 HMSWishart indrydock sometime prior toWorld War II. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSWishart |
| Namesake | James Wishart (1659–1723), Britishadmiral who wascommanding officer ofHMS Swiftsure at theBattle of Vigo Bay in 1702[1] |
| Ordered | January 1918[1] |
| Builder | John I. Thornycroft & Company,Woolston, Hampshire,Hampshire[1] |
| Laid down | 18 May 1918[1] |
| Launched | 18 July 1919[1] |
| Completed | June 1920[1] |
| Commissioned | June 1920[2] |
| Decommissioned | February 1945[1] |
| Motto | Clementia victis ("Mercy to the vanquished")[1] |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 20 March 1945[1] |
| Badge | A redpheon on a silver field[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1,140 tons standard, 1,550 tons full |
| Length | |
| Beam | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draught | 10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) |
| Propulsion | 3 Yarrow type Water-tube boilers, Brown-Curtis steam turbines, 2 shafts, 27,000 shp |
| Speed |
|
| Range |
|
| Complement | 134 |
| Sensors & processing systems | Type 271 surface warning radar fitted 1942 |
| Armament |
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| Notes | Pennant number D67 |
HMSWishart (D67) was aModified W-classdestroyer of theBritishRoyal Navy that saw service inWorld War II. She spent most of her wartime career based atGibraltar, engaged inconvoy defence, but also served in various naval and military operations in theMediterranean Sea.
Wishart, the first Royal Navy ship of the name, was ordered in January 1918 as part of the 13th Order of the 1918–1919 Naval Programme, and waslaid down on 18 May 1918 byJohn I. Thornycroft & Company atWoolston,Hampshire. The pace of her construction slowed after theArmistice with Germany broughtWorld War I to an end on 11 November 1918, but she waslaunched on 18 July 1919 and completed in June 1920.[1]
Upon completion,Wishart wascommissioned in June 1920. During the interwar period she served first in theAtlantic Fleet and then in theMediterranean Fleet, and while in the latter hadLord Louis Mountbatten as hercommanding officer for a time.[1]
Wishart was in waters offChina when theUnited States NavygunboatUSS Fulton (PG-49) was heavily damaged by fire while at sea on 14 March 1934.Wishart and themerchant ship SSTsinan took offFulton's crew, three of whom had suffered minor injuries, and took them to theRoyal Navy Dockyard atHong Kong, andWishart'ssister shipWhitshed stood byFulton until asalvage party could put the fire out.[3] TheUnited States Department of the Navy later passed thanks to British naval authorities for the assistanceWishart andWhitshed provided toFulton and her crew.[4]
When the United Kingdom enteredWorld War II in September 1939,Wishart was stationed atGibraltar, tasked with contraband control duties and trade defence in theMediterranean Sea andNorth Atlantic Ocean. On 27 December 1939 she intercepted theGermanmerchant shipGlickburg, andGlickburg's crew ran their ship aground on the coast ofSpain near theChipiona Light atChipiona. On 29 December 1939,Wishart and the destroyerActive departed Gibraltar withConvoy HG 13F, bound forLiverpool, remaining with the convoy as its escort until detaching on 3 January 1940 to return to Gibraltar.[1]
On 1 February 1940,Wishart and the destroyerVelox escortedConvoy OG 16F on the first leg of its voyage to the United Kingdom.Wishart also escortedConvoy OG 18 on the first segment of its voyage when it departed Gibraltar on 4 February 1940, detaching to return to Gibraltar on 5 February 1940. On 14 February 1940, she rendezvoused withConvoy HG 19F, escorted by twoFrench Navy destroyers, and escorted it to Gibraltar, where it arrived on 18 February 1940. On 25 February 1940,Wishart and thesloopsAberdeen andDeptford departed Gibraltar as the escort ofConvoy OG 19F on the first leg of its voyage to Liverpool, detaching on 27 February 1940 and returning to Gibraltar.[1]
