HMS ''Blackmore'' (

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

L43) was an

escort destroyer An escort destroyer was a small warship built to full naval standards which was optimised for air-defence and anti-submarine duties in wartime, but which retained many of the capabilities of a traditional fleet destroyer, enabling it to conduct ...

of the Type II Hunt class. 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 ...

ordered ''Blackmore''s construction three months after the outbreak of 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 ...

. A. Stephen & Sons laid down her keel at their

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

yard on 10 February 1941, as Admiralty Job Number J1479. The ship was adopted by the civil community of

Langport Langport is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton, Somerset, Somerton. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 3,578. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

after a successful

Warship Week Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of a Royal Navy warship being adopted by a civil community. During the early parts of the war, the Royal Navy not only had lost many capital ships but ...

campaign. The ship was sold to the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...

and renamed HDMS ''Esbern Snare''.

Career

Early operations

''Blackmore'' began her contractor sea trials in April, and the destroyer joined the Second Destroyer Flotilla. After completing trials and working up for operational service, in May the destroyer was nominated for escort of military convoys during their passage to

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

. On 1 June ''Blackmore'' joined Convoy WS 19P, with the

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

and the destroyer as ocean escort during the convoy's

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

passage. On 15 June the destroyer detached from WS 19P upon arrival at Freetown, where she was retained for local escort duties. On 24 June, the destroyer left Freetown with the destroyer to meet with and escort Convoy WS 20 during its Atlantic passage from the Clyde. On 26 June she joined WS 20 on its way to Freetown. In July ''Blackmore'' was transferred to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

for convoy defence, detaching from WS 20 on 2 July along with the other ships on arrival to Freetown. On 6 July, ''Blackmore'' joined WS 20 as ocean escort, with the battleship the destroyers ''Brilliant'' and during the convoy's passage to the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

. On 17 July, ''Blackmore'' detached from ocean escort duties with ''Malaya'' and escorted the convoy into Cape Town. On 19 July the destroyer was deployed at Simonstown for convoy defence in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The destroyer remained in duty at Simonstown up until January 1943. In February, the destroyer joined Convoy WS 26 during its passage from Freetown to the Cape. ''Blackmore'' then joined as escort for WS 26 as a relief for the destroyer . The destroyer sailed to

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

for convoy defence duties in the Indian Ocean. On 1 March, the destroyer rejoined WS 26 from Durban as escort with the minesweeper and the destroyers and . On 3 March, ''Blackmore'' detached from the convoy to join another Convoy DN 21 as escort. After arriving at Durban with DN 21, ''Blackmore'' took passage to Simonstown to effect a refit. The destroyer's refit was finished in May, and after completing post refit trials, ''Blackmore'' took passage to Freetown to serve for Atlantic convoy defence. The destroyer was then deployed for local escort duties at Freetown, making a passage to Gibraltar on 20 June to escort Convoy WS 31 to Freetown. In July, ''Blackmore'' was nominated for transfer to the Mediterranean. The destroyer arrived at Freetown with WS 31 on 4 July and rejoined military convoy WS 31. ''Blackmore'' escorted the convoy until 15 July when she returned to Freetown and took passage to the Mediterranean.

Mediterranean

In August ''Blackmore'' joined the 57th Fleet Division based at

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, and deployed for convoy defence in the central Mediterranean. In September the destroyer joined a naval task force to escort and support the Allied invasion of Italy. On 8 September the destroyer was deployed as an escort of the military convoy TSF1X during passage from

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

to the

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

beach head. Upon being released from the invasion of Italy, the destroyer resumed her convoy defence duties with the Division. Between November and December, ''Blackmore'' joined the 60th Destroyer Division, also based in Malta but deploying for convoy defence and support duties of military operations in the

Adriatic sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

. From January to May 1944, ''Blackmore'' continued in her convoy escort duties. On 16 January she carried out a bombardment of Durazzo in

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

with the destroyer . During June ''Blackmore'' was transferred to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, Mediterranean Fleet, taking part in an engagement against four German

E-Boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat"; plural ''Schnellboote'') of the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a pat ...

s in the Adriatic, with the destroyer . One E-Boat was sunk, with ten survivors rescued. In July the destroyer continued in her deployment with the flotilla, this time with the nomination for escort and patrol duties of military convoys during Allied landings in the south of France. This operation was carried under overall

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

command. In August, ''Blackmore'' joined in the escort of Convoy SM 2 from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, sailing on 13 August. After being released from the operation, the destroyer resumed her flotilla duties. In September ''Blackmore'' was recalled to the United Kingdom for a refit at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a port town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 13,249, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby ...

, before being nominated for service with the

Eastern Fleet Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

Service in the East

The ship was taken in hand, the refit taking from October to January. Post refit trials were made at Nore Command. In March, ''Blackmore'' was deployed briefly for convoy defence, since additional escorts were needed to combat a concerted submarine and E-Boat attack in the

Thames estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinit ...

. In April the destroyer was prepared for foreign service with the 18th Destroyer Flotilla within the Eastern Fleet. On 28 April ''Blackmore'' joined the flotilla at

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. In May the destroyer was deployed as a weather ship in the Andamans, during the Allied landings at Rangoon. After these landings, ''Blackmore'' was again deployed for convoy defence in support of military operations and patrol in the Indian Ocean. ''Blackmore'' continued to be deployed in this theatre until August, sailing from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

on 4 September as part of the escort task force for aircraft carriers during their passage to the Malacca Straits. On 6 September the destroyer joined military convoy JE1F, in the Malacca Straits, forming part of the escort in

Operation Zipper During World War II, Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya, as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore in Operation Mailfist. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it ...

Postwar Service

''Blackmore'' was then deployed at

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and was nominated for return to the United Kingdom where she was to be paid off into the reserve. The destroyer sailed from Trincomalee on 8 October 1945, and on arriving at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

the destroyer was paid off at Devonport where she was laid up in the reserve fleet until 1952.

Danish service

After being placed on the sales list, ''Blackmore'' was transferred on loan to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, on 18 July 1952. After refitting, the destroyer joined the

as a frigate, renamed ''Esbern Snare''.Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p61 The ship remained in Danish naval service until 1966, when she was stricken from the active list.

References

Publications

* * 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. .

External links

The Hunt (Type II) class Escort destroyers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmore (L43) Hunt-class destroyers of the Royal Navy 1941 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Hunt-class destroyers of the Royal Danish Navy Ships built on the River Clyde