HMS Eridge (L68)
![]() Eridge in July 1941
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History | |
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Name | HMS Eridge |
Builder | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear |
Laid down | 21 November 1939 |
Launched | 20 August 1940 |
Commissioned | 28 February 1941 |
Reclassified | Base ship on 29 August 1942 (constructive total loss) |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 1946 |
General characteristics Type II | |
Class and type | Hunt-class destroyer |
Displacement |
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Length | 85.3 m (279 ft 10 in) o/a |
Beam | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
Draught | 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in) |
Propulsion |
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Speed |
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Range | 3,600 nmi (6,700 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h) |
Complement | 164 |
Armament |
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Service record | |
Commanders: | Lt.Cdr. William Frank Niemann Gregory-Smith |
HMS Eridge was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1940 and served during the Second World War.
Service history
[edit]On 29 August 1942, Eridge assisted the destroyers Hero and Hurworth in sinking the German submarine U-568.[1] At 04:15 on 29 August 1942, she began shelling Axis positions off El Daba, Egypt, at 31°7′N 28°26′E / 31.117°N 28.433°E, together with the destroyers Croome and Hursley. At 05:00, she was permanently disabled by a 450mm torpedo fired by the Italian motor torpedo boat MTSM-228. The attack caused five fatalities on board Eridge.[2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/HMS_Eridge_Brought_Safely_Back_To_Harbour._29_August_1942%2C_Alexandria_Harbour._the_British_Hunt_Class_Destroyer_As_She_Was_Towed_Back_To_Harbour_After_Being_Torpedoed_by_a_German_E-boat._A13534.jpg/220px-thumbnail.jpg)
She was towed to Alexandria by the destroyer Aldenham,[3] where Eridge was declared a constructive total loss due to structural damage to the hull and damage beyond repair to the main turbines, condenser, gearing and intermediate shaft. The destroyer was used as a base ship in situ for the rest of the war and sold for scrapping in October 1946.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "HMS Eridge (L 68) of the Royal Navy - British Escort destroyer of the Hunt (Type II) class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Paul Kemp (1999). The Admiralty regrets: British warship losses of the 20th century. Sutton. p. 192. ISBN 9780750915670.
- ^ "Commander Alex Stuart-Menteth". The Daily Telegraph. 6 June 2000. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
- ^ Webb, Tim (1 August 2020). "HMS ERIDGE". Ships Nostalgia. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
Publications
[edit]- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- English, John (1987). The Hunts: a history of the design, development and careers of the 86 destroyers of this class built for the Royal and Allied Navies during World War II. England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-44-4.
Further reading
[edit]- Gregory-Smith, Frank (2008). Red Tobruk: Memoirs of a World War II Destroyer Commander. Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84415-862-1.
External links
[edit]- HMS Eridge (L 68)
- Captain Frank Gregory-Smith - Daily Telegraph obituary