From 14 to 17 March 1940,Wishart and the destroyerWinchelsea joined two French destroyers in escortingConvoy OG 21 on the first leg of its voyage from Gibraltar to Liverpool. From 21 to 24 March 1940,Wishart again joined two French destroyers as escort forConvoy OG 22 during the first segment of its voyage from Gibraltar to Liverpool. In April 1940, she performed similar duties, joining the destroyersVortigern andWatchman as the escort forConvoy OG24 from its departure from Gibraltar on 2 April until 4 April, and joiningAberdeen and the destroyerVimy in escortingConvoy OG 25F during the first portion of its voyage from Gibraltar from 9 until 12 April.[1]
Wishart continued her convoy escort and patrol activities until 31 July 1940, when she became part of the escort forForce H units covering theaircraft carrierArgus asArgus delivered aircraft toMalta inOperation Hurry.Wishart then remained with Force H as the aircraft carrierArk Royal launched airstrikes againstItalian airfields atCagliari onSardinia on 2 August 1940. At the end of August 1940, she again operated with Force H, forming part of the screen on 30 August 1940 for thebattleshipValiant, the aircraft carrierIllustrious, and thelight cruisersCalcutta andCoventry, which were steaming toAlexandria,Egypt, to reinforce theMediterranean Fleet inOperation Hats, and detaching on 31 August 1940 along withVelox to transmit radio signals in an attempt to confuse Italian listening stations as to the heading of the other ships.[1]
In September 1940,Wishart returned to her convoy duties at Gibraltar, but she returned to Force H on 7 November 1940 as part of the escort for forces covering the passage of the battleshipBarham, theheavy cruiserBerwick, the light cruiserGlasgow, and the destroyersEncounter,Gallant,Greyhound, andGriffin during their passage to Alexandria, Egypt, to reinforce the Mediterranean Fleet there inOperation Coat. She again left her convoy duties on 15 November 1940 to participate inOperation White, escorting Force H forces coveringArgus while she delivered more aircraft to Malta. On 24 November 1940,Wishart and the destroyersEncounter,Duncan, andVidette of the13th Destroyer Flotilla began operations with Force H, joining Force H ships –Ark Royal, thebattlecruiserRenown, the light cruiserDespatch, and the destroyersFaulknor,Firedrake,Forester,Fury,Kelvin, andJaguar – covering a convoy and reinforcements bound from Gibraltar to Alexandria inOperation Collar. On 27 November 1940, aircraft sighted heavy units of the Italian battlefleet at sea attempting to intercept the convoy, and the other ships detached to engage the Italians – resulting in theBattle of Cape Spartivento, a brief exchange of gunfire before the Italian fleet returned to base – whileWishart andVidette remained behind to protect the convoy.[1]
On 20 December 1940,Wishart again left her routine duties to operate with Force H inOperation Hide, covering a convoy of emptymerchant ships, the battleshipMalaya, and the destroyersHereward andHero as it steamed from Malta to Gibraltar.[1]
Wishart spent the first quarter of 1941 operating on North Atlantic convoy duty from Gibraltar. In March 1941, the Royal Navy selected her for transfer to local convoy escort duty atFreetown inSierra Leone. Accordingly, she departed Gibraltar on 2 April 1941 as part of the escort forConvoy WS 7 bound for Freetown, and remained there after the convoy arrived on 4 April. On 7 April 1941, she rejoined WS 7 when it departed Freetown on the next leg of its voyage, forming part of its escort with the destroyersFoxhound andVidette until detaching from the convoy on 9 April 1940 to return to Freetown.[1] Later in April, she rescued 41 survivors of the British merchant shipSt. Helena, which the GermansubmarineU-124 had sunk on 12 April 1941 about 100nautical miles (185 km) southwest of Freetown at07°50′00″N014°00′00″W / 7.83333°N 14.00000°W /7.83333; -14.00000 (St. Helena).[2] From 5 to 9 May 1941 she joinedDuncan in providing local escort forConvoy WS 8A during the final segment of its voyage to Freetown, after which she joinedDuncan and the destroyersBoreas andHighlander in escorting the convoy from its departure on 14 May on the next leg of its journey until she andBoreas detached to return to Freetown the following day.[1]
