
Commissioned | 13 January 1941 |
Decommissioned | January 1946 |
Identification | Pennant number: K79 |
Fate | Sold to Republic of China, January 1946 |
Republic of China | |
Name |
|
Acquired | 12 January 1946 |
Fate | Sunk in collision, 19 March 1947 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Flower-class corvette |
Displacement | 925 long tons |
Length | 205 ft (62 m) o/a |
Beam | 33 ft (10 m) |
Draught | 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 16 kn (30 km/h) |
Range | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h) |
Complement | 85 |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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HMS Petunia (K79) was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by Henry Robb in 1940. She was named after Petunia. Commissioned in 1940, rammed and sold to the Chinese Nationalist Government and renamed ROCS Fu Bo.
In early 1939, with the risk of war with Nazi Germany increasing, it was clear to the Royal Navy that it needed more escort ships to counter the threat from Kriegsmarine U-boats. One particular concern was the need to protect shipping off the east coast of Britain. What was needed was something larger and faster than trawlers, but still cheap enough to be built in large numbers, preferably at small merchant shipyards, as larger yards were already busy. To meet this requirement, the Smiths Dock Company of Middlesbrough, a specialist in the design and build of fishing vessels, offered a development of its 700-ton, 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) whale catcher Southern Pride . [1] [2] They were intended as small convoy escort ships that could be produced quickly and cheaply in large numbers. Despite naval planners' intentions that they be deployed for coastal convoys, their long range meant that they became the mainstay of Mid-Ocean Escort Force convoy protection during the first half of the war. The original Flowers had the standard RN layout, consisting of a raised forecastle, a well deck, then the bridge or wheelhouse, and a continuous deck running aft. The crew quarters were in the foc'sle while the galley was at the rear, making for poor messing arrangements. [3]
The modified Flowers saw the forecastle extended aft past the bridge to the aft end of the funnel, a variation known as the "long forecastle" design. Apart from providing a very useful space where the whole crew could gather out of the weather, the added weight improved the ships' stability and speed and was retroactively applied to a number of the original Flower-class vessels during the mid and latter years of the war.
Petunia was one of 30 Flower-class corvettes ordered on 31 August 1939, and was laid down by Henry Robb at their shipyard at Leith on 4 December 1939 and launched on 19 September 1940. The ship was completed on 13 January 1941. [4]
On 5 July 1941, Petunia, together with the corvettes Lavender and Starwort and the Admiralty yacht (and former survey ship) Challenger, were escorting the troopship Anselm Gibraltar when the convoy was spotted by the German submarine U-96. U-96 torpedoed Anselm, which sank in 22 minutes, killing 254 of the 1200 troops aboard, while Petunia and Lavender counter-attacked with accurate depth charge attacks, which were broken off when the corvettes came close to Anselm's survivors in the water. The attacks badly damaged U-96 which was forced to prematurely return to France. [5] In August 1941, Petunia transferred to the 8th Escort Group, escorting convoys to and from the mid Atlantic, where the convoys transferred to Canada-based escorts. [6] Petunia was still part of the 8th Escort Group, based at Londonderry Port in Northern Ireland, in October 1941. [7]
Petunia was transferred to Freetown, Sierra Leone in April 1942. [6] On 5 October 1942, Petunia was on passage to Freetown, when the corvette was spotted by the Italian submarine Barbarigo, which fired a spread of five torpedoes at Petunia. A lookout aboard the corvette spotted the wakes of the torpedoes, allowing Petunia to avoid them. Petunia then dropped a depth charge to discourage further attack, the noise of which causing Barbarogo's captain, Enzo Grossi, to claim to have sunk his target, which he identified as a Mississippi-class battleship. [8] On 11 October, Petunia rescued 126 survivors from the merchant ships Glendene and Agapenor, and took them to safety in Freetown. (Glendane had been sunk by U-125 on 8 October, with survivors picked up by Agapenor on 10 October, and then Agapenor was sunk by U-87 on 11 October). [9] [10] [11] Later that month, Petunia commanded the escort for Convoy SL 125, with four corvettes tasked with protecting 42 merchant ships. The convoy came under heavy attack by German submarines from 25 October. While at first the escort managed to drive the attacks off, from the night of 27 October, the U-boats began to breach the defences, and by the time that increased air cover caused the attacks to be called off on 1 November, twelve merchant ships had been sunk. [12] [13] Throughout 1943, Petunia remained based in Freetown, [6] being recorded as part of the 40th Escort Group in August that year. [14] On 2 November 1943, [15] Convoy SL 139 left Freetown, joining up with Convoy MKS 30 off Gibraltar on 14 November, with Petunia forming part of the escort for this very large (66 merchant ships) combined convoy. [16] The Germans deployed large numbers of submarines against the convoy, in three patrol lines, but the heavy escort beat the attacks off, with three U-boats (U-211, U-536 and U-538) sunk, with one merchant ship sunk and one damaged by German air attack, and one sloop (Chanticleer) damaged by a German torpedo and later deemed not worth repairing. [16] [17] In December 1943, Petunia returned to the United Kingdom. [6]
Petunia then joined Western Approaches Command, escorting convoys in the Western Approaches until May 1944. [6] Petunia was then allocated to the forces preparing for the Invasion of France, [6] and on 6 June, together with the corvettes Clarkia and Pink, the trawler Northern Foam and a Motor Launch, escorted assault convoy J.15, with 12 LSTs to Juno Beach for the landings. [18] [19]
After the surrender of Nazi Germany, Petunia was nominated to be put into the reserve fleet and later put on the disposal list after the surrender of Japan in 1945. On 12 January 1946, she was sold to the Chinese Nationalist Government as ROCS Fu Bo. [6]
On 19 March 1947, Fu Bo collided with the steamship Haimin at the Wuqiuyu lighthouse outside the mouth of Meizhou Bay, Fujian Province, sinking the corvette. [20] [21] The search and rescue operation took an hour to save the drowning people. At dawn, the steamship stopped the search and left for the Xiamen Naval Base Command, Xiamen to report the accident. [22]
The ON and later ONS convoys were a series of North Atlantic trade convoys running Outbound from the British Isles to North America during the Atlantic campaign of the Second World War. The ON convoys replaced the earlier OA/OB series of outbound convoys in July 1941 and ran until the end of the campaign in May 1945. They were organized as alternating fast and slow convoys until March 1943, when the ONS series was begun to take over the slow trans-Atlantic traffic, after which all in the ON series were fast.
