HMS Talybont

Last updated

History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Talybont
Ordered23 August 1940
Builder J. Samuel White, Cowes
Laid down28 November 1941
Launched3 February 1943
Commissioned19 May 1943
Identification Pennant number: L18
FateSold for scrap 1961
General characteristics
Class and type Type III Hunt-class escort destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,050 long tons (1,067 t) standard,
  • 1,490 long tons (1,514 t) full load
Length
  • 264 ft 3 in (80.54 m) pp,
  • 280 ft (85.34 m) oa
Beam31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
Draught7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
Propulsion
Speed27 kn (50 km/h; 31 mph)
Range3,700 nmi (6,900 km; 4,300 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement168
Armament

HMS Talybont was a Type III Hunt-class escort destroyer which served in the Royal Navy. She was launched in February 1943 and completed in May that year, serving for the rest of the Second World War. She took part in the Normandy Landings in June 1944, supporting the landings at Omaha Beach and the Pointe du Hoc. Post war she served in the Mediterranean before being reduced to reserve at the end of 1947. She was sold for scrap in 1961, with disposal completed by 1962.

Contents

Construction

HMS Talybont was ordered for the Royal Navy from the shipbuilder J. Samuel White on 23 August 1940, one of 15 Type III Hunt-class destroyers ordered as part of the 1940 War Emergency Programme on that date. [1] The Hunt class was meant to fill the Royal Navy's need for a large number of small destroyer-type vessels capable of both convoy escort and operations with the fleet. The Type III Hunts differed from the previous Type II ships in replacing a twin 4-inch gun mount by two torpedo tubes to improve their ability to operate as destroyers. [2] [3]

Talybont was laid down at White's Cowes, Isle of Wight shipyard on 28 November 1941. [1] German air raids on the shipyard slowed construction of the ship, [4] with Talybont not being launched until 3 February 1943 and commissioning on 19 May that year. [1] [5]

Talybont was 264 feet 3 inches (80.54 m) long between perpendiculars and 280 feet (85.34 m) overall. The ship's beam was 31 feet 6 inches (9.60 m) and draught 7 feet 9 inches (2.36 m). Displacement was 1,050 long tons (1,067  t ) standard and 1,490 long tons (1,514 t) under full load. Two Admiralty boilers raising steam at 300 pounds per square inch (2,100 kPa) and 620 °F (327 °C) fed Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines that drove two propeller shafts, generating 19,000 shaft horsepower (14,000 kW) at 380 rpm. This gave a speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). [6] 345 long tons (351 t) of oil fuel were carried, giving a range of 3,700 nautical miles (6,900 km; 4,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). [7]

Main gun armament was four 4 inch (102 mm) QF Mk XVI dual purpose (anti-ship and anti-aircraft) guns in two twin mounts, with a quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" and three Oerlikon 20 mm cannon providing close-in anti-aircraft fire. [8] [6] The ship's anti-aircraft armament may have been supplemented by two Bofors 40 mm guns. [lower-alpha 1] Two 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were fitted in a single twin mount, while two depth charge chutes, four depth charge throwers and 70 depth charges comprised the ship's anti-submarine armament. Type 291 and Type 285 radars was fitted, as was Type 128 sonar. [8] [11]

Service

Talybont commissioned with the pennant number L18, [12] and after work-up was allocated to the 15th Destroyer Flotilla based at Devonport, joining the Flotilla on 12 July 1943. [4] On 22 October 1943, Talybont, together with sister ships Limbourne, Stevenstone and Wensleydale, the destroyers Grenville and Rocket and the light cruiser Charybdis set out from Plymouth to intercept the German blockade runner Münsterland. Early on 23 October the British force encountered a force of German torpedo boats of the 4th Torpedo Boat Flotilla (T22, T23, T25, T26 and T27). In the resulting confrontation, T23 and T27 torpedoed and sank Charybdis, while T22 torpedoed Limbourne, blowing off much of the front of the ship. Attempts by Talybont to take Limbourne under tow failed, and the badly damaged escort destroyer was scuttled by torpedoes from Talybont and shellfire from Rocket. [13] [14] [15] Talybont collided with a merchant ship on 2 December 1943 and was under repair for a month. [4]

