1 9
3 9
March
Contractors trials and commissioned
for service in 1st Tribal Destroyer Flotilla,
Home Fleet
29th
Build completion and commenced Acceptance
Trials.
(Note: Pennant
Number allocated was F21 in place of initial
L21.)
April
On completion of trials and
storing took passage to Portland.
Worked-up at Portland.
Flotilla re-identified
as 6th Destroyer Flotilla.
May
On completion of work-up
joined 6th Flotilla
Deployed with Flotilla in
Home Fleet Exercise and visits Programme.
June
1st
Diverted from Programme after sinking of HM
Submarine THETIS
and took passage to
Anglesey
area to join Home Fleet ships carrying out
rescue operations.
(Note: These failed
and 99 of the crew lost their lives.)
4th
Released from THETIS operation and resumed
Home Fleet programme.
July
Deployed in Home waters
with Flotilla for Fleet exercises.
August
Home Fleet deployment in continuation
including exercise in Atlantic
with Anglo French
Squadron.
(Note: This may be
have been her appointed 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 with Flotilla for Home Fleet
duties including anti-submarine patrol and
convoy
defence in NW
Approaches and North Sea.
October
Home Fleet
Flotilla deployment in continuation.
(Note: Attempted
salvage of German Flying Boat which was
unsuccessful.)
November
Deployed with Flotilla in North
Sea for patrol and convoy defence.
December
2nd
Sustained structural damage to bows in collision
with ss LAIRDSCREST
south of Holy
Island.
(Note: One source
records this was during escort of HM
Battlecruiser HOOD.)
Repair arranged at Govan
15th
Under
repair by Stevens
shipyard
1
9 4 0
January
Repair at Govan in continuation
February
29th
Resumed
operational service with Flotilla after post
repair trials.
March
Passage to rejoin Flotilla at Scapa
Flow for screening and patrol duties.
(Note: Other
ships in Flotilla were HM Destroyers SOMALI, ASHANTI,
BEDOUIN,
ESKIMO, MATABELE, MASHONA
and TARTAR.)
April
7th
Deployed
with HM Destroyers CODRINGTON, GRIFFIN,
JUPITER, ELECTRA.
ESCAPADE, BRAZEN, BEDOUIN, ESKIMO and
KIMBERLEY
as screen for
HM Battleships RODNEY and VALIANT, HM
Battlecruiser REPULSE, HM Cruiser
PENELOPE and French cruiser EMILE BERTIN
during search for German warships
reported on passage
in North
Sea
off Norwegian coast.
8th
Detached
with HM Destroyers BEDOUIN, ESKIMO and KIMBERLEY
as screen for
HMS REPULSE and HMS PENELOPE to assist
HM Destroyer GLOWWORM under
attack by German
cruiser HIPPER.
(Note: HMS
GLOWWORM
was sunk after ramming the enemy ship.)
9th
Deployed
off Narvik as screen for HM Battlecruisers
RENOWN and
REPULSE with HM
Destroyers BEDOUIN, ESKIMO and KIMBERLEY
prior to attack on German destroyers
13th
Took
part in 2nd Battle of Narvik and sustained
serious damage after six hits during
this
engagement. Ship
disabled but resumed service after an hour.
14th
Taken in hand for temporary repair at Skelfjord
to enable ship to return to UK
for repair.
20th
Passage
to UK
and repair arranged at HM Dockyard, Devonport.
28th
Arrived at Plymouth
for repair.
(Note: For
details
of the disastrous naval operations off Norway
see NAVAL OPERATIONS
OF THE CAMPAIGN IN NORWAY,
April – June 1940 (HMSO), THE DOOMED
EXPEDITION by T Adams, NARVIK by D Macintyre
and CARRIER GLORIOUS
by J Winton.)
May
Under repair by HM Dockyard,
Devonport.
Pennant Number for visual signalling purposes
changed to G21
Work done included
replacement of 4.7in mounting in X position by
4in Twin AA mounting.
June
12th
Carried
out post refit trials before resuming
operational service with Flotilla at Plymouth.
17th
Took part in evacuation of allied military
and civil personnel
from St Nazaire.
(Operation AERIAL)
20th
Returned to St Nazaire to evacuate Polish
troops.
25th
Resumed Home Fleet duties with Flotilla.
