HMS Scarborough was a Hastings-class

Hastings class sloop

The Hastings class, also known as the Folkestone class, was a class of sloop which were built for the Royal Navy and the Royal Indian Navy in the interwar period...

 sloop

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

 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...

 launched in 1930. She saw active service during the Second World War

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...

, especially as a convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 escort in the North Atlantic.

Construction and commissioning

Scarborough was ordered on 26 February 1929 under the 1929 building programme and was laid down at the yards of Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd.

Swan Hunter

Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...

, Wallsend-on-Tyne on 28 May 1929. She was launched on 14 March 1930 and commissioned on 31 July 1930 for service in the West Indies.

Pre-War

From 1931 onwards, Scarborough was part of the North America and West Indies Squadron stationed at Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

. The First World War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 hero, Augustus Agar V.C.

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, was her captain in the early 1930s. Peacetime duties included showing the flag, especially in smaller ports of the Empire, those unlikely to be visited by large warships.

In the summer of 1931 she was in Newfoundland

Dominion of Newfoundland

The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...

, then a British

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 dominion, sometimes acting as a yacht to take the Governor around to visit smaller ports. She was on this duty again in 1933 and in 1934 took British Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 Ramsay MacDonald

Ramsay MacDonald

James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....

 and his daughter up the west coast of Newfoundland to visit the Grenfell Mission

Grenfell Mission

Grenfell Mission is a medical and religious mission founded by Sir Wilfred Grenfell in the late 19th century in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador....

 at St. Anthony

St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador

-Attractions:* Is a popular tourist destination known for its whale watching.Dr. Wilfred Grenfell's work in St. Anthony is commemorated by several historic sites and museums, including:...

. While a part of the North America and West Indies Squadron in 1933 she visited Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

 in Canada. There, her then captain, Commander

Commander

Commander 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...

 Cornwallis, his officers and petty officers were entertained by Canadian Senator Creelman MacArthur

Creelman MacArthur

Creelman MacArthur was a senator in the Parliament of Canada representing Prince Edward Island. He was a businessman in Summerside....

 at his summer home on Foxley River. During her peacetime cruises she was painted in the foreign station colours of white with a buff funnel.

Wartime modifications

Scarborough was disarmed and used as a survey ship on the East Indies Station where she arrived in May 1939. On the outbreak of the war in September, 1939, she put into Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

 for a refit, where she was rearmed with 1 x 4 inch (102 mm) Quick Fire high angle gun, suitable against either surface or air targets. During late 1941 and 1942, she carried a 12 pounder (5 kg) high angle Quick Fire anti-aircraft gun and gradually a number of 20 mm anti-aircraft guns were added. For anti-submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

 work, Scarborough was given 15 depth charges in 1939, later increased to 40, then 80.

Convoy escort

Scarborough was nominated to serve in Home waters on completion of her refit, and after passing 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...

 and Mediterranean in December, she arrived at Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

 in January. She was taken in hand for another refit, before being assigned to the Western Approaches Command

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...

. She was attached to the 1st Escort Division at Liverpool for convoy escort in February and deployed on her first patrol on 27 February in company with the 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...

s HMS Vanoc and Whirlwind

HMS Whirlwind (D30)

The first HMS Whirlwind was an W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War I and the World War II....

, and the sloop HMS Wellington

HMS Wellington

HMS Wellington is a Grimsby-class sloop, formerly of the Royal Navy. During the Second World War, she served as a convoy escort ship in the North Atlantic...

. They covered the passage of convoy OG-20F to 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...

, where Scarborough and Wellington arrived in early March. She deployed again with Wellington and the destroyers HMS Campbell, Volunteer and Walker to escort convoy HG-23 back to Liverpool.

SC-7

She continued to escort convoys, through the Irish Sea

Irish Sea

The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...

 in and out of Liverpool often in company with other sloops. By mid 1940 she was covering the North Western Approaches. She was soon engaged in escorting convoys bound to and from Canada and North America. In October she sailed to join the inward convoy SC-7

Convoy SC-7

SC-7 was the code name for a large Allied World War II convoy of 35 merchant ships and six escorts which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia for Liverpool and other United Kingdom ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, the convoy was intercepted by one of the German Navy's...

, initially as the sole escort for the 35-ship convoy. The convoy had left 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 4 October 1940 bound for Liverpool and other British ports. Although vulnerable to air attack, there was no aircraft protection in 1940 for Allied ships in the Atlantic Ocean after leaving coastal regions. The convoy was attacked by a wolfpack of U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s and suffered heavy losses, despite the arrival on 16 October of the sloop HMS Fowey

HMS Fowey (L15)

HMS Fowey was a Shoreham-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.-Construction and commissioning:Fowey was ordered on 4 December 1929 under the 1929 Programme. She was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 24 March 1930, and was launched on 4 November that year by a Mrs...

 and the corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...

