HMS Gentian (K90) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

HMS Gentian was a 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...

Flower-class corvette

Flower class corvette

The Flower-class corvette was a class of 267 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic...

that served in the Battle of the Atlantic, during 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...

.

One of the first batch of wartime corvettes laid down, she served most of the time in the Western Approaches

Western Approaches

The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...

, escorting convoys across the North Atlantic with Escort Group B2 and was also on the Arctic runs 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...

and Archangel

Archangel

An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...

. In 1941 the ship was also involved in escort work out of 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...

and was one of the RN corvettes employed on escort duties during D-Day

D-Day

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

Wartime service

Western Approaches Command

Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsible for the safety of British shipping in the Western...

convoy's involving HMS Gentian

HX-82 (Departed Halifax, 20 October 1940, arrived Liverpool, 6 November 1940 - ESCORT 01/11 - 04/11)
OB-236 (Departed Liverpool, 29 October 1940, dispersed 2 December 1940 - ESCORT 01/11 - 01/11)
HX-90
Convoy HX 90
HX 90 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II.-Background:HX 90 was an east-bound convoy of 41 ships which sailed from Halifax on 21 November 1940 bound for Liverpool and carrying war materials.The convoy, made up of contingents from...

(Departed Halifax, 21 November 1940, rendezvous with Gentian 2 December 1940, arrived Liverpool, 5 December 1940)
OB-251 (Departed Liverpool, 28 November 1940, dispersed 17.20W 1 December 1940 - ESCORT 28/11 - 01/12)
OB-258 (Departed Liverpool, 12 December 1940, dispersed 15 December 1940 - ESCORT 12/12 - 15/12)
OB-265 (Departed Liverpool, 26 December 1940, dispersed 30 December 1940 - ESCORT 26/12 - 30/12)
HX-97 (Departed Halifax, 18 November 1940, arrived Liverpool, 3 January 1941 - ESCORT 30/12 - 03/01)
OB-271 (Departed Liverpool, 8 January 1941, dispersed 12 January 1941 - ESCORT 8/1 - 12/1)
HX-100 (Departed Halifax, 1 January 1941, arrived Liverpool, 18 January 1941 - ESCORT 13/01 - 17/01)
HX-103 (Departed Halifax, 15 January 1941, arrived Liverpool, 1 February 1941 - ESCORT 27/01-)
HG-55 (Departed Gibraltar, 3 March 1941, arrived Liverpool 22 March 1941 - ESCORT 03/03 - 10/03)
HG-57 (Departed Gibraltar, 25 March 1941, arrived Liverpool, 11 April 1941 - ESCORT 24/03)
HG-59 (Departed Gibraltar, 15 April 1941, arrived Liverpool, 1 May 1941 - ESCORT 15/04 - 22/04)
HG-61 (Departed Gibraltar, 6 May 1941, arrived Liverpool, 20 May 1941)
HG-69 (Departed Gibraltar, 28 July 1941, arrived Liverpool, 11 August 1941- ESCORT 08/08 - 11/08 )
HG-73 (Departed Gibraltar, 17 September 1941, arrived Liverpool, 1 October 1941 - ESCORT 17/09 - 30/09)
HX-155 (Departed Halifax, 16 October 1941, arrived Liverpool, 31 October 1941 - ESCORT 25/10 - 31/10)
ON-34 (Departed Liverpool, 7 November 1941, dispersed 46.18N 52.40W 21 November 1941 - ESCORT 07/11 - 12/11)
HX-162 (Departed Halifax, 27 November 1941, arrived Liverpool, 11 December 1941 - ESCORT 07/12 - 10/12)
