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NARVIK 1940 - NORWAY 1940-41 -
ATLANTIC 1940-41 - ARCTIC 1941-42 - MALTA
CONVOYS 1942
H e r a l d i c
D a t a
Badge: On a
Field Blue a Bedouin dagger proper.
M o t t o:
'Honour and Chivalry'
Manning Division:
Chatham
R e c o r d o
f S e r v i c e
1 9 3 9
March
Contractors
trials
15th
Build completion and commenced
Acceptance Trials
April
On completion of trials and
storing took passage to Portland to work-up
for service with
the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in Home Fleet.
(Note Flotilla
identity had been changed.)
Worked up in
Channel area with units based at Portland.
May
Deployment at Portland in
continuation.
June
1st
Despatched from Portland to assist
in search for HM Submarine THETIS which
had failed to
surface after diving trials in Liverpool Bay.
2nd
Arrived in search area and joined
ships taking part in rescue operations.
On release from
THETIS rescue requirements resumed Home Fleet
Summer
Programme.
July
Deployed with Flotilla in
Home Fleet for exercises and visits.
August
Passage to Scapa Flow to
take-up war station.
D e t a
i l s o
f W a r S e r v i c e
(for more ship
information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and
type name in Site Search)
September
Deployed for screening
,anti-submarine patrol duties and interception
of mercantiles
attempting to return to Germany in NE Approaches
based
at Scapa Flow.
October
Took part in unsuccessful
search for ss CITY OF FLINT which had been
captured by German
cruiser DEUTSCHLAND.
(Note: This ship was later interned in Norway.)
Deployed as part
of screen for HM Battlecruiser RENOWN and HM
Aircraft
Carrier
ARK ROYAL during
their passage to Freetown prior to their joining
Hunting Group X
in search for German battleship ADMIRAL GRAF
SPEE
Returned escort
and patrol duties with Flotilla.
November
Flotilla duties in continuation
including escort of Canadian Troop convoys
to
December
in NW Approaches
1 9 4 0
January
Withdrawn
from operational use because of high incidence
of defects.
Passage
to Tyne for
repair and refit in commercial shipyard.
23rd
Taken in hand for repair.
February
Under
repair and refit
(Note:
Work included installation of Degaussing.
Defect
repair of propulsion machinery turbines to be
confirmed.)
March
16th
Post refit trials and passage to
resume Flotilla duties at Scapa Flow.
Rejoined Flotilla on
arrival.
(Note:
Other ships in 6th Flotilla were HM Destroyers
SOMALI (Leader),
ASHANTI,
MATABELE, MASHONA, PUNJABI, ESKIMO
and
TARTAR.)
April
Deployed
at Scapa Flow for screening of major Home Fleet
units
7th
Deployed with HM Destroyers
CODRINGTON, GRIFFIN, JUPITER,
ELECTRA,
ESCAPADE, BRAZEN, PUNJABI, ESKIMO and KIMBERLEY
as
screen for HM Battleships RODNEY and VALIANT, HM
Battlecruiser
REPULSE.
HM Cruisers SHEFFIELD, PENELOPE and French
cruiser
EMIL BERTIN in search for German
warships
reported by aircraft as on
passage
in North Sea.
8th
Detached to carry out patrol off
Skomvaer Light with HMS REPULSE,
HMS
PENELOPE, HMS ESKIMO, PUNJABI and KIMBERLEY.
Rejoined
Home Fleet units after German occupation of
Narvik confirmed.
9th
Deployed as screen for Home Fleet
ships.
10th
Deployed for Patrol in Ofot Fjord
area.
12th
Joined screen for HMS WARSPITE, HMS
RENOWN and HM Aircraft
Carrier
FURIOUS with HM Destroyers PUNJABI, KIMBERLEY
and
ICARUS
during passage into Vest Fjord.
13th
Took part in engagement with German
destroyers with HMS WARSPITE,
HM
Destroyers ICARUS, HERO, FOXHOUND, KIMBERLEY,
FORESTER,
PUNJABI,
ESKIMO and COSSACK during which she sank the
German
destroyer
ERICH KOELLER (Second Battle of Narvik.)
