HMS Laforey (G99)
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HMS ''Laforey'' was an L-class
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 ...
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 ...
. She was commissioned in and 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 ...
, and was torpedoed and sunk by a
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
in 1944. She had been adopted by the civil community of
Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
in November 1941.


Construction and commissioning

''Laforey'' was ordered from the yards of
Yarrow Shipbuilders Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also o ...
,
Scotstoun Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...
,
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 ...
on 31 March 1938 under the 1937 Naval Estimates. She was laid down on 1 March 1939 at the same time as her sister, . She was launched on 15 February 1941 and commissioned on 26 August 1941. She cost £445,684, excluding items such as weapons and communications equipment supplied by the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...
. On commissioning she was assigned to the
19th Destroyer Flotilla 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13. ...
of the
Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...
as the
Flotilla leader A flotilla leader was a warship of late 19th century and early 20th century navies suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer (known as a destroyer leader). The floti ...
.


Career


Mediterranean waters

''Laforey'' was almost immediately reassigned to the Mediterranean, where she joined
Force H Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in late-June 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place ...
in escorting a relief convoy to
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 ...
as part of
Operation Halberd Operation Halberd was a British naval operation that took place on 27 September 1941, during the Second World War. The British were attempting to deliver a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta. The convoy was escorted by several battleships and an ai ...
. Despite heavy air attacks, the convoy reached Malta on 28 September, and ''Laforey'' returned to
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
with the ships of Force X. In October she was permanently assigned to Force H, to carry out convoy escort duties, and fleet screening patrols. On 10 November she and the destroyers , , , , and the Dutch were deployed to escort the cruiser , the battleship and the aircraft carriers and during an operation to deliver aircraft to Malta. ''Ark Royal'' was torpedoed by the German submarine on 13 November as the task force returned to Gibraltar. ''Laforey'' made several unsuccessful anti-submarine attacks against suspected
sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
contacts, before standing by the stricken carrier. Later in the day, ''Laforey'' ran power cables across to ''Ark Royal'' to support damage control measures. These were ultimately unsuccessful and ''Ark Royal'' sank the next day, and ''Laforey'' returned to Gibraltar. ''Laforey'' spent January as part of anti-submarine patrols that had been instigated to intercept
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s as they passed through the
Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. Fe ...
. On 18 January she and intercepted and attacked with
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...
s. February and March were then spent escorting convoys through the Atlantic, and screening aircraft carriers on operations to deliver aircraft to Malta. On 1 April ''Laforey'' was detached from Force H and sailed 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 ...
to screen fleet units and cover convoys in the Atlantic. She arrived at
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
on 18 April with a military convoy, and escorted them on 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 ...
, arriving there on 22 April.


Operation Ironclad

On 28 April she was deployed to support Operation Ironclad, the planned Invasion of Madagascar. She carried out shore bombardments on 2 May and then, together with the destroyers and ''Lightning'', used buoys to mark the approach channel to the landing areas at Diego Suarez on 4 May. The next day, ''Laforey'' and ''Lightning'' led landing ships into the harbour, and provided naval gunfire support. On 6 May, ''Laforey'' and her sisters ''Lightning'' and screened the battleship during a search for Japanese warships that had been reported in the area. On 7 May ''Laforey'' covered ''Anthony'' as she landed marines and the next day she began a series of anti-submarine patrols that would last until she was detached from the operation on 27 May, when she, ''Lookout'' and ''Lightning'' sailed for
Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
to join 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 ...
. She spent June with the Eastern Fleet, mostly carrying out exercises and conducting offensive sweeps, before sailing to
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
on 23 June.


