.gif)
HMS Decoy (H75)
Encyclopedia
HMS Decoy was a D-class
destroyer
of the Royal Navy
. Ordered in 1931, the ship was constructed by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company
, and entered naval service in 1933. Decoy was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet
before she was transferred to the China Station
in early 1935. She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea
during late 1935 during the Abyssinia Crisis
, before returning to her duty station where she remained until mid-1939. Decoy was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet just before the Second World War began in September 1939. She briefly was assigned to West Africa
for convoy escort duties in 1940 before returning to the Mediterranean. The ship participated in the Battles of Calabria
without significant damage and escorted ships of the Mediterranean Fleet for most of the rest of the year.
Decoy assisted in the evacuations from Greece
and Crete
in April–May 1941. She began escorting supply convoys in June to Tobruk
, Libya
until the ship was badly damaged in a collision in November. Repairs were not completed until February 1942 and Decoy was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean
the following month. She remained there until September when she was ordered to return to Britain. The ship was refitted as an escort destroyer
from November to April 1943 and transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy
that same month as HMCS Kootenay. The ship was assigned to convoy escort duties in the mid-Atlantic for the rest of 1943 and early 1944. Kootenay was transferred back to British coastal waters in May to protect the build up for Operation Overlord
. Together with other ships, she sank three German submarines between July and September. The ship was given a lengthy refit in Canada from October to February 1945 and returned to the English Channel
in April to protect against any last-gasp efforts by the Kriegsmarine
to interfere with Allied supply lines to the Continent. After the end of the war in May, Kootenay served as a troop transport in Canadian waters. She was placed in reserve
in October and broken up
in 1946.
load and 1890 long tons (1,920.3 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 329 feet (100.3 m), a beam
of 33 feet (10.1 m) and a draught
of 12 in 6 in (3.81 m). She was powered by Parsons
geared steam turbine
s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 36000 shp and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (19.6 m/s). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boiler
s. Decoy carried a maximum of 473 long tons (480.6 t) of fuel oil
that gave her a range of 5870 nautical miles (10,871.2 km) at 15 knots (8.2 m/s). The ship's complement was 145 officers and men.
The ship mounted four 45-calibre
QF 4.7-inch Mk IX guns
in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. For anti-aircraft
(AA) defence, Decoy had a single QF 3-inch 20 cwt
"cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight
, 30 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. AA gun between her funnel
s, and two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5-inch Vickers Mark III
machine gun
. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube
mounts for 21 inches (53 cm)
torpedoes. One depth charge
rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.
, such as weapons, ammunition and wireless equipment. The ship was initially assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean and made a brief deployment to the Persian Gulf
and Red Sea
in September–October 1933. New torpedo tubes were fitted at Malta
after her return.
The ship was refitted at Devonport Dockyard
between 3 September and 20 October 1934 for service on the China Station
with the 8th (later the 21st) Destroyer Flotilla
and arrived there in January 1935. She was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in the Red Sea from September 1935 to May 1936 during the Abyssinian Crisis and made port visits in Mombasa
and other East Africa
n ports before returning to Hong Kong
. The ship was refitted there in October and toured Southeast Asia
in the first quarter of 1937. Decoy required further repairs and fumigation in April–May after her return. In August 1938 she sailed for Tsingtao, carrying representatives to apologise for incidents where drunken sailors had insulted the Japanese flag. She remained in the Far East
until the rise in tensions before World War II began prompted her recall in August 1939.
s. After completing her repairs in January 1940, she was transferred to Freetown
, joining the 20th Destroyer Flotilla, to escort convoys off the West African coast. Decoy returned to the Mediterranean Fleet in May and was assigned to the 10th Destroyer Flotilla. Together with her sister
, she escorted Convoy US-2 carrying Australian and New Zealand troops to the Middle East
through the Red Sea
from 12 to 17 May.
The ship and three other destroyers, escorted the and three British cruisers as they bombarded Bardia
during the night of 20/21 June. On 27 June 1940, Decoy participated in the sinking of the . Together with her sisters and Defender, the destroyer , and the Australian destroyer , the ship depth charged Console Generale Liuzzi, which was then scuttled by her own crew south-east off Crete
.