(For
details of this battle and of naval activities
off Norway in
April-May 1940
see NAVAL
OPERATIONS IN THE CAMPAIGN IN
NORWAY, April-June
1940
(HMSO), NARVIK by D Macintrye and THE DOOMED
EXPEDITIONS
by
D Adams.)
15th
Escorted damaged HMS ESKIMO to
Skelfjord for repair with HMS HOSTILE
and
HMS IVANHOE.
Resumed
support of military operations and patrol duties
off Narvik.
May
4th
Rescued survivors from Polish
destroyer ORP GROM sunk by air attacks in
Ofotfjord.
Passage
to UK on release from Norwegian support duties.
Taken
in hand for repair in Glasgow commercial
shipyard.
On
completion resumed Flotilla duties at Scapa
Flow.
Pennant
Number changed to G67.
June
7th
Deployed with HM Destroyers
TARTAR, MASHONA and ASHANTI as screen
for
HM Battleship VALIANT to provide cover against
attack on Group 1
Evacuation
convoy from Norway during passage.
8th
Met Group 1 ships off Faeroes.
July
Home Fleet
deployment in continuation.
August Deployed
in North Sea for
anti-invasion patrol and screening duties.
29th
Deployed with HM
Destroyer TARTAR as escort for ships of 1st
Minelaying
Squadron
during minelay in Northern Barrage (Operation
SN14)
For details
of all minelaying operations see The Naval Staff
History (Mining).
September Rescued
crew of Norwegian
fishing boat in North Sea.
Nominated for
refit.
October
Passage to Southampton for
refit.
10th
Taken in hand for
refit during which Twin 4in mounting was fitted
in place of
4.7in mounting
in X position.
November
17th
On completion of
post refit trials took passage to resume
Flotilla duties at
Scapa Flow
with Flotilla.
December
Flotilla duties for screen of
Home Fleet ships and patrol in NW Approaches.
1 9 4 1
January
3rd
Escorted HM Destroyers ICARUS and
INTREPID with HM Destroyers
MASHONA,
MATABELE and TARTAR during lay of minefield in
coastal
shipping
route off Norwegian coast.
During
passage accidentally
discharged torpedo which ships in company were
able
to avoid.
(For
details of all minelaying operations se The
Naval Staff History
(Mining).
On
return to Scapa Flow resumed Home Fleet duties.
February
Deployed
at Scapa Flow with Flotilla.
March
Sailed
for support of
planned commando raid on Lofoten Islands. by 3
& 4 Cdo
as
escort for HM Landing Ships PRINCESS EMMA and
PRINCESS BEATRIX
during
passage. (Operation CLAYMORE).
4th
Provided support during landings.
For
details see THE WATERY MAZE by B Fergusson
Sank
Norwegian coastal steamer MIRA.
6th
Return
passage to Scapa Flow as escort and resumed Home
Fleet duties.
April
Scapa
Flow deployment with Flotilla in continuation.
May Nominated
for special operation to intercept German
weather ship in
a
reporting station east of Iceland (Operation
EB).
(Note:
This operation was intended to capture a German
ENIGMA Coding
machine
and its associated documentation.
6th
Escorted HM Cruisers EDINBURGH,
MANCHESTER and BIRMINGHAM
with
HM Destroyers NESTOR (RAN), SOMALI and
ESKIMO during search for
weather
ship.
7th
Took part in capture of German
MUNCHEN during which the machine was
thrown
overboard and only the documentation was
obtained.
For details see
BREAKING THE ENIGMA by D Kahn.)
On
release from EB resumed Flotilla duties.
June Nominated
for further special operation to intercept
another German
weather ship
stationed
off Jan
Mayen Island in Arctic Sea.
25th
Deployed with HM Cruiser NIGERIA and HMS
TARTAR during search.
28th
Intercepted and enemy vessel which
scuttled. Boarding Party were able to
recover
associated documentation. See above reference.
(Note:
The documentation recovered from these two ships
enabled the
Bletchley Park establishment to read
signals
for period up to
August
and was an invaluable possession. See ULTRA GOES
TO
WAR
by R Lewin.)
