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HMS Tynedale (L96)

Coordinates: 37°10′N 6°5′E / 37.167°N 6.083°E / 37.167; 6.083
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tynedale in July 1942
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Tynedale
Ordered11 April 1939
BuilderAlexander Stephen and Sons
Laid down27 July 1939
Launched5 June 1940
Commissioned5 November 1940
Honours and
awards
  • St. Nazaire 1942
  • English Channel 1942–43
  • Sicily 1943
FateSunk by U-593, 12 December 1943
BadgeOn a Field Red, in front of two arrows in saltire white a hunting horn erect gold.
General characteristics
Class and typeHunt-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,000 long tons (1,016 t) standard
  • 1,340 long tons (1,362 t) full load
Length280 ft (85 m)
Beam29 ft (8.8 m)
Draught10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Propulsion
Speed27½ kn (26 knots full)
Range3,500 nmi (6,480 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) / 1,000 nmi (2,000 km) at 26 knots (48 km/h)
Complement146
Armament

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.[1]

Construction

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Tynedale was ordered from Alexander Stephen and Sons on 11 April 1939 as part of the 1939 Program and laid down on 27 July 1939 under yard number J1471. She was launched on 5 June 1940 and commissioned on 2 December 1940.[1] She was adopted by the civil community of Hexham, Northumberland following a Warship Week savings campaign in February 1942.[2]

Service and loss

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Tynedale was mostly employed on convoy and escort duties initially as part of the First Destroyer Flotilla based at Portsmouth. On 11 March 1941 she sustained damage which put her out of action for 9 days from an air raid of Portsmouth's docks by the Luftwaffe.[1] On 15 December, she was transferred to the 15th Flotilla based at Plymouth.[3]

Tynedale took part in the St. Nazaire Raid on 27 March 1942 as one of the escorts for the destroyer Campbeltown and small craft which were to enter the harbour.[1] South west of Ushant she sighted the U-boat U-593 and attacked her initially with depth charges and then, when the submarine was forced to the surface, with a deck gun. However the submarine managed to dive again and escaped. It would be the same submarine U-593 which would sink Tynedale the following year.[4] When rendezvousing with the surviving small craft from the raid outside the harbour Tynedale and another destroyer, Atherstone engaged the five German torpedo boats of the 5th Flotilla.[5]

Tynedale returned to Plymouth on 29 March, along with the rest of the convoy that had survived. She underwent repairs and resumed duties on 18 April, continuing with convoy escorts in the Southwest Approaches. On 14 May, she encountered the German auxiliary cruiser Stier, and was part of the task force that sank it, albeit only as a support vessel. She also participated in a support role in the sinking of the German auxiliary cruiser Komet in October.[2]

1943

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Tynedale was nominated for service in the Mediterranean, and as part of Destroyer Division 59 (which she joined on 8 March 1943) she guarded convoys between Gibraltar and Algeria. She acted as an interceptor during the Allied invasion of Sicily, and aided in the rescuing of 218 passengers from the Dutch freighter Felix Jan Van Manix which was torpedoed and sank in October.[2]

During convoy escorts with convoy KMS34 on 12 December 1943, Tynedale was torpedoed off Jijel, Algeria, by U-593 commanded by Kptlt. Gerd Kelbling, the same boat which it had damaged at St. Nazaire. The ship broke in two, and despite rescue efforts by other ships, 73 crewmen died (seven officers and 63 men). U-593 was chased, but sank another Hunt-class destroyer, Holcombe, before being forced to the surface and scuttled the following day.[2][6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d English, John (1987). The Hunts : a history of the design, development and careers of 86 destroyers of this class built for the Royal and Allied Navies during World War II. Cumbria, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0905617444.
  2. ^ a b c d Gordon Smith, ed. (13 August 2011). "HMS Tynedale, escort destroyer". Naval-History.net.
  3. ^ "HMS Tynedale, escort destroyer". www.naval-history.net.
  4. ^ Wynn, Kenneth (1998). U-Boat Operations of the Second World War Volume 2. London: Chatham publishing. p. 63. ISBN 1861760698.
  5. ^ Rohwer, J.; Hummelchen, G. (1972). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Vol. I : 1939-1942. London: Allan. p. 206. ISBN 0711002770.
  6. ^ Guðmundur Helgason (2010). "HMS Tynedale (L96 Destroyer)". Retrieved 6 May 2010.

Publications

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37°10′N 6°5′E / 37.167°N 6.083°E / 37.167; 6.083

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