In June 1941,Wishart returned to Gibraltar to resume her convoy escort duties there. On 13 June 1941 she was detached for duty with Force H, escorting a force covering the delivery of aircraft to Malta by the aircraft carriersArk Royal andVictorious inOperation Tracer. She again was selected for duty with Force H on 26 June 1941 for another Malta aircraft delivery operation, but she quickly was replaced in this duty by the destroyerLance and remained on duty at Gibraltar instead. On 27 June 1941, she sank theItalian submarine Glauco in the North Atlantic west of Gibraltar at35°00′00″N012°41′00″W / 35.00000°N 12.68333°W /35.00000; -12.68333 (Italian submarine Glauco sunk).[1][2]
In July 1941,Wishart returned to the United Kingdom for refit and conversion into a long-range escort, and she was in shipyard hands for the rest of the year.[1]
Upon completing her refit and conversion,Wishart passed heracceptance trials in January 1942 and in February 1942 – the month in which the civil community ofPort Talbot,Glamorgan,Wales, "adopted" her as the result of aWarship Week National Savings campaign – proceeded to Gibraltar. In March 1942, she resumed her convoy escort duties there.[1]
On 20 March 1942,Wishart detached from those duties to operate with Force H inOperation Picket I, joiningMalaya, the light cruiserHermione, and the destroyersActive,Anthony,Blankney,Croome,Duncan,Exmoor, andWhitehall in covering the aircraft carriersArgus andEagle as the latter ships delivered aircraft to Malta. On 27 March 1942, she detached from her normal duties again to participate with the same ships inOperation Picket II, another such aircraft delivery. On 19 April 1942, she detached from her convoy duties to take part with the British 3rd and13th Destroyer Flotillas and twoUnited States Navy destroyers in escortingRenown and the light cruisersCairo andCharybdis as they covered the U.S. Navy aircraft carrierUSS Wasp while she delivered aircraft to Malta inOperation Calendar.[1]
Wishart, the destroyerWrestler, and aircraft of theRoyal Air Force'sNo. 202 Squadron sank the German submarineU-74 with all hands east ofCartagena, Spain, in adepth-charge attack at position37°16′00″N000°01′00″E / 37.26667°N 0.01667°E /37.26667; 0.01667 (U-74 sunk) on 2 May 1942.[2] On 8 May 1942, she detached for duty with Force H, joining destroyers of the13th Destroyer Flotilla in escortingRenown,Charybdis,Eagle, andWasp asEagle andWasp delivered aircraft to Malta inOperation Bowery. She again detached on 18 May 1942 to operate with Force H, providing the escort along withCharybdis and the destroyersAntelope,Ithuriel,Partridge,Vidette,Westcott, andWrestler forArgus andEagle as they delivered aircraft to Malta inOperation LB. Her assignment to Force H continued into June, and she began a deployment in support ofOperation Style on 2 June 1942, joiningCharybdis,Antelope,Ithuriel,Partridge, andWestcott in coveringEagle as she delivered aircraft to Malta. On 8 June,Wishart began another such operation,Operation Salient, this time participating in a covering force consisting ofCairo,Wrestler, and the ships which had taken part in Operation Style asEagle again delivered aircraft to Malta. On 11 June, she joinedForce W to take part inOperation Harpoon, joiningMalaya,Argus,Eagle,Charybdis,Antelope,Vidette,Westcott,Wrestler, the light cruisersKenya andLiverpool, thedestroyer leaderOnslow, and the destroyersEscapade andIcarus in covering a Malta-bound convoy as far as theSicilian Narrows.[1]