 HMS Bluebell

HMS Bluebell (K80)

HMS Bluebell was a that served in the Royal Navy during World War II. Ordered from Fleming & Ferguson at Paisley on 27 July 1939, she was launched on 24 April 1940 and commissioned in July 1940. She served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arctic, escorting several convoys to Russia, and also...

 as reinforcements. Scarborough herself came under attack on 17 October by U-48 and on 18 October by U-38. The escorts were joined by HMS Leith

HMS Leith (U36)

HMS Leith was a Grimsby-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.-Construction, commissioning and early service:...

 and HMS Heartsease

HMS Heartsease (K15)

HMS Heartsease was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served with both the Royal Navy and the United States Navy during the Second World War, with the latter navy as USS Courage...

, but the U-boats succeeded in sinking 20 merchantmen without loss.

Intercepting German ships and U-boats

Scarborough remained deployed on convoy defence into 1941. On 13 March she intercepted the German supply ship Spichern, which scuttled herself. The Spichern had previously been the Norwegian merchant Krossfon, but had been captured by the German auxiliary cruiser Widder

German auxiliary cruiser Widder

Widder was an auxiliary cruiser of the German Navy that was used as a merchant raider in the Second World War.Her Kriegsmarine designation was Schiff 21, to the Royal Navy she was Raider D....

 in 1940. Also in the spring of 1941, Scarborough intercepted and sank two German-manned ex-Norwegian whalers

Whalers

Whalers may refer to:* Danbury Whalers,US ice-hockey team in the Federal Hockey League* Eden Whalers, Australian Rules Football team* Hartford Whalers, former US ice-hockey team* New Bedford Whalers, name of three US soccer teams...

. These had been captured by the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin

German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin

The Pinguin was a German auxiliary cruiser which served as a commerce raider in World War II. The Pinguin was known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 33, and designated HSK 5. The most successful commerce raider of the war, she was known to the British Royal Navy as Raider F...

 in the South Atlantic and were being sent to German occupied Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

 with their valuable cargo of whale oil. The Star XIX was of 360 tons displacement and the Star XXIV was of 250 tons displacement.

In April she was escorting a convoy through the North Western Approaches when she, HMS Wolverine

HMS Wolverine (D78)

HMS Wolverine was a Royal Navy destroyer, which saw service during the Second World War. She was the seventh ship to bear that name.-Construction:...

 and HMS Arbutus

HMS Arbutus (K86)

For the New Zealand corvette of the same name, see HMNZS ArbutusHMS Arbutus was a that served in the Royal Navy.-Fate:She was torpedoed and sunk by on 5 February 1942.-External links:*...

 detected and depth charged U-76

German submarine U-76 (1940)

German submarine U-76 was a Type VIIB U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. U-76 played a minor role in the Battle of the Atlantic, but was destroyed somewhere south of Iceland.-1st patrol:...

 which was forced to the surface and then scuttled. Scarborough was refitted in August and joined the 43rd Escort Group covering convoys between the UK and 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...

 in October. She carried out these duties into 1942. On 16 April she was involved in a collision with HMS Bradford. Scarborough was refitted again in July, which involved the fitting of a new Radar Type 271 for surface warning.

North Africa

After completing the refit in October she was nominated to support the planned landings in North Africa (Operation Torch

Operation Torch

Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....

). She deployed out of Gibraltar escorting convoys for the rest of the year, moving to the western Mediterranean in January. She returned to the UK in February and was deployed with the 39th Escort Group. On 7 February 1943 Scarborough was part of the escort of Convoy MJS-7 when three of its merchant ships hit mines

Naval mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...

 west 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...

 that had been laid by a German submarine on 1 and 2 February 1943. The Emperor Mordred sank taking 12 crew and 3 gunners down with her, but HMS Scarborough rescued the master, 41 crew and 13 gunners. She landed them safely in 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...

. The rest of the year was spent escorting Atlantic convoys. Scarborough was transferred to the 15th Escort Group at based in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 in January 1944.

Normandy landings and reserve

In May she was assigned to support the Allied landings in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 on D Day in June 1944. Scarborough was to follow closely behind British minesweepers

Minesweeper (ship)

A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...

 and Trinity House

Trinity House

The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...

 vessels which were making a path through the German minefields near the coast of Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

. She dropped buoys to mark the clear path for the assault convoys. On 7 June she was re-deployed for duty as a Control Ship for Coastal Forces

Coastal Forces of the Royal Navy

Coastal Forces was a division of the Royal Navy established duringWorld War II under the command of Rear Admiral Coastal Forces. -History:The Royal Navy had previously operated flotillas of small torpedo- and depth-charge-armed craft during the First World WarThe first Headquarters was set up at ...

 craft. She returned to Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 in July and was then paid off at Hartlepool

Hartlepool

Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...

 and reduced to the 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....

. She spent the rest of the war laid up.

Postwar

After the end of the war Scarborough was placed on the disposal list and sold to BISCO

British Steel

British Steel was a major British steel producer. It originated as a nationalised industry, the British Steel Corporation , formed in 1967. This was converted to a public limited company, British Steel PLC, and privatised in 1988. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index...

 on 3 June 1949. She was towed to Thornaby-on-Tees

Thornaby-on-Tees

Thornaby-on-Tees is a town and civil parish within the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees, in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the south bank of the River Tees, three miles southeast of Stockton-on-Tees, and four miles southwest of Middlesbrough town centre and has a...

and arrived at the breakers yard on 3 July, where she was scrapped.

External links

• Scarborough's wartime career