July
Deployed with Flotilla for Home Fleet
screening
and patrol duties
August
9th
Deployed
with other Home Fleet destroyers to supplement
escort for HMS VALIANT,
HMS HOOD, HM Aircraft Carrier ARGUS and
HM Cruiser ARETHUSA during return
passage of Force
H ships from Gibraltar.
September
Deployed with Home Fleet destroyers
to supplement screen for military convoy
on passage in
NW Approaches to carry out landings in Dakar
(Operation MENACE).
1st
Assisted
in cover for return passage of HM Cruiser FIJI
of Force M after that ship
had been hit
by a torpedo from U32 off the Hebrides.
(Note:
Deployments
between July and October may have included
anti-invasion
patrol and Fleet
screening. To be confirmed.)
October
Deployed with Flotilla in continuation.
to
November
(Note: Channel area deployment to be
confirmed.)
December
3rd
Detached
for escort of 20th Destroyer Flotilla during
minelay off Ile
de Bas
(Operation GR –later cancelled. See Naval
Staff History (Mining).
4th
Resumed
Flotilla duties.
1
9 4 1
January
Resumed Flotilla deployment in
continuation in Channel.
February
Transferred to Scapa
Flow with ships of Flotilla for screening and patrol duties,
March
Home Fleet duty with Flotilla in continuation.
13th
Nominated
for refit and passage to Rosyth
14th
. Taken in
hand for refit.
April
Under refit.
(Note: Work
included fit of RAF ASV
type radar outfit modified for shipborne
use.
This equipment for which the aerial was
fixed to ship’s structure had severe
limitations.
See RADAR AT SEA
by D Howse for
details of the
development
and use of radar
in the RN.)
May
3rd
On completion
of post refit trials resumed Flotilla duties
in Home Fleet at Scapa
Flow
24th
Part
of escort for HM Battleship KING GEORGE V and
HM Aircraft Carrier VICTORIOUS
during search
for German battleship BISMARCK
after sinking of HMS Battlecruiser HOOD.
For details of the pursuit and sinking
of BISMARCK
see BATTLESHIP BISMARCK
by Mullenheim
Rechberg, PURSUIT
by L
Kennedy and the Naval Staff History.
25th
Passage to Hvalfjord,
Iceland
to refuel.
June
Home Fleet Flotilla duties
in continuation.
July
27th
Deployed
with HMS TARTAR as screen for HM Cruisers
AURORA and NIGERIA
during operation
to assess the potential of using Spitzbergen
as a refuelling
base for
escorts used
in defence of convoys on passage to and from North
Russia.
August
1st
After
evacuation of Norwegian nationals from Bear Island
deployed as screen with
HMS TARTAR for same ships during offensive
sweep off Norwegian coast before
taking passage
to return to Scapa
Flow.
30th
Detached
for escort of HM Aircraft Carrier ARGUS and HM
Cruiser SHROPSHIRE
with HMS MATABELE
and HMS SOMALI during passage to Archangel.
Embarked RAF personnel
for passage (Operation STRENGTH).
(Note: HMS ARGUS
was taking HURRICANE aircraft and the ships
also carried
personnel for
duty in North
Russia.
Cover was provided by HMS VICTORIOUS,
HM Cruisers DEVONSHIRE and SUFFOLK,
screened by HM Destroyers
ECLIPSE, INGLEFIELD
and ESCAPADE.)
September
7th
Aircraft
despatched and ships took passage to Murmansk.
15th
On return
to Scapa
Flow
resumed Flotilla duties.
October
Home Fleet duties in continuation
with Flotilla
to
November
Nominated
for refit
Passage to Tyne.
December
1st
Taken
in hand for refit by Hawthorn Leslie
shipyard at Hebburn.
1
9 4 2
January
Under refit.
(Note: This
may have included machine repair and damage to
systems
due to excess
stress when steaming in heavy weather, as in
other ships
of the Class.
To be confirmed.)
30th
Carried
out post refit trials and took passage to
resume Flotilla duties at Scapa
Flow
on completion.
February
Deployed at Scapa
Flow for Home Fleet Flotilla duties.
March
Deployed with HM Destroyers ASHANTI,
BEDOUIN, ECHO, ECLIPSE,
ESKIMO, FAULKNOR, FURY, GROVE, ICARUS,
INCONSTANT
INTREPID, JAVELIN, LANCASTER,
LEDBURY, LOOKOUT, ONSLOW,
TARTAR, VERDUN,
WELLS and WOOLSTON as screen for HM
Battleships
KING GEORGE V and
DUKE OF YORK,
HM Battlecruiser RENOWN.
