HMS Verdun (L93)
Encyclopedia
HMS Verdun was an Admiralty V
destroyer
of the Royal Navy
which saw service in the First
and Second World Wars
. So far she has been the only ship of the navy to bear the name Verdun, after the Battle of Verdun
. She was assigned to carry the remains of The Unknown Warrior
home to Britain on 8 November 1920.
changed from D93 to L93 on its completion in May 1940. She operated as a convoy escort out of Rosyth
and in the North Sea
, being damaged by a bomb on 1 November 1940 that killed 11 men including her captain. She was repaired at Harwich
and spent the rest of the war escorting convoys along the east coast, occasionally supporting the Arctic convoys
as well. She survived the war and was placed in reserve, before being sold for scrapping in April 1946.
V and W class destroyer
The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the War Emergency Programme of the First World War and generally treated as one class...
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...
which saw service in the First
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...
and Second World Wars
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...
. So far she has been the only ship of the navy to bear the name Verdun, after the Battle of Verdun
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
. She was assigned to carry the remains of The Unknown Warrior
The Unknown Warrior
The British tomb of The Unknown Warrior holds an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London on 11 November 1920, simultaneously with a similar interrment of a French unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in...
home to Britain on 8 November 1920.
Second World War
Verdun underwent a conversion to a long range escort at the start of the war, having her pennant numberPennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
changed from D93 to L93 on its completion in May 1940. She operated as a convoy escort out of 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....
and in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, being damaged by a bomb on 1 November 1940 that killed 11 men including her captain. She was repaired at Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
and spent the rest of the war escorting convoys along the east coast, occasionally supporting the Arctic convoys
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...
as well. She survived the war and was placed in reserve, before being sold for scrapping in April 1946.