On 5 February 1944, Talybont, Brissenden, Tanatside and Wensleydale engaged the T29 and the minesweepers M156 and M206 off the coast of Brittany. M156 was badly damaged and was then sunk the next day by British Hawker Typhoon fighter-bombers of No. 266 Squadron RAF at Aber Wrac'h. [16] [17] [18] The Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944 saw Talybont assigned to the support forces for the American landings at Omaha Beach. [16] [19] On the morning of 6 June she and the American destroyer Satterlee provided artillery support for an assault by US Rangers at Pointe du Hoc which had the aim of knocking out a German coastal artillery position. Talybont and Satterlee operated at close range (within 1 mile (1.6 km), with Talybont at one stage using her pom-poms against German machine gun positions) to support the landings. Talybont operated in support of the Rangers at Pont du Hoc from 05:30 hr to 07:10 hr. [20] [21] On 17 June Talybont was on patrol off Cherbourg when she was damaged by a near miss from German shore batteries (claimed to be from a 170 mm shell) rupturing a steam pipe and knocking out a boiler room. She was under repair for six days. [16] [22] On 25 June she was released to convoy escort duties in the English Channel. [5] On the night of 23/24 August 1944, Talybont, together with the Frigate Thornborough and Motor torpedo boats MTB 692, MTB 694 and MTB 695 intercepted a force of German light craft evacuating from Le Havre. The German motor minesweeper (or R-boat) R229 and patrol boat V716 were damaged. [16] [23]

Talybont transferred to the 16th Destroyer Flotilla based at Harwich for operations in the North Sea in October 1944. [5] On 9 November 1944 she was in collision with a merchant ship and was holed on the port side aft. She was under repair for two months before returning to patrol and escort duties. The end of the war in Europe in May 1945 resulted in Talybont being allocated for service in the Far East. She was refitted at Malta from July 1945 to prepare her for service in the Pacific, and was still under refit when VJ-Day signalled the end of the war. [5] [16]

Post war service

On completion of the refit, Talybont joined the Mediterranean Fleet, [lower-alpha 2] and patrolled off the coast of Palestine to stop ships carrying illegal Jewish migrants. On 26 June 1946, Talybont, together with the destroyer Venus intercepted the steamer Josiah Wedgewood, formerly the Canadian corvette Beauharnois, carrying 1250 Jewish refugees. [24] [26] On 19 January 1947 Talybont collided with a wreck in Haifa harbour, and was under repair at Malta until May that year. [16]

She was reduced to reserve at Portsmouth by the end of 1947, and remained in reserve at various ports around the British Isles for the rest of her career. She was used as a harbour training ship at Rosyth between 1958 and 1960. On 14 February 1961 she arrived at Charlestown for breaking up, with scrapping complete by 3 May 1962, with a scrap value of £19,950. [16]

Notes

  1. Lenton says that Talybont had this modification, [9] while Friedman and Conway's do not list Taybont as fitted with these guns. [10] [8]
  2. Either as part of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla [24] [25] or the 6th Flotilla. [16]

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Montrose</i> (D01) Scott class, Admiralty type flotilla leader

The first HMS Montrose was one of eight Admiralty-type destroyer leaders, sometimes known as the Scott class. They were named after figures from Scottish history; Montrose was named for the Graham Dukes of Montrose. She was built during the First World War, but was completed too late for service then. However, she had a long career in the inter-war years and saw extensive service during the Second World War.

HMS <i>Hursley</i> (L84) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Hursley was a Second World War Type II Hunt-class escort destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She is the only Royal Navy ship to have carried this name. Hursley is a village in Hampshire. Commissioned in 1942, she served in the Mediterranean, before being transferred to the Hellenic Navy in November 1943 and renamed Kriti. She took part in the landings in Sicily, Anzio, and southern France, and remained in Greek service until 1959.

HMS <i>Orwell</i> (G98) O-class destroyer converted to Type 16 frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Orwell was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that entered service in 1942 and was broken up in 1965.

HMS <i>Onslow</i> (G17) Destroyer

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 <i>Paladin</i> (G69) P-class destroyer converted to Type 16 frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Paladin was a P-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that served in the Second World War. She was built by John Brown and Co. Ltd., Clydebank. She saw action in the Mediterranean and Far East. After the war she was converted into a type 16 frigate and was eventually scrapped in 1962.

HMS <i>Beaufort</i> (L14) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

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 <i>Wrestler</i> Destroyer of the Royal Navy

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 <i>Zetland</i> (L59) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Zetland was a Royal Navy Type II Hunt-class destroyer, named after the Zetland Hunt.

HMS <i>Derwent</i> (L83) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Derwent was a Hunt-class Type III escort destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was built by Vickers-Armstrongs, in Barrow-in-Furness, and served during the Second World War. In March 1943, she was badly damaged while anchored in Tripoli harbour by aircraft and beached to prevent her from sinking. Temporarily repaired and towed to England, further repair work was halted in January 1945, and she was broken up for scrap in 1947.