On 29 June 1940 Decoy participated, together with the same squadron, in the sinking of the . The squadron patrolled the area between Alexandria
, the Aegean Sea
and the central Mediterranean from 27 to 30 June 1940 as part of Operation MA3 in support of British convoys from the Greek ports to Port Said
and from Alexandria
to Malta. Argonauta was probably sunk near Cape Ras el Hilal, Libya
, at around 0615 hours by the British destroyers; though it is also possible the Argonauta was depth charged and sunk around 1450 hours that same day by Short Sunderland
L5804 of the RAF
. The Historical Bureau of the Italian Navy believes the first theory to be more believable, but doubt still persists. On 9 July 1940, she took part of the Battle of Calabria
, where she was hit by splinters from a near-miss from the .
While returning from Operation Hats
, Decoy, Ilex and the light cruisers and bombarded Scarpanto during the night of 3/4 September. On 6 November, Decoy, together with the destroyers Defender, , , , , , Ilex, , , , and screened the capital ship
s of the Mediterranean Fleet, which provided distant cover for the passage of Convoy MW3 from Egypt to Malta and Convoy ME3 from Malta as part of Operation MB8
. While in Alexandria, the ship was struck by a bomb that penetrated completely through the ship on 13 November. After temporary repairs were made, she was sent to Malta for permanent repairs which lasted until 1 February 1941, after she was further damaged on 19 January. On 25 February, she participated in Operation Abstention
; together with Hereward and the gunboat , Decoy landed commandos on the island of Kastelorizo
, but they were overwhelmed by an Italian counter-attack. Only a few survivors were taken off two days later.
The ship participated in Operation Demon, the evacuation of Allied
troops from Greece in April, and assisted in the evacuation of troops from Crete to Egypt after the Germans invaded Crete on 22 May (Operation Merkur
). She spent most of the rest of the year escorting convoys to Tobruk. On 25 November, she was escorting the battleship when that ship was torpedoed by the . Decoy was damaged in a collision the following month and was under repair at Malta from 20 December to 8 February 1942. After returning to Alexandria, she was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean
where she escorted the slow ships of Force B when the Japanese carriers attacked in March–April 1942. The ship remained with the Eastern Fleet until she was ordered home to refit in September. En route, Decoy briefly operated from Freetown, but arrived at Greenock
on 29 October, her first visit home since 1934.
The ship was refitted at the Palmers shipyard
at Hebburn-on-Tyne between 3 November and 12 April 1943. Her armament was modified to accommodate additional depth charges by removing 'Y' gun and her light AA armament was increased by the addition of six 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in) Oerlikon guns
and two Parachute and Cable projectors. A Type 286 surface-search radar were probably also fitted at this time, but 1944 this had been replaced by a Type 290 system. Before the war's end this was supplemented when her director-control tower and rangefinder
above the bridge was replaced by a Type 271 target indication radar
. Decoy was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy during the refit on 1 March and was recommissioned on 12 April with the new name of HMCS Kootenay (the ship was gifted to the Canadians on 15 June). After working up, she was assigned to Escort Group
C5 for convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic.
On 22 May 1943 Kootenay picked up 19 survivors from the Norwegian tanker Sandanger, which had been torpedoed and sunk on 12 May by in the North Atlantic. She remained with the escort group until October when she began a refit in Halifax
that lasted until December, Kootenay rejoined the group upon completion of the refit. The ship was reassigned to the 11th Escort Group in May 1944 in preparation for Operation Overlord
. The group was tasked to protect Allied shipping in the English Channel
and the Bay of Biscay
and Kootenay, together with the destroyer and the corvette , sank in the English Channel
south of Brighton
on 7 July 1944. Together with Ottawa and the destroyer , the ship sank in the Bay of Biscay
near La Rochelle
on 18 August. Two days later, the same ships sank in the Bay of Biscay west of Brest
.
Kootenay was extensively refitted between 2 October 1944 and 27 February 1945 at Shelburne Naval Dockyard
and resumed anti-submarine patrols in the Channel in April after working up. After V-E day, she was used as a troop transport between Newfoundland and Quebec City
until she was placed in reserve at Sydney, Nova Scotia
on 26 October. She was broken up for scrap in 1946.
