HMS Forester (H74)
Encyclopedia
HMS Forester (H74) was a F class
E and F class destroyer
The E and F class was a class of 18 destroyers of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War. Three ships were later transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy, one to the Royal Hellenic Navy and one to the Dominican Navy. Launched in 1934, they served in the Second World War. Nine were lost...
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 British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
, commissioned in 1935, that saw service 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...
, seeing action in Norway, in the Mediterranean, on the Russian and Atlantic Convoys, and during the Normandy landings before being sold for scrap in early 1946.
Construction
The ship was built by J. Samuel WhiteJ. Samuel White
J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White . It came to prominence during the Victorian era...
at Cowes
Cowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
under the 1932 Naval Programme. She was laid down on 15 May 1933, launched on 28 June 1934, as the eleventh ship to carry the name, and completed on 19 April 1935. The price of the build, excluding Admiralty supplied equipment such as armaments and communications sets was £284,898.
Pre-war service, 1935–1939
After being commissioned for service in April 1935 Forester joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet in June. In September Forester and were sent to the Mediterranean Sea as reinforcements during the Abyssinian crisisSecond Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
. In February 1936 she took part in the annual joint exercises at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
with ships of the Home and Mediterranean Fleets, and in March returned to home waters to resume service with the Flotilla. In June 1937 she took part in the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
for George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
. Forester remained in service with the Home Fleet taking part in fleet exercises and visits programmes, and annual joint exercises at Gibraltar. In April 1939 the 4th Destroyer Flotilla was renumbered the 8th Destroyer Flotilla.
On 7 April she formed part of the escort, with three other destroyers and the cruiser , to Convoy NP1 taking troops to Norway as part of Plan R 4
Plan R 4
Plan R 4 was the World War II British plan for an invasion of the neutral state of Norway in April 1940. Earlier the British had planned a similar intervention with France during the Winter War.-Background:...
. The British invasion plan was pre-empted by the German invasion
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
on 9 April.
Forester remained with the 8th Flotilla in the western Mediterranean until late 1941, seeing action in numerous operations to deliver troops and equipment, particularly aircraft, to the besieged island of Malta, and in attacks on Italian bases. In November, during a convoy to Malta (Operation Collar), the ship took part in the brief and inconclusive engagement with Italian ships in the battle of Cape Spartivento
Battle of Cape Spartivento
The Battle of Cape Spartivento, known as the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War...
.
In early 1941 Forester was temporarily assigned to Atlantic convoy defence duty based at 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...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, and in May joined the search for the before it was eventually tracked down and sunk. In June, while on anti-submarine patrol west of Gibraltar, she participated in the sinking of , and later in the interception of the German supply ship Alstertor. In July 1941, during a Malta supply convoy "Operation Substance
Operation Substance
Operation Substance was a British naval operation in July 1941 during the Second World War to escort a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta.The convoy was escorted by six destroyers and covered by aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the battlecruiser HMS Renown and the battleship HMS Nelson along with...
", Forester rescued survivors from , which had been attacked by Italian torpedo-bombers, and then sank the wrecked and burning ship with torpedoes. At the end of October 1941 Forester was transferred back to the Freetown Escort Force for Atlantic convoy defence duties, and returned to the UK at the end of November to refit and be converted to an anti-submarine escort destroyer.
Russian convoys, 1942
Forester returned to duty on 11 April 1942, when she formed part of the escort to Russian Convoy PQ 14Convoy PQ 14
Convoy PQ 14 was an Arctic convoy sent from Great Britain by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in April 1942, reaching Murmansk after air and U-boat attacks that sank one ship, and ice damage that saw 16 vessels returned to port...
to Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
. On the 18th she was detached from PQ 14 to intercept a possible attack by German destroyers based at Kirkenes
Kirkenes
is a town in the municipality of Sør-Varanger in the county of Finnmark in the far northeast of Norway...
. In the event, the Germans were forced back by bad weather. On the 28th Forester joined the escort of returning convoy QP 11, and two days later, when the cruiser was torpedoed, she assisted in attempts to save her. On 1 May the crippled cruiser and its escorts were attacked by the German destroyers Z24, Z25
Narvik class destroyer
The Zerstörer 1936A-class destroyers, or Narvik-class destroyers as they were known to the Allies, were a class of German destroyers of the Second World War...
and . Forester attempted to attack Z25 with torpedoes, but was hit by shells and disabled. Twelve crewmen were killed, including the captain, and nine were wounded. The next day Edinburgh was sunk by Foresight. Forester limped back to Murmansk to make temporary repairs to allow her to return to the UK. She sailed on the 13th with the destroyers Foresight, and as escort to the cruiser , which had also suffered damage in the action with the German destroyers. The next day the ships came under heavy air attack, and Trinidad sustained further damage. Forester took off the wounded and other survivors, and Trinidad was sunk by Matchless. Forester arrived at Scapa Flow on the 18th and immediately took passage to a shipyard on the Tyne for repairs. In October Forester rejoined the Flotilla for further deployment with Russian convoys. In April 1943 she was refitted at Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
, and additional close range AA armament was installed.
Atlantic convoys, 1943–1944
In June 1943 Forester joined the 1st Canadian Escort Group for Atlantic convoy duty, becoming Group Leader in March 1944. On 10 March 1944, while escorting Convoy SC 154, Forester, along with St. Laurent, Swansea and Owen Sound sank the . Forty-five survivors were rescued.Normandy and escort duty, 1944–1945
Convoy defence and patrols in the Channel continued into August, and on the 20th Forester, and sank the off Beachy HeadBeachy Head
Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m above sea level. The peak allows views of the south...
. The next day she engaged and drove off E-boats while defending a Channel coastal convoy with the destroyers and . In October and November her Group was deployed for convoy defence while based at Derry
Derry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
.
On 1 December 1944 Forester arrived at Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
for repairs, returning to service in May 1945, and joining the Rosyth Escort Force for convoy defence duty.
Decommissioning and disposal
Forester was paid off in September 1945 and reduced to the Reserve at DartmouthDartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
on 2 November. She was placed on the Disposal List and sold for breaking up in January 1946. The ship arrived at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
for breaking-up on 26 February that year.
Commanding officers
- Lieutenant CommanderLieutenant CommanderLieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Miles Ambrose Gregory Child, RN (23 April 1935–c. February 1937) - Unknown (February 1937–January 1939)
- Lieutenant Commander Edward Bernard Tancock, RN (31 January 1939–January 1942)
- Lieutenant Commander George Pepys Huddart, RN (January 1942–KIAKilled in actionKilled in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
1 May 1942) - LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Jack Bitmead, RN (2–20 May 1942) - Lieutenant Commander Robert Augustus Fell, RN (20 May 1942–Mid-1942)
- Lieutenant Jack Bitmead, DSODistinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, RN (Mid-1942–4 August 1942) - Lieutenant Commander James Arbouin Burnett, RN (4 August 1942–21 May 1944)
- CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
George Windsor Gregorie, RDDecoration for Officers of the Royal Naval ReserveThe Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve was a medal awarded in the Royal Naval Reserve of the United Kingdom to officers with at least fifteen years of active duty...
, RNRRoyal Naval ReserveThe Royal Naval Reserve is the volunteer reserve force of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. The present Royal Naval Reserve was formed in 1958 by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , a reserve of civilian volunteers founded in 1903...
(21 May–9 July 1944) - Lieutenant David Creagh Beatty, RN (9 July 1944–17 April 1945)
- Lieutenant Commander Peter Ronald Ward, RN (17 April–6 June 1945)
- Acting-Lieutenant Commander Louis John Hilary Gamble, RN (6 June–July 1945)