HMS <i>Albrighton</i> Hunt-class destroyer operated by the United Kingdom and West Germany

HMS Albrighton was a Type III Hunt-class destroyer built for the British Royal Navy. She entered service in February 1942, first carrying out an attack on German ships in the English Channel then taking part in the Dieppe Raid, rescuing survivors from the sinking destroyer HMS Broke. Albrighton was next assigned to search for and destroy the German auxiliary cruiser Komet, then escorted a convoy to Gibraltar in prevision of the Allied landings in North Africa. Between December 1942 and April 1943, she participated in the sinking of three more Axis ships with the First Destroyer Flotilla. During the Normandy Landings in June 1944, Albrighton served as a headquarters ship, then sank two German trawlers in the weeks after the invasion. After being converted to a destroyer in early 1945, she was damaged in a collision with a Landing Ship, then was assigned to the British Eastern Fleet. However, the war ended before she was deployed and Albrighton went into reserve.

HMS <i>Atherstone</i> (L05) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Atherstone was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched in late 1939 as the first of her class but was found to be unstable, and had to undergo significant modifications before entering service in March 1940.

HMS <i>Zephyr</i> (R19) 1942 Z-class destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Zephyr was a Z-class destroyer. She was launched on 13 July 1942 at Vickers-Armstrongs' High Walker shipyard and commissioned on 6 September 1944. She was 'adopted' by the civil community of Doncaster, replacing the destroyer HMS Lightning, which had originally been adopted during Warship Week in 1942.

HMS <i>Brocklesby</i> (L42) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Brocklesby was a Type I Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War, spending much of the time in the English Channel and Mediterranean, taking part in the Dieppe Raid in 1942, and the Allied landings in Sicily and at Salerno in 1943. After the war, she was used as a sonar trials ship until 1963, and was sold for scrap in 1968.

HMS <i>Oakley</i> (L98) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Oakley was a Type II Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was originally to have been named Tickham, however she was renamed after her sister ship Oakley was transferred to Poland and was renamed ORP Kujawiak (L72). She entered service in May 1943, carrying out convoy escort, patrol and anti-shipping attacks for most of the rest of the Second World War. She was adopted by the Civil community of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire as part of Warship Week in 1942. In 1957, she was sold to the West German Navy, serving as a training ship for the German Naval Gunnery school until scrapped in 1972.

HMS <i>Campbell</i> (D60) Destroyer

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 <i>Airedale</i> British naval ship

HMS Airedale was a Hunt-class destroyer built for use by the British Royal Navy during the Second World War. She entered service in early 1942 as a convoy escort, being assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in May. Airedale was sunk while escorting a convoy from Alexandria to Malta on 15 June 1942 by Sturzkampfgeschwader 3.

HMS <i>Cottesmore</i> (L78) Hunt-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy

HMS Cottesmore was a Hunt-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The ship was built by the Scottish shipbuilder Yarrow at their Scotstoun, Glasgow shipyard in 1939–1940, being launched on 5 September 1940 and commissioning on 29 December that year.

HMS <i>Limbourne</i> (L57) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Limbourne (L57) was a Hunt-class escort destroyer, operated by the Royal Navy. She was sunk in action, off German-occupied Guernsey, on 23 October 1943.

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

HMS Easton was a Type III Hunt-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. Easton was built by the shipbuilder J Samuel White in 1941–1942, being launched on 11 July 1942 and completed on 7 December 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HNoMS Eskdale</span>

HNoMS Eskdale was an escort destroyer of the Type III Hunt class. The destroyer served with the Royal Norwegian Navy. It was sunk by enemy action in 1943.

References

  1. 1 2 3 English 1987 , p. 18
  2. English 1987 , pp. 7, 12
  3. Lenton 1970 , pp. 83, 85
  4. 1 2 3 English 1987 , p. 96
  5. 1 2 3 4 Mason, Geoffrey B. (13 August 2011). "HMS Talybont (L18) - Type III, Hunt-class Escort Destroyer including Convoy Escort Movements". Service Histories Of Royal Navy Warships In World War 2. www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 Lenton 1970 , p. 97
  7. Whitley 2000 , p. 147
  8. 1 2 3 Gardiner & Chesneau 1980 , p. 46
  9. Lenton 1970, p. 87
  10. Friedman 2008, p. 70
  11. English 1987 , pp. 12–13
  12. Lenton 1970 , p. 101
  13. Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992 , p. 241
  14. English 1987 , p. 79
  15. H.M. Ships Damaged or Sunk by Enemy Action 1952 , p. 244
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 English 1987 , p. 97
  17. Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992 , p. 259
  18. Gröner, Jung & Maass 1983 , p. 176
  19. Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992 , p. 281
  20. Roskill 1960 , p. 51
  21. Sterne 2013 , pp. 92–94
  22. H.M. Ships Damaged or Sunk by Enemy Action 1952 , p. 257
  23. Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992 , p. 300
  24. 1 2 Critchley 1982 , p. 44
  25. English 1987, p. 25
  26. Greenfield & Hochstein 2010 , pp. 55–62

Publications

Further reading