C and D class destroyer
The C and D class was a group of 14 destroyers built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. As in previous years, it was originally intended to order a complete flotilla comprising eight destroyers—plus a flotilla leader as the ninth unit—in each year. However, only four ships—plus a leader—were...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
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...
. Ordered in 1931, the ship was constructed by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company
Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company
Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as Palmers, was a British shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, in Northeast England and also had operations in Hebburn and Willington Quay on the River Tyne....
, and entered naval service in 1933. Decoy was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet
Mediterranean Fleet
Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...
before she was transferred to the China Station
China Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
in early 1935. She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
during late 1935 during the Abyssinia Crisis
Abyssinia Crisis
The Abyssinia Crisis was a diplomatic crisis during the interwar period originating in the "Walwal incident." This incident resulted from the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia...
, before returning to her duty station where she remained until mid-1939. Decoy was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet just before the Second World War began in September 1939. She briefly was assigned to West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
for convoy escort duties in 1940 before returning to the Mediterranean. The ship participated in the Battles of Calabria
Battle of Calabria
The Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...
without significant damage and escorted ships of the Mediterranean Fleet for most of the rest of the year.
Decoy assisted in the evacuations from Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
and Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
in April–May 1941. She began escorting supply convoys in June to Tobruk
Tobruk
Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
until the ship was badly damaged in a collision in November. Repairs were not completed until February 1942 and Decoy was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
the following month. She remained there until September when she was ordered to return to Britain. The ship was refitted as an escort destroyer
Escort destroyer
A Escort Destroyer is a US Navy post World War II classification for destroyers modified for and assigned to a fleet escort role. These destroyers retained their original hull numbers...
from November to April 1943 and transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
that same month as HMCS Kootenay. The ship was assigned to convoy escort duties in the mid-Atlantic for the rest of 1943 and early 1944. Kootenay was transferred back to British coastal waters in May to protect the build up for Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
. Together with other ships, she sank three German submarines between July and September. The ship was given a lengthy refit in Canada from October to February 1945 and returned to the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
in April to protect against any last-gasp efforts by the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
to interfere with Allied supply lines to the Continent. After the end of the war in May, Kootenay served as a troop transport in Canadian waters. She was placed in reserve
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
in October and broken up
Ship breaking
Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...
in 1946.
Description
Decoy displaced 1375 long tons (1,397.1 t) at standardDisplacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
load and 1890 long tons (1,920.3 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 329 feet (100.3 m), a beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 33 feet (10.1 m) and a draught
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 12 in 6 in (3.81 m). She was powered by Parsons
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...
geared steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 36000 shp and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (19.6 m/s). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s. Decoy carried a maximum of 473 long tons (480.6 t) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
that gave her a range of 5870 nautical miles (10,871.2 km) at 15 knots (8.2 m/s). The ship's complement was 145 officers and men.
The ship mounted four 45-calibre
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
QF 4.7-inch Mk IX guns
4.7 inch QF Mark XII
The 4.7 inch QF Mark IX and Mark XII were 120-mm 45-calibre naval guns which armed the majority of Royal Navy and Commonwealth destroyers in World War II, and were exported to many countries after World War II as the destroyers they were mounted on were sold off.-Description and history:These guns...
in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. For anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
(AA) defence, Decoy had a single QF 3-inch 20 cwt
QF 3 inch 20 cwt
The QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun became the standard anti-aircraft gun used in the home defence of the United Kingdom against German airships and bombers and on the Western Front in World War I. It was also common on British warships in World War I and submarines in World War II...
"cwt" is the abbreviation for hundredweight
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
, 30 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. AA gun between her funnel
Funnel (ship)
A funnel is the smokestack or chimney on a ship used to expel boiler steam and smoke or engine exhaust. They can also be known in as stacks.-Purpose:...
s, and two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5-inch Vickers Mark III
Vickers .50 machine gun
The Vickers .50 machine gun, also known as the 'Vickers .50' was basically the same as the Vickers machine gun but scaled up to use a larger calibre round.-Mark II, IV and V:...
machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
mounts for 21 inches (53 cm)
British 21 inch torpedo
There have been several British 21-inch diameter torpedoes used by the Royal Navy since their first development just before the First World War.They were the largest size of torpedo in common use in the RN...
torpedoes. One 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...
rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.