July
Nominated
for refit and took
passage to Immingham from Scapa Flow.
19th Taken
in hand at Commercial shipyard in
Immingham during which Radar Type
286M
was fitted.
(Note:
This RAF Air/Surface
radar had been modified for naval use but
had
a fixed aerial which restricted its vale since
ship had to be
moved
to determine the bearing of any contacts. For
details of the
development
and use of radar in the RN see RADAR AT SEA by
D
Howse. This equipment was later replaced by a
naval design using
a
rotating aerial. See reference.)
August
31st On completion
carried out post refit
trials before resuming Flotilla duties in
Home
Fleet.
September
Home
Fleet Flotilla deployment in continuation.
to October
November
14th Joined
Russian convoy PQ3 with HM Cruiser
KENYA and HM Destroyer
INTREPID
as Ocean Escort during passage to North Russia.
For
details of all Russian convoy operations see
CONVOYS TO RUSSIA
by
RA Ruegg, CONVOY 1
by P Kemp, ARCTIC CONVOYS by R Woodman
and
THE RUSSIAN CONVOYS by B Schoefield.
20th Detached from PQ3
on arrival of Local
Escort for final stage of passage.
25th Deployed with HMS
KENYA, HMS INTREPID and
two Soviet destroyers
for
bombardment of enemy batteries at Vardo.
28th Joined return
convoy QP3 with same ships
as Ocean Escort for return passage
to
Iceland.
December
3rd Detached from QP3
with HMS KENYA and HMS
INTREPID and resumed
Flotilla
duties in Home Fleet.
22nd Escorted HM Cruiser
ARETHUSA, HM Landing
Ships PRINZ ALBERT and
PRINCESS
CHARLOTTE with HMS SOMALI and HMS ESKIMO,
WHEATLAND,
LAMERTON , Polish destroyers ORP KRAKOWIAK and
ORP
KUJAWIAK, HM Norwegian Corvettes ACANTHUS and
EGLANTINE
during
passage to the Lofoten Islands for Commando raid
(Operation
ANKLET – See THE WATERY MAZE by B Fergusson.)
(Note:
This operation also included another landing
from a separate
force
including
HM Cruiser KENYA and Home Fleet destroyers with
two
Landing
Ships. Two submarines were also deployed as
markers to
assist
in passage off Norway.)
26th During landing
operations destroyers
carried out search of Vestfijord.
28th Under air attacks
during which HMS
ARETHUSA was damaged by a near miss.
1 9 4 2
January
Resumed Flotilla duties
on return to Scapa Flow from ARCHERY.
February
Home Fleet deployment with
Flotilla in continuation.
March
1st Deployed as
part of screen for HM
Battleships KING GEORGE V and DUKE
OF YORK, HM
Aircraft Carrier VICTORIOUS, HM Cruisers BERWICK
and
KENYA with
HM Destroyers ASHANTI, ECHO, ECLIPSE, FAULKNOR,
FURY,
GROVE, ICARUS, INCONSTANT, INTREPID, JAVELIN,
LANCASTER,
LEDBURY, LOOKOUT, ONSLOW, PUNJABI, TARTAR,
VERDUN,
WELLS and WOOLSTON to provide cover for passage
of Russian
convoys
PQ12, PQ12 and return convoy QP8.
(Note:
These convoys were under
the perceived threat of attack by the German
battleship
TIRPITZ with destroyer escort. See above
references.)
9th Detached from
covering force.
11th Took part in
search operation to
intercept enemy ships.
13th Search
discontinued and resumed Fleet
duties on return to Scapa Flow.
April
10th Deployed with
HM Destroyers BELVOIR,
ESCAPADE, ESKIMO, FAULKNOR,
LEDBURY,
MATCHLESS, MIDDLETON, OFFA, ONSLOW, SOMALI and
WHEATLAND
as
screen for HM Battleships KING GEORGE V and
DUKE OF
YORK, HMS VICTORIOUS, HM Cruisers NIGERIA and
KENT to
provide
Distant Cover for passage of Russian convoy PQ14
and return convoy
QP10
Returned
to Scapa Flow with Fleet units after arrival of
QP10 in
Iceland.
