| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | MVFoylebank |
| Operator | Bank Line (Andrew Weir Shipping) |
| Builder | Harland & Wolff,Belfast,Northern Ireland |
| Launched | 12 June 1930 |
| Fate | Requisitioned byRoyal Navy September 1939 |
| History | |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSFoylebank |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Operator | Royal Navy |
| Acquired | September 1939 |
| Commissioned | 6 June 1940 |
| Fate | Sunk 5 July 1940 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 5,582 tons |
| Propulsion | 2diesel engines, 16 cylinders, two screws |
| Speed | 11knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Complement | 290–300 |
| Armament |
|
HMSFoylebank was aRoyal Navyanti-aircraft ship active during the early part of theSecond World War. She entered service in June 1940 and was sunk in a German air attack in July 1940.
Foylebank waslaunched on 12 June 1930 as the 5,500-gross register tonmotormerchant shipMVFoylebank for the Bank Line (Andrew Weir Shipping) and requisitioned by theRoyal Navy when the Second World War broke out in September 1939.[1] She was converted into ananti-aircraft ship, equipped with 0.5 inch (12.7 mm)machine guns, two quad2-pounder pom-poms and four twin high-angle 4-inch (102 mm) gun turrets.Commissioned as HMSFoylebank on 6 June 1940, withCaptain Henry P. Wilsonin command, she arrived inPortland Harbour next to theIsle of Portland inDorset, England, on 9 June 1940 for a work-up for anti-aircraft duties. She subsequently saw action at Portland.[2]
On 4 July 1940 whilst the majority of her crew were at breakfast, unidentified aircraft were reported to the south. These were originally thought to beAllied aircraft returning to base but they turned out to be 26LuftwaffeJunkers Ju 87Stukadive bombers. These aircraft had the objective of disablingFoylebank, which the Germans saw as a threat to their plans to destroy the United Kingdom's coastal shipping. During an eight-minute attack,Foylebank shot down two aircraft, but an estimated 22bombs hit the ship and shelisted toport, shrouded in smoke, with 176 out of a total crew of 298 killed and many more wounded.. She sank on 5 July 1940. One of the ship's company,Jack Foreman Mantle, was posthumously awarded theVictoria Cross for his actions in defending the ship from aircraft whilst mortally wounded.[3]
Foylebank later wassalvaged in two sections. The forward section was broken up atFalmouth,Cornwall, in 1947, the aft section atThos. W. WardGrays inEssex in 1952. Some fragments remain on theseabed and one piece has been recovered and presented to thePortland Museum in Dorset.
50°34′37″N2°25′10″W / 50.57694°N 2.41944°W /50.57694; -2.41944
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1940 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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