Career
Decoy was ordered on 2 February 1931 under the 1930 Naval Estimates, and was laid down at John I Thornycroft's yard at Woolston, Southampton on 25 June 1931. She was launched on 7 June 1932 and completed on 17 January 1933, at a total cost of £225,236, excluding equipment supplied by the AdmiraltyAdmiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, such as weapons, ammunition and wireless equipment. The ship was initially assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean and made a brief deployment to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
in September–October 1933. New torpedo tubes were fitted at Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
after her return.
The ship was refitted at Devonport Dockyard
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
between 3 September and 20 October 1934 for service on the China Station
China Station
The China Station was a historical formation of the British Royal Navy. It was formally the units and establishments responsible to the Commander-in-Chief, China....
with the 8th (later the 21st) Destroyer Flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
and arrived there in January 1935. She was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in the Red Sea from September 1935 to May 1936 during the Abyssinian Crisis and made port visits in Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
and other East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
n ports before returning to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The ship was refitted there in October and toured Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
in the first quarter of 1937. Decoy required further repairs and fumigation in April–May after her return. In August 1938 she sailed for Tsingtao, carrying representatives to apologise for incidents where drunken sailors had insulted the Japanese flag. She remained in the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
until the rise in tensions before World War II began prompted her recall in August 1939.
World War II
With the outbreak of war, Decoy was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and assigned to contraband control duties. In December the ship began an extensive refit to repair corrosion problems, fix her boiler feedwater pumps, and replace her funnelFunnel (ship)
A funnel is the smokestack or chimney on a ship used to expel boiler steam and smoke or engine exhaust. They can also be known in as stacks.-Purpose:...
s. After completing her repairs in January 1940, she was transferred to Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
, joining the 20th Destroyer Flotilla, to escort convoys off the West African coast. Decoy returned to the Mediterranean Fleet in May and was assigned to the 10th Destroyer Flotilla. Together with her sister
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
, she escorted Convoy US-2 carrying Australian and New Zealand troops to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
through the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
from 12 to 17 May.
The ship and three other destroyers, escorted the and three British cruisers as they bombarded Bardia
Bardia
Bardia is a geographic region in the Democratic Republic of Nepal.Bardia comprises a portion of the Terai, or lowland hills and valleys of southern Nepal. The Terai is over 1,000 feet in elevation, and extends all along the Indian border...
during the night of 20/21 June. On 27 June 1940, Decoy participated in the sinking of the . Together with her sisters and Defender, the destroyer , and the Australian destroyer , the ship depth charged Console Generale Liuzzi, which was then scuttled by her own crew south-east off Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.
On 29 June 1940 Decoy participated, together with the same squadron, in the sinking of the . The squadron patrolled the area between Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
and the central Mediterranean from 27 to 30 June 1940 as part of Operation MA3 in support of British convoys from the Greek ports to Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
and from Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
to Malta. Argonauta was probably sunk near Cape Ras el Hilal, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, at around 0615 hours by the British destroyers; though it is also possible the Argonauta was depth charged and sunk around 1450 hours that same day by Short Sunderland
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
L5804 of the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. The Historical Bureau of the Italian Navy believes the first theory to be more believable, but doubt still persists. On 9 July 1940, she took part of the Battle of Calabria
Battle of Calabria
The Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...
, where she was hit by splinters from a near-miss from the .
While returning from Operation Hats
Malta Convoys
The Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys that sustained the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of the Second World War...
, Decoy, Ilex and the light cruisers and bombarded Scarpanto during the night of 3/4 September. On 6 November, Decoy, together with the destroyers Defender, , , , , , Ilex, , , , and screened the capital ship
Capital ship
The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they generally possess the heaviest firepower and armor and are traditionally much larger than other naval vessels...
s of the Mediterranean Fleet, which provided distant cover for the passage of Convoy MW3 from Egypt to Malta and Convoy ME3 from Malta as part of Operation MB8
Operation MB8
Operation MB8 was a British Royal Navy operation in the Mediterranean Sea during 4-11 November 1940. It was made up of six forces—totalling two aircraft carriers, five battleships, 10 cruisers, and 30 destroyers, including much of Force H—protecting four distinct supply convoys.It consisted of...
