Shoreham class sloop
Encyclopedia
The Shoreham-class sloops were a class of eight small British warships
built in the early 1930s.
Developed from the Bridgewater-class sloop
s, with a longer hull, the Shoreham-class sloops were laid down between 1929 and 1931 at Chatham
and Devonport Naval Dockyards
.
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...
built in the early 1930s.
Developed 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:...
s, with a longer hull, the Shoreham-class sloops were laid down between 1929 and 1931 at Chatham
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
and Devonport Naval Dockyards
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
.
Ships
- HMS Shoreham (originally L 32, from May 1940 U 32) was launched on 22 November 1930 at Devonport and sold for scrapping in 1946. From 1932, HMS Shoreham served in the Persian GulfPersian GulfThe Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
and, from the outbreak of war, in the Red SeaRed SeaThe 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...
. She was active in the suppression of the Regia MarinaRegia MarinaThe Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
in East Africa, participating in the sinking of the submarine Toricelli. Shoreham was also involved in the invasion of IranAnglo-Soviet invasion of IranThe Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran was the Allied invasion of the Imperial State of Iran during World War II, by British, Commonwealth, and Soviet armed forces. The invasion from August 25 to September 17, 1941, was codenamed Operation Countenance...
in 1941, where she suppressed Iranian naval ships at AbadanAbadanAbadan is a city in and the capital of Abadan County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. It lies on Abadan Island , from the Persian Gulf, near the Iraqi-Iran border. The civilian population of the city dropped to near zero during the eight-years Iran–Iraq War. In 1992, only 84,774 had returned to live...
. Apart from a spell in the Mediterranean - including the Allied invasion of SicilyAllied invasion of SicilyThe Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
- from February 1943 to September 1943, Shorehams war was spent with the Eastern Fleet, with which she served up until VJ DayVictory over Japan DayVictory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event...
. Shoreham returned to the UK in 1946, sold off in November and broken up in 1950. Her battle honours were Sicily 1943, Mediterranean 1943, Burma 1944-45.
- was launched on 4 November 1930 and sold for merchant use in 1946. From 1940 to 1942, she was engaged in North Atlantic escort and anti-submarine duty. Fowey participated in the sinking of on 30 January 1940 and rescued survivors from various sinkings.
- HMS Bideford was launched on 1 April 1931 and scrapped in 1949. After participating in the Dunkirk evacuationOperation DynamoThe Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were...
(May 1940), she was used in anti-submarine sweeps and as a convoy escort in the North Atlantic. She rescued 63 survivors of the torpedoed Edward Blyden on 3 September 1941 and 31 more from the MV Abosso on 31 October 1942. In August 1943, Bideford, with the 40th Escort Group in the Bay of BiscayBay of BiscayThe Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, was damaged by a Henschel Hs 293Henschel Hs 293The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German anti-ship guided missile: a radio-controlled glide bomb with a rocket engine slung underneath it. It was designed by Herbert A. Wagner.- History :...
glider bomb.
- HMS Rochester was launched on 16 July 1931, became a tender to the Navigation School. Scrapped in 1951. During the Battle of the Atlantic, Rochester participated in the sinking of four U-boats: U-204 on 19 October 1941, U-82 on 2 February 1942, U-213 on 30 July 1942, and on 15 July 1943.
- HMS Falmouth was launched on 19 April 1932 and became the RNVRRoyal 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...
Calliope in 1952. Scrapped in 1968. Falmouth was assigned to the China Station (later merged into the Eastern Fleet) where she was used as the Commander-in-Chief's yacht. In 1936, her new skipper was Frederick "Johnny" WalkerFrederic John WalkerCaptain Frederic John Walker, CB, DSO and three Bars, RN was a British Royal Navy officer noted for his exploits during World War II...
who later became a highly successful anti-submarine commander in the Battle of the Atlantic. In June 1940 Falmouth sunk the Italian submarine Galvani off the Gulf of OmanGulf of OmanThe Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman is a strait that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It is generally included as a branch of the Persian Gulf, not as an arm of the Arabian Sea. On the north coast is Pakistan and Iran...
. She participated in Operation CountenanceAnglo-Soviet invasion of IranThe Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran was the Allied invasion of the Imperial State of Iran during World War II, by British, Commonwealth, and Soviet armed forces. The invasion from August 25 to September 17, 1941, was codenamed Operation Countenance...
, the invasion of Iran, in August 1941. Her role was to transport infantry to KhorramshahrKhorramshahrKhorramshahr is a city in and the capital of Khorramshahr County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 123,866, in 26,385 families.Khorramshahr is a port city located approximately north of Abadan...
and, with , neutralise local Iranian land and sea forces. Her departure from the Shatt al-Arab near BasraBasraBasra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
was delayed when she ran aground and had to wait for the tide to refloat her.
- HMS Milford was launched on 11 June 1932 and scrapped in 1949. On 28 March 1938, Milford claimed Gough IslandGough IslandGough Island , also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares or Diego Alvarez, is a volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha...
in the South Atlantic Ocean for Britain. In World War II, she sunk the Vichy FrenchVichy FranceVichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
submarine PonceletPonceletThe poncelet is an obsolete unit of power, once used in France and replaced by cheval vapeur . The unit was named after Jean-Victor Poncelet....
off the coast of GabonGabonGabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
, on 8 October 1940. On 30 May 1943, she went to the assistance of the freighter Flora McDonald, torpedoed off the coast of West Africa.
- HMS Weston was launched on 23 July 1932 and scrapped in 1947. She spent the war years in home waters and the North Atlantic. On several occasions, she rescued survivors of torpedoed ships and on 31 May 1940, Weston sank in the North SeaNorth SeaIn 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...
. - was launched on 20 September 1932 at Chatham and sunk on 15 September 1940 by , while escorting a convoy.