HMS Rhododendron during refueling trials at sea | |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Rhododendron |
Ordered | 19 September 1939 |
Builder | Harland and Wolff Ltd., Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Laid down | 22 May 1940 |
Launched | 2 September 1940 |
Commissioned | 18 October 1940 |
Out of service | 17 May 1947 – placed in reserve |
Identification | Pennant number: K78 |
Fate | Sold 1950; scrapped 1968 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Flower-class corvette (original) |
Displacement | 925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons) |
Length | 205 ft (62.48 m)o/a |
Beam | 33 ft (10.06 m) |
Draught | 11.5 ft (3.51 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 16 knots (29.6 km/h) |
Range | 3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
Complement | 85 |
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Armament |
|
HMS Rhododendron was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She served as an ocean escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. [1] [2]
The ship was ordered on 19 September 1939 from Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The ship's keel was laid on 22 May 1940, [3] and the ship was launched on 2 September. The ship was commissioned about one month later, on 18 October. [4]
On 21 November 1940, Rhododendron, part of the escort for Convoy OB244, attacked the German U-boat U-103 with depth charges, helping to drive the submarine away from the convoy. Although U-103 escaped unscathed, this attack led to the incorrect claim that Rhododendron had sunk U-104. [5] [2] That same day, she picked up 36 survivors from the merchant ship Daydawn, which earlier that day had been sunk by U-103. [2] At the beginning of 1941, Rhododendron was part of the 8th Escort Group. [6] On 17 January 1941, she detonated a mine in Liverpool harbor, knocking out her engines and steering gear and causing minor structural damage. Rhododendron was under repair at Liverpool for three months. [7] [8] [2] On 28 July 1941, she picked up 26 survivors from the Lapland, a merchant ship which was torpedoed by U-203. [2] [9] On 1 October 1941, Rhododendron was part of the 36th Escort Group, based at Liverpool. [10]
In November 1942, the British and Americans landed in French North Africa in Operation Torch, with Rhododendron helping to escort one of the convoys carrying invasion forces from Britain to the Centre Task Force beaches at Arzew near Oran in Algeria on 9 November. [11] On 4 July 1943, she picked up more than 300 survivors from several merchant ships which were torpedoed by German submarines U-409 and U-375 off of Algeria.
She was sold in 1950 to a shipping company, where she was turned into the merchant Maj Finke. She was sold for demolition in South Africa in 1968.
HMS Jaguar was a J-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Commissioned in September 1939, she was present at the Dunkirk evacuation the following year, during which Jaguar was damaged by dive bombers. She later served in the Mediterranean and was involved in several actions there. She was torpedoed off the coast of Egypt on 26 March 1942 and sunk.
HMS Onslow was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. The O-class were intermediate destroyers, designed before the outbreak of the Second World War to meet likely demands for large number of destroyers. They had a main gun armament of four 4.7 in guns, and had a design speed of 36 kn. Onslow was ordered on 2 October 1939 and was built by John Brown & Company at their Clydebank, Glasgow shipyard, launching on 31 March 1941 and completing on 8 October 1941.
HMS Calcutta was a C-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy, named after the Indian city of Calcutta. She was part of the Carlisle group of the C class of cruisers. She was laid down by Vickers Limited at Barrow-in-Furness in 1917 and launched on 9 July 1918. Calcutta was commissioned too late to see action in the First World War and was converted to an anti-aircraft cruiser in 1939. Calcutta served during the Norwegian Campaign and the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940. She was used to escort allied convoys across the Mediterranean and was sunk on 1 June 1941 by Luftwaffe aircraft off Alexandria, Egypt.
HMS Beaufort was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was laid down on 17 July 1940 at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. She was launched on 9 June 1941 and commissioned on 3 November 1941. During the Second World War the ship served in the Mediterranean Sea, escorting convoys and covering landings. She was transferred to the Royal Norwegian Navy in 1952 and scrapped in 1965.
HMS La Malouine was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy, serving during the Second World War. Originally ordered by the French Navy under the same name, following the fall of France, the ship was seized by the United Kingdom and commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1940. The corvette remained in service until being broken up in 1947.
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.
HMS Wrestler (D35) was a V and W-class destroyer built by the Royal Navy during the First World War and active from 1939 to 1944 during the Second World War. She was the first Royal Navy ship to bear that name, and the only one to do so to date.
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 Shikari (D85) was an Admiralty S-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built by William Doxford & Sons, Sunderland and launched on 14 July 1919. She was one of the destroyers that took part in the Invergordon Mutiny. In 1933, she was briefly commanded by Frederic John Walker, who was to rise to fame as the foremost Allied submarine hunter of World War II.
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.
HMS Godetia was the second Flower-class corvette with that name built for the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War as part of the Section Belge of the Royal Navy (RNSB). With the liberation of Belgium in late 1944, the vessel was returned to the United Kingdom. In common with other Flower-class corvettes, the ship was named after an eponymous flower.
HMS Douglas was an Admiralty type flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy. Built by Cammell Laird, Douglas commissioned in 1918, just before the end of the First World War. During the Second World War, Douglas served with Force H out of Gibraltar and as a convoy escort. She was sold for scrap in March 1945.
HMS Lowestoft was a Grimsby-class sloop of the Royal Navy. Built at Devonport Dockyard in the 1930s, Lowestoft was launched in 1934 and commissioned later that year. She served on the China Station, based at Hong Kong until the outbreak of the Second World War. Lowestoft served as a convoy escort during the war, both in the North Atlantic and off the west coast of Africa.
HMS Mackay was an Admiralty type, sometimes known as the Scott class, flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy. Mackay was built by Cammell Laird during the First World War, but was completed too late for service then, commissioning in 1919.
HMS Campbell was an Admiralty type flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy. Built by Cammell Laird, Douglas commissioned in December 1918, just after the end of the First World War. During the Second World War, Campbell mainly served with as a convoy escort, particularly on the East Coast of the United Kingdom. She survived the war, and was sold for scrap in 1947.
HMS Mallard was a Kingfisher-class sloop of the British Royal Navy. Completed in 1936, Mallard served through the Second World War, carrying out convoy escort operations off the east coast of the British Isles. She was sold for scrap in 1947.
HMS Deptford was a Grimsby-class sloop of the British Royal Navy. Built at Chatham Dockyard in the 1930s, Deptford was launched in 1935 and commissioned later that year. The ship saw early service on the Persian Gulf station, but the outbreak of the Second World War saw Deptford serving as a convoy escort in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, sinking a German U-boat in 1941. She survived the war and was scrapped in 1948.
HMS Aubrietia (K96) was a Flower-class corvette built for the Royal Navy (RN) from 1941-1946. She was active as a convoy escort in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. In May 1941, Aubrietia sighted and depth charged the German submarine U-110, leading to its capture and the seizure of a German Naval Enigma and its Kurzsignale code book.
HMS Weston was a Shoreham-class sloop of the British Royal Navy. Weston was built at Devonport Dockyard in 1931–1933.
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.