HMS Marigold was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 4 September 1940 and was sunk by an Italian air-dropped torpedo on 9 December 1942.
Convoy SC 42 was the 42nd of the numbered series of World War II Slow Convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. SC 42 was attacked over a three night period in September 1941, losing 16 ships sunk and 4 damaged. This was the worst Allied loss following the attack on convoy SC 7 the previous year. Two attacking U-boats were destroyed.
Convoy SL 125 was the 125th of the numbered series of World War II SL convoys of merchant ships from Sierra Leone to Liverpool. Ships carrying commodities bound to the British Isles from South America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean travelled independently to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to be convoyed for the last leg of their voyage. Thirty-seven merchant ships departed Freetown on 16 October 1942 and were joined at sea by five more.
Mid-Ocean Escort Force (MOEF) referred to the organisation of anti-submarine escorts for World War II trade convoys between Canada and Newfoundland, and the British Isles. The allocation of United States, British and Canadian escorts to these convoys reflected preferences of the United States upon United States' declaration of war and the organisation persisted through the winter of 1942–43 despite withdrawal of United States ships from the escort groups. By the summer of 1943, United States Atlantic escorts were focused on the faster CU convoys and the UG convoys between Chesapeake Bay and the Mediterranean Sea; and only British and Canadian escorts remained on the HX, SC and ON convoys.
HMS Orchis was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy during World War II.
Convoys SL 138/MKS 28 were two Allied convoys which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. SL 138 was one of the SL convoys from the South Atlantic to Britain, and MKS 28 one of the MKS convoys between Britain and the Mediterranean. They were sailing together on the Gibraltar homeward route, having made a rendezvous off Gibraltar in order to cross the Bay of Biscay with the maximum possible escort. They were the subject of a major U-boat attack in October 1943, the first battle in the Kriegsmarine's renewed Autumn offensive.
Convoy TM 1 was the code name for an Allied convoy during the Second World War. Nine tankers, escorted by Royal Navy warships, attempted to reach Gibraltar from Trinidad. The convoy was attacked by a U-boat wolf pack in the central Atlantic Ocean, and most of the merchant vessels were sunk. This was one of the most successful attacks on Allied supply convoys throughout the entire war. The convoy was defended by the destroyer HMS Havelock, and three Flower-class corvettes, HMS Godetia, HMS Pimpernel and HMS Saxifrage. Seven tankers were sunk during the attacks, two surviving to reach Gibraltar. Two U-boats were damaged during the attacks.
Arctic naval operations of World War II were the World War II naval operations that took place in the Arctic Ocean, and can be considered part of the Battle of the Atlantic and/or of the European Theatre of World War II.
Convoy HX 212 was the 212th of the numbered series of World War II HX convoys of merchant ships from HalifaX to Liverpool. The ships departed New York City on 18 October 1942 and were met on 23 October by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group A-3 consisting of the United States Coast Guard Treasury-class cutter USCGC Campbell, the destroyer Badger and the Flower-class corvettes Dianthus, Rosthern, Trillium, Dauphin, Alberni, Summerside and Ville de Quebec. The first five escorts had worked together previously, but the last three corvettes were attached to the convoy only for passage to the eastern Atlantic in preparation for assignments on Operation Torch. Summerside was the only escort equipped with modern Type 271 centimeter-wavelength radar.
Convoy ON 144 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was the 144th of the numbered series of ON convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The ships departed Liverpool on 7 November 1942 and were joined on 8 November by Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group B-6 consisting of the Flower-class corvettes Vervain, Potentilla, Eglantine, Montbretia and Rose and the convoy rescue ship Perth. Group B-6 had sailed without the destroyers Fame and Viscount which had been damaged in the battle for eastbound convoy SC 104. The United States Coast Guard cutters Bibb, Duane, and Ingham accompanied the convoy from the Western Approaches with ships that detached for Iceland on 15 November.
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Convoy SC 100 was a North Atlantic convoy, one of the SC series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. It was the 100th of the numbered series of slow convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island to Liverpool. It came under attack, one of several convoy battles that occurred during the autumn and winter of 1942, losing five ships.
Convoy HG 53 was the 53rd of the numbered series of World War II HG convoys of Homeward bound merchant ships from Gibraltar to Liverpool. Convoy HG 53 lost nine ships during a coordinated attack in February 1941. HG 53 was one of the few Atlantic convoys to have ships sunk by submarines, by aircraft, and by surface ships.
SL convoys were a numbered series of North Atlantic trade convoys during the Second World War. Merchant ships carrying commodities bound to the British Isles from South America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean traveled independently to Freetown, Sierra Leone to be convoyed for the last leg of their voyage to Liverpool.
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