History | |
---|---|
Netherlands | |
Name | Isaac Sweers |
Namesake | Admiral Isaac Sweers |
Builder |
|
Laid down | 26 November 1938 |
Launched | 16 March 1940 |
Commissioned | 29 May 1941 |
Fate | Torpedoed and sunk on 13 November 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Gerard Callenburgh-class destroyer |
Displacement |
|
Length | 107 m (351 ft 1 in) |
Beam | 10.6 m (34 ft 9 in) |
Draught | 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 37.5 knots (69.5 km/h; 43.2 mph) |
Range | 3,200 nmi (5,900 km; 3,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Armament |
|
HNLMS Isaac Sweers was one of four Gerard Callenburgh-class destroyer built for the Royal Netherlands Navy during World War II.
The keel was laid on 26 November 1938. The ship was launched on 16 March 1940 and the unfinished ship was evacuated to England after the German invasion of the Netherlands. She was completed in Great Britain, with six British 4-inch dual purpose guns instead of planned five 120 mm guns. The ship was modern for her time, she was fast and had two manually stabilized 40 mm Bofors AA guns, each with its own Hazemeyer fire control, an on-mount mechanical analog fire control computer integrated with a on-mount optical rangefinder. It was the first Dutch ship to use a Dutch radio direction finder (RDF 289), [1] to aim its AA guns. The ship's plans were saved from the Germans and elements were incorporated into Royal Navy ship designs. [2]
Isaac Sweers was part of the Allied flotilla of destroyers which torpedoed and sank the Italian cruisers Alberico da Barbiano and Alberto di Giussano on 13 December 1941, at the Battle of Cape Bon. She riddled Alberto di Giussano with gunfire at short range and launched four torpedoes against the Cigno; all of them missed their target. She escorted the important convoy MW 8B to Malta in January 1942. During this mission the British destroyer Gurkha was torpedoed by the German submarine U-133 on 12 January 1942. Isaac Sweers towed the stricken British destroyer through a field of burning oil and saved her entire crew of 240 sailors. They were taken to Tobruk.
During Operation Torch, on 11 November 1942, along with HMS Porcupine, Isaac Sweers helped rescue 241 men from the ship Nieuw Zeeland, a Dutch troop transport that had been torpedoed by the German submarine U-380 at 35°57′N03°58′W / 35.950°N 3.967°W - about 80 miles (130 km) east of Gibraltar, in the Mediterranean. [3] On 13 November 1942, Isaac Sweers was hit by two torpedoes from the German submarine U-431 under command of Wilhelm Dommes. She sank with the loss of 108 of her 194 crew.
HMS Gurkha was an L-class destroyer in Britain's Royal Navy during World War II. She was originally to be named Larne in line with her class letter. However, after the Tribal-class Gurkha was sunk in April 1940 the officers and men of the Gurkha regiments each subscribed one day's pay to replace her and Larne was renamed before launching.
HMS Sikh was a Tribal-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The ship entered service in 1938 and served during the Second World War, participating in the sinking of Bismarck and the Battle of Cape Bon. In 1942, while participating in a commando raid, Sikh was sunk by a combination of shore artillery, anti-aircraft guns and aerial bombs.
The naval Battle of Cape Bon took place on 13 December 1941 during the Second World War, between two Italian light cruisers and an Allied destroyer flotilla, off Cape Bon in Tunisia.
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Alberico da Barbiano was an Italian Giussano-class light cruiser, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II. She was named after Alberico da Barbiano, an Italian condottiero of the 14th century.
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.
The Gerard Callenburgh class were a group of four destroyers ordered for the Royal Netherlands Navy just before World War II. Two ships were completed - Gerard Callenburgh by the Germans after being captured and Isaac Sweers in Britain after being evacuated as the Netherlands fell to the Nazis.
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HMS Simoom was a third-batch S-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was laid down on 14 July 1941 and launched on 12 October 1942.
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HMS Tynedale was a Hunt-class destroyer of the first subgroup which served during the Second World War. She was sunk by U-593 on 12 December 1943.
HMS Porcupine was a P-class destroyer built by Vickers Armstrong on the River Tyne. She was ordered on 20 October 1939, laid down on 26 December 1939 and launched on 10 June 1941. She was commissioned on 31 August 1942, but had a relatively short active career. She was torpedoed in 1942 but salvaged and not finally broken up until 1947.
German submarine U-562 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 7 February 1940 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 538, launched on 24 January 1941 and commissioned on 20 March 1941 under Oberleutnant zur See Herwig Collmann.
German submarine U-593 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 17 December 1940 by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg as yard number 569, launched on 3 September 1941 and commissioned on 23 October under Kapitänleutnant Gerd Kelbling.
HMS Whitehall, pennant number D94, later I94, was a Modified W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in the Second World War.
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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.