HMS Bangor (J00)
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HMS ''Bangor'' was a of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
that served during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. She was built at the
Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...
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in
Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. ''Bangor'' was the lead vessel of her class and one of the diesel-engined versions. She was ordered on 12 July 1939,
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
on 19 September 1939, launched on 23 May 1940, and commissioned on 7 November 1940. She is named after the
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
seaside town of the same name.


Wartime service

On 18 November 1940 ''Bangor'' was assigned to the 9th Minesweeping Flotilla (MSF) based at
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...
. On 12 February she was bombed whilst in the
Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; , or ) is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of the north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncans ...
. No damage was done but her W/T was out of action and she retired to
Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
for repairs. In March 1941, the 9th MSF transferred to the
Portsmouth Command The Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, was a senior commander of the Royal Navy for hundreds of years. The commanders-in-chief were based at premises in High Street, Portsmouth from the 1790s until the end of Sir Thomas Williams's tenure, his succe ...
. On the morning of 19 May, ''Bangor'' and a group of minesweeping trawlers were attacked by nine
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
s. Three bombs were dropped, aimed at ''Bangor'', ''Darthema'' and ''Computator'' from a low attack. ''Darthema'' and ''Computator'' both suffered minor damage from near misses with no casualties. ''Bangor'' and ''Darthema'' claimed to have damaged two of the aircraft, which both retired southwards, making smoke and losing height. In December 1941 the flotilla moved its centre of operation to
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...
. In August 1942 ''Bangor'' was involved in
Operation Jubilee Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...
– the raid on
Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...
. As a large area off Dieppe was believed to have been mined by the enemy, the minesweepers opened proceedings for the raid. During the afternoon of 18 August, the 9th and 13th MSFs sailed separately from
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
for the vicinity of
Beachy Head Beachy Head is a Chalk Group, chalk headland in East Sussex, England. It is situated close to Eastbourne, East Sussex, Eastbourne, immediately east of the Seven Sisters, Sussex, Seven Sisters. Beachy Head is located within the administrative ar ...
, so as to give the impression that one was carrying out a clearance sweep in the area, the other proceeding on passage up the channel. The 9th Flotilla commenced sweeping at 00:03 and at 01:05 turned to port and got in sweeps; the 13th Flotilla began 8 minutes earlier and finished at 00:51. Everything went without a hitch; the channel was about four
cables Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a he ...
wide, clearly marked on both sides and at the ends; only one mine was seen. The Flotillas then manoeuvred to keep clear of the approaching expedition and soon after 05:00 turned for home, setting flag Dan
buoy A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...
s to mark the channels in daylight on the way back. They returned in company to Portsmouth, having carried out their work with efficiency and precision. In June 1944, ''Bangor'' was involved in
Operation Neptune Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
– the naval component of the
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
landings in
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
. The 9th Flotilla was part of Force J, sweeping channels. In the post assault phase the Flotilla was part of Task Force 129, which sailed from
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on the night 24/25 June with the intention of bombarding Cherbourg. At 11:55 the minesweepers of Unit 1 (the 9th MSF) made their turn to sweep Fire Support Area 3, closely followed by the bombarding ships of group 1. As they entered the area they came under heavy fire; the German batteries had evidently been waiting until they were well within range. The
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s, screening on the flanks, made smoke, but the enemy fire increased and after sweeping just three miles (half the intended distance) the minesweepers was forced to withdraw northwards. In May 1945 ''Bangor'' was involved in minesweeping operations to
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
.


Norwegian service

In June 1945 she was one of five ''Bangor''-class minesweepers offered to the
Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy () is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for navy, naval operations of Norway, including those of the Norwegian Coast Guard. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 i ...
on loan and was transferred on 11 November 1945. In October 1946 the Norwegian government decided to retain ''Bangor'' by purchase and was renamed ''Glomma''. She was stricken in December 1961 and broken up.


References

* ''Warships of World War II'', by H. T. Lenton & J. J. Colledge, pub. Ian Allan Ltd.
HMS Bangor (J.00)
– uboat.net

– www.royal-marines.mod.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Bangor (J00) Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Govan 1940 ships World War II minesweepers of the United Kingdom Ships built by Harland and Wolff