HMS Blean (L47) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

HMS Blean (L47) was a Type III Hunt class destroyer

Hunt class destroyer

The Hunt class was a class of Destroyer escort of the Royal Navy. The first vessels were ordered early in 1939, and the class saw extensive service in World War II, particularly on the British East Coast and Mediterranean convoys. They were named after British fox hunts...

of 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 named after the Blean Beagles Hunt at the village of Blean

Blean

Blean is located in the Canterbury district of Kent, England. It is the name of the civil parish as well as the village within it: the latter is scattered along the road between Canterbury and Whitstable, in the middle of what was once the extensive Forest of Blean.The village name of Blean is...

just north of Canterbury

Canterbury

Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....

.

Built at Hebburn-on-Tyne by Hawthorn Leslie, she was launched on 15 January 1942 and commissioned on 23 August. Escorting British convoy KMF-4 off the Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

n coast, she was intercepted by U-443

Unterseeboot 443

German submarine U-443 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.She was commissioned on 18 April 1942. U-443 served with 8th U-boat Flotilla for training, with 9th U-boat Flotilla from 1 October 1942 to 31 December 1942, and with 29th U-boat Flotilla...

on 11 December 1942 11 miles north-west of Oran

Oran

Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...

. The U-boat aimed one torpedo against her and then one against the convoy, but both hit Blean and sank her 60 miles (96.6 km) off the coast, with the loss of 89 men.

A memorial to her was unveiled in the church of St.s Cosmus and Damian in the village of Blean at 3pm on 10 December 2006 by Patrick Evans

Patrick Evans

Patrick Evans is a Church of England clergyman. He trained originally to become a solicitor and then worked in marketing and sales management, before training for ordination at Lincoln Theological College and becoming Vicar of St Mildred's, Tenterden and Area Dean of West Charing.He then became...

, Archdeacon of Canterbury, at a service attended by a daughter of a survivor, nephews of one of those lost, Mrs Jeanne Harrison (Sheriff of Canterbury

Sheriff of Canterbury

The Sheriff of Canterbury is a shrievalty in the city of Canterbury, England. The office was first held in 1461 by Richard Carpenter, when a charter of king Edward IV granted the city the perpetual status of a county independent of Kent itself...

), Commodore Jim Patrick RN, and Viscount De L'Isle

Philip Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L'Isle

Philip John Algernon Sidney, 2nd Viscount De L’Isle MBE, DL is a British peer and former soldier.The eldest son of the 1st Viscount De L'Isle, Sidney was educated at Tabley House, Mons OCS and Sandhurst. After service in the Rifle Brigade, in 1966, he became a Major in the Grenadier Guards and...

(Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Kent

Lord Lieutenant of Kent

This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent. Since 1746, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Kent.-Lords Lieutenant of Kent:*Sir Thomas Cheney 1551–?*William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham 3 July 1585 – 6 March 1597...

External links

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