. While in Alexandria, the ship was struck by a bomb that penetrated completely through the ship on 13 November. After temporary repairs were made, she was sent to Malta for permanent repairs which lasted until 1 February 1941, after she was further damaged on 19 January. On 25 February, she participated in Operation Abstention
Operation Abstention
Operation Abstention was the code name given to the British invasion of the Italian island of Kastelorizo, off Turkey, during the Second World War, on late February 1941...
; together with Hereward and the gunboat , Decoy landed commandos on the island of Kastelorizo
Kastelorizo
Kastelorizo, , is a Greek island and municipality located in the southeastern Mediterranean. It lies roughly off the south coast of Turkey, about 570 km southeast of Athens and east of Rhodes, almost halfway between Rhodes and Antalya and to Cyprus...
, but they were overwhelmed by an Italian counter-attack. Only a few survivors were taken off two days later.
The ship participated in Operation Demon, the evacuation of Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
troops from Greece in April, and assisted in the evacuation of troops from Crete to Egypt after the Germans invaded Crete on 22 May (Operation Merkur
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
). She spent most of the rest of the year escorting convoys to Tobruk. On 25 November, she was escorting the battleship when that ship was torpedoed by the . Decoy was damaged in a collision the following month and was under repair at Malta from 20 December to 8 February 1942. After returning to Alexandria, she was transferred to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
where she escorted the slow ships of Force B when the Japanese carriers attacked in March–April 1942. The ship remained with the Eastern Fleet until she was ordered home to refit in September. En route, Decoy briefly operated from Freetown, but arrived at Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
on 29 October, her first visit home since 1934.
The ship was refitted at the Palmers shipyard
Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company
Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as Palmers, was a British shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, in Northeast England and also had operations in Hebburn and Willington Quay on the River Tyne....
at Hebburn-on-Tyne between 3 November and 12 April 1943. Her armament was modified to accommodate additional depth charges by removing 'Y' gun and her light AA armament was increased by the addition of six 20 millimetre (0.78740157480315 in) Oerlikon guns
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...
and two Parachute and Cable projectors. A Type 286 surface-search radar were probably also fitted at this time, but 1944 this had been replaced by a Type 290 system. Before the war's end this was supplemented when her director-control tower and rangefinder
Rangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...
above the bridge was replaced by a Type 271 target indication radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. Decoy was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy during the refit on 1 March and was recommissioned on 12 April with the new name of HMCS Kootenay (the ship was gifted to the Canadians on 15 June). After working up, she was assigned to Escort Group
Escort Group (naval)
Escort Groups for convoy protection were a British development in the war at sea during World War II. They were a tactical innovation by the Royal Navy in anti-submarine warfare, to combat the threat of the German Navy's "wolfpack" tactics....
C5 for convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic.
On 22 May 1943 Kootenay picked up 19 survivors from the Norwegian tanker Sandanger, which had been torpedoed and sunk on 12 May by in the North Atlantic. She remained with the escort group until October when she began a refit in Halifax
CFB Halifax
Canadian Forces Base Halifax is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet, known as Maritime Forces Atlantic....
that lasted until December, Kootenay rejoined the group upon completion of the refit. The ship was reassigned to the 11th Escort Group in May 1944 in preparation for Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
. The group was tasked to protect Allied shipping in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
and Kootenay, together with the destroyer and the corvette , sank in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
south of Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
on 7 July 1944. Together with Ottawa and the destroyer , the ship sank in the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
near La Rochelle
La Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
on 18 August. Two days later, the same ships sank in the Bay of Biscay west of Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
.
Kootenay was extensively refitted between 2 October 1944 and 27 February 1945 at Shelburne Naval Dockyard
Shelburne, Nova Scotia
Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Shelburne County.-History:-Settlers:...
and resumed anti-submarine patrols in the Channel in April after working up. After V-E day, she was used as a troop transport between Newfoundland and Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
until she was placed in reserve at Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....
on 26 October. She was broken up for scrap in 1946.
External links
- HMS Decoy on Uboat.net
- HMCS Kootenay on Uboat.net
- HMS Decoy/HMCS Kootenay on Naval-History.net
- R.Smg. Argonauta, by Admiral (ret) Attilio Duilio Ranieri, Italian Navy
- Italian Submarines Lost in World War II