20th Passage to
Humber for refit.
21st Taken in hand
by Amos & Smith
shipyard in Immingham.
May
Under refit.
31st On completion
carried out post refit
trials before resuming Home Fleet duties
with
Flotilla.
June
Nominated for
escort of military convoy to Malta. (Operation
HARPOON)
5th
Sailed from Clyde as Ocean
Escort for Convoy WS19Z during passage to
Gibraltar
with HMS KENYA, HM Cruiser LIVERPOOL. HM
Destroyers
ONSLOW,
ICARUS, MARNE, MATCHLESS, ESCAPADE, BLANKNEY,
MIDDLETON,
BADSWORTH and ORP KUJAWIAK
deployed as Force T.
10th
Detached with HMS KENYA
and ORP KUJAWIAK to refuel in Gibraltar.
11th
Joined HM Minesweepers
HEBE, SPEEDY, HYTHE and RYE with HM
Destroyers
MARNE, MATCHLESS, BADSWORTH, ITHURIEL,
PARTRIDGE
BLANKNEY and MIDDLETON to form Force X for Close
Escort
of convoy from Sicilian Channel into Malta
Deployed
with escort of WS19Z during passage in western
Mediterranean,
14th
Under air attacks during
which HMS LIVERPOOL was hit by a torpedo and
sustained
serious
damage.
HM
Cruiser CAIRO joined Force X and detached from
WS19Z.
Deployed
with HMS CAIRO and ships of Force X as Close
escort during
passage
in
Sicilian Narrows to Malta.
15th Under attack by
Italian force comprising
cruisers MONTECUCCOLI and
DI
SAVOIA with destroyers ORIANI, ASCARI, VIVALDI,
MALOCELLO
and
Ex-Yugoslav PREMUDA.
Led by
HMS CAIRO took part in attack on Italian ships
with HM Destroyers
MARNE,
MATCHLESS, ITHURIEL and PARTRIDGE.
Came
under 6in gunfire and hit by 12 shells causing
severe damage and
fire in
gearing room. with structural damage forward.
Ship disabled.
Taken
in tow by HMS
PARTRIDGE which had also been damaged.
Came
under torpedo attack by aircraft during which
two were shot down
after
having dropped their weapon one of which hit the
ship.
Sank
quickly in position 36.12N,
11.37E SW of Pantellaria.
28
of ships company lost their lives and the
remaining 213 were rescued
by
an Italian
hospital ship and became prisoner of war.
(Note:
The account given in THE NAVAL WAR IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN
1940-43 is at variance with other sources
which
include Supplement to LONDON GAZETTE dated
11
August 1948, THE BATTLE FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN
by
D Macintyre and ENGAGE
THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY.
Addendum
CONVOY
ESCORT MOVEMENTS of HMS
BEDOUIN
by
Don Kindell
This convoy list has not been cross-checked
with the text above
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Date
convoy sailed
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Joined
convoy as escort
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Convoy
No.
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Left
convoy
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Date
convoy arrived
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10/12/39
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unknown
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TC
001
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17/12/39
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17/12/39
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22/12/39
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28/12/39
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TC
002
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30/12/39
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30/12/39
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27/03/40
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29/03/40
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ON
023/1
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31/03/40
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31/03/40
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31/03/40
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31/03/40
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HN
023B
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04/04/40
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04/04/40
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03/08/40
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04/08/40
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OA
193
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04/08/40
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07/08/40
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09/11/41
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14/11/41
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PQ
003
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20/11/41
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22/11/41
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27/11/41
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28/11/41
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QP
003
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02/12/41
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12/12/41
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01/03/42
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06/03/42
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PQ
012
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10/03/42
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12/03/42
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10/03/42
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23/03/42
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PQ
013
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28/03/42
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31/03/42
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21/03/42
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23/03/42
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QP
009
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28/03/42
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03/04/42
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26/03/42
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12/04/42
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PQ
014
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18/04/42
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19/04/42
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10/04/42
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12/04/42
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QP
010
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18/04/42
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21/04/42
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12/06/42
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12/06/42
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HARPOON
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15/06/42
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16/06/42
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(Note
on Convoys)
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