Wishart returned to convoy escort duties at Gibraltar on 18 June 1942. On 26 June she joinedConvoy WS 20 and was detached to escort the merchant ship SSNarkunda into Gibraltar. She continued on such duties until 10 August 1942, when she again detached from them to take part inOperation Pedestal as a part ofForce Z, supporting another Malta-bound convoy by joiningAntelope,Ithuriel, and the destroyersLaforey,Lightning, andLookout as the screen for the convoy's covering force, consisting of the aircraft carriersEagle,Indomitable, andVictorious, the battleshipsNelson andRodney, and the light cruisersCharybdis,Phoebe andSirius. When the convoy reached theSkerki Banks in the central Mediterranean on 13 August 1942, she and the rest of Force Z detached and returned to Gibraltar, whereWishart resumed routine convoy escort duty. She again left these duties on 28 October 1942 to take part inOperation Train, joining the light cruiserAurora and the destroyersAchates,Bramham,Cowdray,Vanoc,Verity, andWestcott and thePolish Navy destroyerORPBłyskawica in covering the aircraft carrierFurious asFurious made the final aircraft delivery run to Malta.[1]
In November 1942,Wishart was assigned to duty escorting military convoys in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean carrying troops and supplies forOperation Torch, the Allied invasion ofFrench North Africa. On 7 November, she,Velox, and thefrigateSpey joined the escort of an assault convoy bound for North Africa for the invasion and detached to stand by the U.S. Navyattack transportUSS Thomas Stone after anAxis submarinetorpedoedThomas Stone; after the troops had disembarked intolanding craft or been taken aboardSpey,Wishart escortedThomas Stone while atug towed her toAlgiers inAlgeria for repairs. On 21 December 1942,Wishart assisted insearch-and-rescue operations after the German submarineU-562 torpedoed and sank thetroop transport MVStrathallan in the Mediterranean at36°52′00″N000°34′00″W / 36.86667°N 0.56667°W /36.86667; -0.56667 (MV Strathallan sunk), killing 16 of those aboard and leaving 5,106 survivors.[1][5]
During the first half of 1943,Wishart continued her convoy escort duties at Gibraltar but also supported Allied military operations ashore inNorth Africa. On 19 May 1943 she mistook theFree French Naval ForcessubmarineLa Vestal for a German U-boat in darkness in the Mediterranean Sea and attacked her.La Vestal lost a large portion of herstern and suffered one killed and several wounded.La Vestal wastowed into port and repaired.[6]
In July 1943,Wishart was assigned to supportOperation Husky, the Allied invasion ofSicily, and was present during theamphibious landings southwest ofSyracuse on 10 July 1943, the first day of the invasion. For the rest of 1943, she was deployed for convoy defence in the western and central Mediterranean.[1]
In January 1944,Wishart was deployed for convoy escort duty at Gibraltar. On 24 February 1944, after a U.S. NavyPBY Catalina aircraft ofPatrol Squadron 63 usingmagnetic anomaly detection equipment detected the German submarineU-761 nearTangier whileU-761 was attempting to transit theStrait of Gibraltar, a U.S. NavyPV Ventura aircraft ofBombing Squadron 127 and a British Catalina of the Royal Air Force's No. 202 Squadron attacked the submarine and forced her to surface.Wishart andAnthony then approachedU-761, and the submarine scuttled herself within sight of the destroyers, suffering nine dead.Wishart andAnthony captured her 48 survivors.[1][2][7]
Wishart remained on convoy defence duty at Gibraltar until January 1945, when the Royal Navy decided to withdraw her from service and she steamed to the United Kingdom for deactivation.[1]
Wishart wasdecommissioned in February 1945. On 20 March 1945, she was sold for scrapping byThos. W. Ward atInverkeithing, Scotland. The ship arrived at the shipbreaker's yard under tow sometime after thearmistice withJapan brought World War II to a close on 15 August 1945.[1]
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in May 1943 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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