HX-166 (Departed Halifax, 21 December 1941, arrived Liverpool, 5 January 1942 - ESCORT 30/12 - 04/01)
HX-180 (Departed Halifax, 15 March 1942, arrived Liverpool, 27 March 1942 - ESCORT 19/03 - 27/03)
HX-203 (Departed Halifax, 16 August 1942, arrived Liverpool, 28 August 1942)
ON-128 (Departed Liverpool, 5 September 1942, arrived New York City, 24 September 1942 - Gentian relieved on 18 September 1942)
HX-208 (Departed New York City, 17 September 1942, arrived Liverpool, 2 October 1942 - Gentian joined convoy on 23 September 1942)
HX-213 (Departed New York City, 26 Oct 1942, arrived Liverpool, 10 November 1942)
HX-219 (Departed New York City, 13 December 1942, arrived Liverpool, 29 December 1942)
ON-159 (Departed Liverpool, 4 January 1943, arrived New York, 20 January 1943)
ON-161 (Departed Liverpool, 12 Jan 1943, arrived New York, 31 January 1943 - Gentian joined convoy on 24 January 1943)
ON-170 (Departed Liverpool, 3 March 1943, arrived New York, 20 March 1943)
ONS-4 (Departed Liverpool, 13 April 1943, arrived Halifax, 5 May 1943 - ESCORT 14/04 - 29/04)
SC-129 (Departed Halifax, 2 May 1943, Gentian joined convoy with Escort Group B2 on 6 May)
ONS-9 (Departed Liverpool, 28 May 1943, arrived Halifax, 9 June 1943 - ESCORT 01/06 - 07/06)
ONS-13 (Departed Liverpool,14 July 1943, arrived Halifax, 29 July 1943 - ESCORT 15/07 - 25/07)
SC-138 (Departed Halifax, 30 July 1943, arrived Liverpool, 12 August 1943 - ESCORT 03/08 - 12/08)
ONS-22 (Departed Liverpool, 4 November 1943, arrived Halifax, 22 November 1943 - ESCORT 05/11 - 17/11)
HX-267 (Departed New York City, 19 November 1943, arrived Liverpool, 3 December 1943 - ESCORT 25/11 - 02/12)
ONS-25 (Departed Liverpool, 15 December 1943, arrived Halifax, 3 January 1944 - ESCORT 17/12 - 30/12)
HX-273 (Departed New York City, 29 December 1943, arrived Liverpool, 14 January 1944 - ESCORT 03/01 - 14/01)
ON-221 (Departed Liverpool, 24 January 1944, arrived NYC, 11 February 1944 - ESCORT 25/01 - 06/02)
HX-278 (Departed New York City, 5 February 1944, arrived Liverpool, 20 February 1944 - ESCORT 10/02 - 20/02)
ON-226 (Departed Liverpool, 29 February 1944, arrived NYC, 15 March 1944 - ESCORT 01/03 - 10/03)
SC-155 (Departed Halifax, 14 March 1944, arrived Liverpool, 29 March 1944 - ESCORT 17/03 - 28/03)
FTC-1 (Departed Seine Bay, 8 June 1944, arrived Southend 10 June 1944 - ESCORT 08/06 - 10/06)
FTC-6 (Departed Seine Bay, 13 June 1944, arrived Southend 14 June 1944 - ESCORT 13/06 - 14/06)
FTM-29 (Departed Seine Bay, 6 July 1944, arrived Southend 7 July 1944 - ESCORT 06/07 - 06/07)
MKS-74G (Departed Gibraltar, 31 December 1944, arrived Liverpool, 10 January 1945 - ESCORT 08/01 - 10/01)
BTC-82 (Departed Milford Haven 27 February 1945, arrived Southend 2 March 1945 - ESCORT 27/02 - 02/03)

Sources and references

Macintryre, Donald. U-boat Killer (Cassel & Co, 1956)
Syrett, David. The Defeat of the German U-Boats: The Battle of the Atlantic (University of South Carolina Press, 1994)

External links

http://uboat.net/allies/personnel/macintyre.htm
http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4759.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4759.html
http://www.warsailors.com/
http://www.cbrnp.com/RNP/Flower/ARTICLES/Davies.htm
HMS Gentian on the Arnold Hague database at convoyweb.org.uk.
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) Officers 1939-1945.

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