 HMS Bergamot in July 1942 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Bergamot |
| Builder | Harland and Wolff [1] |
| Yard number | 1100 [1] |
| Laid down | 15 October 1940 |
| Launched | 15 February 1941 |
| Completed | 9 May 1941 [1] |
| Commissioned | 12 May 1941 |
| Identification | Pennant number: K189 |
| Fate | Sold May 1946 for mercantile service, scrapped 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Flower-class corvette |
HMS Bergamot was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy.
She was laid down at Harland and Wolff in Belfast on 15 October 1940 and launched on 15 February 1941. Her commissioning followed on 12 May of the same year. Her pennant number was K189.
Her main duty was as a convoy escort and in this capacity she crossed the Atlantic - North and South - several times, escorting convoys to and from the United Kingdom.
On two occasions Bergamot was involved in Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union, once to Murmansk and once to Archangel. Most notably she took part in convoy PQ 18, sailing all the way from Loch Ewe in Scotland to Russia, subjected for days on end to attacks by German aircraft.
She sailed from Liverpool with the convoy which initiated the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 (Operation Husky). From then on the Mediterranean was her home: escorting supplies to Tobruk; being involved in the invasions at Salerno in September 1943 and Anzio in January 1944; she was also present when the Italian fleet surrendered to the Allies.
After the war she was sold in May 1946 to a Greek company and became a ferry, carrying passengers between the various Greek islands. She belonged to different companies and had different names – Syros, Delphini and Ekaterina. She was broken up in 1974.
HMS Abelia was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by Harland and Wolff in 1941.
HMS Penelope was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Harland & Wolff ; her keel was laid down on 30 May 1934. She was launched on 15 October 1935, and commissioned 13 November 1936. She was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-410 near Naples with great loss of life on 18 February 1944. On wartime service with Force K, she was holed so many times by bomb fragments that she acquired the nickname "HMS Pepperpot".
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