HMS Lark (U11)

Last updated

HMS Lark 1944 IWM FL 9968.jpg
HMS Lark anchored in 1944.
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameLark
Namesake Lark
Ordered27 March 1941
Builder Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock
Laid down5 May 1942
Launched28 August 1943
Commissioned10 April 1944
Decommissioned17 February 1945
Identification Pennant number: U11
FateHanded over to Soviet Navy
Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svgSoviet Union
NameNeptun
Namesake Neptun
AcquiredJune 1945
FateScrapped in 1956
General characteristics
Class and type Modified Black Swan-class sloop
Displacement1,350 tons
Length283 ft (86 m)
Beam38.5 ft (11.7 m)
Propulsion
  • Geared turbines
  • two shafts
Speed20 knots (37 km/h) at 4,300 hp (3,200 kW)
Complement192 men + 1 Cat
Armament

HMS Lark was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Greenock on 5 May 1942, launched on 28 August 1943 and commissioned on 10 April 1944, with the pennant number U11. [1]

Contents

Service in Royal Navy

Upon completion of her preparations in Tobermory, the Lark was deployed to defend convoys for Western Command.

In May and June 1944, she was part of the 114th Escort Group with the sloop HMS Crane, HMS Blankney, HMS Chelmer and HMS Torrington to escort the assault convoys during the Allied landings in Normandy. during Operation Neptune.

She was assigned to protect arctic convoys (convoys JW 61 to JW 64 and RA 61 to RA 64) to supply the Russian front in Kola Bay.

On 17 February 1945, U-425 was sunk in the Barents Sea east of the Rybatchi Peninsula by depth charges from HMS Lark and HMS Alnwick Castle at the geographic position. The same day, at 10:15 a.m., the German submarine U-968 fired an acoustic torpedo at convoy RA 64 and observed a hit after 6 minutes 20 seconds. In fact, HMS Lark was hit aft northeast of Murmansk so she was towed into Kola Bay and grounded near Rosta. [1]

HMS Lark was unequipped at Rosta because she was unable to return to the UK under tow. In June 1945, the carcass from which most of the equipment was removed was handed over to the Soviet Navy.

Service in Soviet Navy

Postwar reports suggest that she may have later been taken into Russian Navy under the name Neptun, but this has not been proven. It is unlikely that the hull was rebuilt and retooled for further use. [2]

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Bluebell</i> (K80) Flower-class corvette

HMS Bluebell was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy in World War II. Ordered from Fleming & Ferguson of Paisley, Scotland on 27 July 1939, she was launched on 24 April 1940 and commissioned in July 1940. She served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arctic campaigns, escorting several convoys to Russia, and also took part in the invasions of Sicily and France. She was torpedoed and sunk by U-711 in the Kola Inlet on 17 February 1945 while escorting the convoy RA 64 from Murmansk. Only one member of her crew survived.

HMS <i>Orwell</i> (G98) 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>Zealous</i> (R39) Israeli destroyer sunk on 21 October 1967

HMS Zealous was a Z-class destroyer of the Royal Navy built in 1944 by Cammell Laird. She served during the Second World War, participating in operations in the North Sea and off the Norwegian coast, before taking part in some of the Arctic convoys. She spent a further ten years in Royal Navy service after the end of the war, before being sold to the Israeli Navy, which operated her as INS Eilat. She saw action during the Suez Crisis in 1956, attacking Egyptian ships and was still active by the outbreak of the Six-Day War in 1967. She was sunk several months after the conflict by missiles launched from several small Egyptian missile boats; this made her the first vessel to be sunk by a missile boat in wartime. It was an important milestone in naval surface warfare, which aroused considerable interest around the world in the development of small manoeuvrable missile boats.

HMS <i>Mermaid</i> (U30) Sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Mermaid was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. Mermaid saw service as a convoy escort during the Second World War, taking part in the sinking of two German submarines while escorting Arctic convoys to and from the Soviet Union.

HMS <i>Mahratta</i> (G23) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Mahratta was an M-class destroyer of the Royal Navy which served during World War II. Begun as Marksman, she was damaged while under construction, and dismantled to be rebuilt on a new slipway. She was launched as Mahratta in 1942, completed in 1943, and quickly pressed into service. After a short but busy career in the North Atlantic and Arctic, largely guarding merchant convoys, she was torpedoed and sunk on 25 February 1944.

HMS <i>Keppel</i> (D84) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Keppel was a Thornycroft type flotilla leader built for the Royal Navy at the end of the First World War. She was completed too late to serve in that conflict, but saw extensive service in the inter war years and in World War II. She was an effective convoy escort and U-boat killer, being credited with the destruction of five U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic. She was the second of three ships named for 18th century Admiral Augustus Keppel.

HMS Goodall (K479) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort USS Reybold (DE-275), she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 until her sinking in 1945.

HMS <i>Mounsey</i> (K569) Royal Navy Captain-class frigate

The second HMS Mounsey (K569) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort DE-524, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946.

HMS <i>Walker</i> (D27) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

HMS Walker (D27) was a W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in the final months of World War I, in the Russian Civil War and in World War II.

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

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.

HMS <i>Worcester</i> (D96) Destroyer of the Royal Navy

The eighth HMS Worcester, was a Modified W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War II. She later served as an accommodation ship as the second HMS Yeoman.

HMS <i>Borage</i> (K120) Flower-class corvette

HMS Borage was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy during World War II.

HMS <i>Peacock</i> (U96) Sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Peacock was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was built for service as a convoy escort during the Second World War, serving in the arctic and Atlantic convoys. After the Second World War she saw service in the Mediterranean. She was scrapped in 1958.

HMS <i>Dianella</i> Royal Navy World War II Flower-class corvette

HMS Dianella was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.

HMS <i>Lapwing</i> (U62) Sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Lapwing (U62) was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy.

HMS <i>Chanticleer</i> (U05) Modified Black Swan-class sloop

HMS Chanticleer was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton on 6 June 1941, launched on 24 September 1942 and commissioned on 29 March 1943, with the pennant number U05.

HMS <i>Nereide</i> (U64) Modified Black Swan-class sloop

HMS Nereide was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Chatham Dockyard, Kent on 15 February 1943, launched on 29 January 1944 and commissioned on 3 May 1946, with the pennant number U64.

HMS <i>Cygnet</i> (U38) Modified Black Swan-class sloop

HMS Cygnet was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead on 30 August 1941, launched on 28 July 1942 and commissioned on 1 December 1943, with the pennant number U38.

HMS <i>Redpole</i> (U69) Modified Black Swan-class sloop

HMS Redpole was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited, Scotstoun on 18 May 1942, launched on 25 February 1943 and commissioned on 24 June 1943, with the pennant number U69.

HMS Snipe was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton on 21 September 1944, launched on 20 December 1945 and commissioned on 9 September 1946, with the pennant number U20.

References

  1. 1 2 "HMS Lark (U 11) (British Sloop) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. "HMS Lark, sloop". www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 20 October 2020.

Further reading