HM
Aircraft Carrier VICTORIOUS, HM Cruisers
KENT
and BERWICK providing
Distant Cover for
Russian Convoy PQ12 and returning QP8.
(For details of all Russian convoy
operations see CONVOYS TO RUSSIA by RA Ruegg,
THE RUSSIAN CONVOYS by D Macintyre,
CONVOY! by P Kemp
and ARCTIC
CONVOYS by R Woodman.)
8th
Detached
with HM Destroyers ONSLOW, FURY, ASHANTI,
ECHO
and ECLIPSE
to refuel in
Iceland
after search for German destroyers,
9th
Joined
HM Cruisers TRINIDAD and LIVERPOOL
as screen with HMS ECHO and
HMS FURY.
(Note:
The two cruisers were to supply fuel to
escorts of convoys deployed in the search
for German
battleship TIRPITZ known to be at sea for an
attack on QP8.
TIRPITZ had in fact returned to Vestfjord
when it was known that the covering
force included
an aircraft carrier. The attacks made on
TIRPITZ by aircraft from
HMS VICTORIOUS were however unsuccessful.)
11th
Deployed
with HM Destroyers FAULKNOR, FURY, INTREPID,
ICARUS, TARTAR,
BEDOUIN and ESKIMO
in search for enemy ships off Bodo.
Detached from search and returned
to Scapa
Flow
after problems with steering gear
(Note: Search
for TIRPITZ was unsuccessful.. See above
references and ENGAGE THE
ENEMY MORE CLOSELY
by C Barnett.)
April
Nominated for escort of return convoy QP10.
10th
Escorted
return convoy QP10 with HM Destroyers ECLIPSE,
FURY, MARNE
and ORIBI.
12th
HMS Cruiser
LIVERPOOL joined escort.
Under attack by U435 which failed. See
HITLER’S U-BOAT WAR by C Blair.
21st
Detached from PQ10 with escort on arrival at
Rekjavik,
Iceland.
26th
Deployed
with HM Destroyers BELVOIR, ESCAPADE,
FAULKNOR, HURSLEY,
INGLEFIELD, LAMERTON, MARNE,
MARTIN, MIDDLETON, ORIBI and US
destroyers
USS MADISON,
USS PLUNKETT, USS WAINWRIGHT and USS WILSON
as screen
for HMS KING GEORGE V, US
battleship USS WASHINGTON, HMS
VICTORIOUS, HM Cruisers KENYA, US
cruisers USS TUSCALOOSA and WICHITA
Providing Distant
Cover for passage of Russian convoy PQ15.
29th
Sailed from Hvalfjord
with covering
force and screen.
May
1st
Rammed
and sunk in
collision by HMS KING GEORGE V in foggy
conditions.
Ship broke in two and 169 of ship’s
company were rescued from the forward section
and 40
other from
the sea. Those left in the after section which
sank very quickly
were killed
when depth charges detonated. For details see
above references and THE
TRIBALS by M Bryce.
Addendum
CONVOY
ESCORT MOVEMENTS of HMS PUNJABI
by
Don Kindell
These
convoy lists have not been cross-checked
with the text above
|
|
|
|
|
Date
convoy sailed
|
Joined
convoy as escort
|
Convoy No.
|
Left
convoy
|
Date
convoy arrived
|
|
|
|
|
|
04/11/39
|
05/11/39
|
ON
001/1
|
07/11/39
|
07/11/39
|
07/11/39
|
07/11/39
|
HN
001
|
10/11/39
|
10/11/39
|
27/03/40
|
29/03/40
|
ON
023/1
|
31/03/40
|
31/03/40
|
31/03/40
|
31/03/40
|
HN
023B
|
04/04/40
|
04/04/40
|
03/08/40
|
04/08/40
|
OA
193
|
04/08/40
|
07/08/40
|
01/03/42
|
06/03/42
|
PQ
012
|
11/03/42
|
12/03/42
|
10/03/42
|
22/03/42
|
PQ
013
|
28/03/42
|
31/03/42
|
21/03/42
|
22/03/42
|
QP
009
|
28/03/42
|
03/04/42
|
10/04/42
|
10/04/42
|
QP
010
|
21/04/42
|
21/04/42
|
10/04/42
|
29/04/42
|
PQ
015
|
01/05/42
|
05/05/42
|
28/04/42
|
29/04/42
|
QP
011
|
01/05/42
|
07/05/42
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Note
on Convoys)