HMS Abelia was a that served in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

.

She was launched on 28 November 1940, and was fitted for minesweeping. She served in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

; her commanding officer for parts of 1943 and 1944 was Lieutenant Orme G. Stuart

Orme G. Stuart

Lieutenant Commander Orme G. Stuart, DSC was a businessperson and officer with the Royal Canadian Navy....

.

On 9 January 1944 Abelia encountered a U-Boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 while on convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 escort duty, and moved to attack with depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

s. Lieutenant Stuart ordered an increase in speed at 950 yards to prevent being torpedo

Torpedo

The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

ed, not knowing that the U-boat was equipped with T5 torpedoes

G7es torpedo

The G7es or Zaunkönig T-5 was a torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was known as the GNAT to the British.- Description :...

, for which he would have needed to increase speed at 700 yards. Abelia was hit and lost her rudder

Rudder

A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...

, and the U-boat escaped.

She was sold in 1947 and became the merchant vessel Kraft in 1948. She was renamed Arne Skontorp in 1954. She was eventually scrapped in December 1966.

External links

• HMS Abelia on the Arnold Hague database at convoyweb.org.uk.