HMS Dundee (L84)
Encyclopedia
HMS Dundee (L84) was a Royal Navy sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
of 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...
Some sources put Dundee with the Falmouth class sloops, others that she was of the Shoreham class sloop
Shoreham class sloop
The Shoreham-class sloops were a class of eight small British warships built in the early 1930s.Developed from the Bridgewater-class sloops, with a longer hull, the Shoreham-class sloops were laid down between 1929 and 1931 at Chatham and Devonport Naval Dockyards.-Ships:*HMS Shoreham was launched...
s which was derived from the Bridgewater class sloop
Bridgewater class sloop
The Bridgewater class sloop was a class composed of two ships built for the Royal Navy, and . The ships were part of the Royal Navy's 1927 Build Programme as replacements for the .-Design:...
, others that she was of the Bridgewater class. She was built in Chatham Dockyard in Kent and launched in 1932.
HMS Dundee served as an escort for convoys during the Battle of the Atlantic. She was sunk at 00.25 hours on 15 September 1940 by the most successful German submarine of the war, , commanded at that time by Kapitänleutnant Heinrich Bleichrodt
Heinrich Bleichrodt
Lieutenant Commander Heinrich Bleichrodt was one of the most successful German U-boat commander of the Second World War. From October 1939 until retiring from front line service in December 1943, he sank 25 ships for a total of . For this he received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, among other...
.
U-48 attacked a convoy, SC-3, of which HMS Dundee was the only escort. U-48 missed the British merchant ship Empire Soldier, but later torpedoed and sank Dundee, commanded by Capt. O.M.F. Stokes, RN
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...
, in position 56º45'N, 14º14'W, off Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
The Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
has a recording from its sound archives of W J H Mills, a Canadian serving with the Royal Navy on HMS Dundee, describing the sinking. In the recording he recounts "The blast was so severe that it tore the lockers away from the bulkhead mess – we knew we’d been hit – there was no mistaking it."