Return to the Mediterranean

Arriving at Mombasa on 1 July, she was initially deployed in the South Atlantic to hunt
commerce raider Commerce raiding is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging its combatants or enforcing a blockade against them. Privateering is a fo ...
s and escort convoys. On 19 July she was detached and nominated to rejoin Force H. After sailing around Africa with a number of other capital ships, she arrived at Gibraltar in early August. She sailed on 9 August, escorting the ships comprising
Operation Pedestal Operation Pedestal (, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. British ships, submarines and aircraft from Malta attacked Axis p ...
. On 10 August she and ''Lookout'' escorted the aircraft carrier in an attempt to deliver aircraft to Malta, but were detached on 11 August to rescue survivors from the torpedoed aircraft carrier . The two ships and a rescue tug were able to rescue 927 survivors. After transferring survivors to , ''Laforey'' continued escorting the convoy. Together with and , she launched an unsuccessful attack on the later that day. The next day, 12 August, the ships of the convoy came under heavy air attack. ''Laforey'' managed to escape damage and with a number of other ships, was detached from the convoy when it reached the
Sicilian Narrows The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; or the ; or , ' or ') is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. The strait is about wide and divides the Tyr ...
. They remained in the area until 14 August, when they sailed for Gibraltar, arriving there on 15 August. She deployed the next day to escort ''Furious'' and in another delivery of aircraft to Malta. They returned on 18 August and on 21 August ''Laforey'' began anti-submarine operations off Gibraltar. On 4 September she and ''Lookout'' escorted into Gibraltar. ''Laforey'' then sailed for
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
for a refit, arriving there on 17 September. She spent October and most of November under refit, followed by a period of post-trial workup exercises with her sister ''Lightning'' 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 ...
. She and ''Lightning'' then escorted the
troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...
out of
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
en route to Gibraltar, where they arrived on 20 December. On 21 December ''Laforey'' and ''Lightning'' carried out rescue operations after the torpedoing of .


Force Q

''Laforey'' and her flotilla were assigned to
Bône Annaba (), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River and is in the Annaba Province. With a population of about 263,65 ...
as part of Force Q at the start of 1943. The ships of the force came under heavy air attack and ''Laforey'' had to sink the tanker on 6 January after she had been set on fire during an air raid. ''Laforey'' carried out interception patrols and convoy defence throughout February and March. On 28 April she and took part in an action against six
E-boats 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 ...
and a submarine. They sank one E-boat by ramming it, and damaged two others. During the action, ''Laforey'' sustained damage to her forepeak. In May she was assigned with Force Q to intercept ships attempting to evacuate German troops from
Cap Bon Cape Bon ("Good Cape"), also known as Res et-Teib (), Shrīk Peninsula, or Watan el Kibli, is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia. Cape Bon is also the name of the northernmost point on the peninsula, also known as Res ed-Der, and known in ant ...
after the defeat of the
Afrika Korps The German Africa Corps (, ; DAK), commonly known as Afrika Korps, was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its Africa ...
. On 8 May she and ''Tartar'' captured two merchant ships, but on 9 May ''Laforey'' came under fire from shore batteries and was hit in the engine room. She sustained damage and several severe injuries to her crew, causing her to head for Malta for repairs. After being repaired, she returned to Force Q. En route, she investigated
Plane Island Plane Island (; Latin: Phalans Insula) also known as Piana or andin Tunisian Arabicas (Standard , ''al-Jazira al-Munbasita''), is a flat, rocky island in the Mediterranean Sea roughly off Cape Farina, Tunisia. It has a lighthouse. History Pla ...
and discovered 23 enemy soldiers, whom she promptly took prisoner. Back with Force Q, on 23 July she sank an enemy supply ship. In June she took part in covering the allied landings at
Pantelleria Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the ...
(
Operation Corkscrew Operation Corkscrew was the code name for the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria (between Sicily and Tunisia) on 11 June 1943, prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily, during the Second World War. There had been an early Allied ...
), during which she bombarded enemy positions, before sailing to
Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
to escort convoys for the planned
invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis forces (Kingdom of Italy ...
. After the landings on 9 July she bombarded enemy targets inland. On 15 August she embarked General Alexander, Air Marshall Coningham and Admiral Ramsey and conveyed them to Augusta. She continued to carry out bombardments and anti-submarine patrols throughout July. On 23 July she and engaged in a box search for the
Italian submarine Ascianghi Italian submarine ''Ascianghi'' was an built for the Royal Italian Navy (''Regia Marina'') during the 1930s. It was named after Lake Ashenge in Ethiopia. Design and description The ''Adua''-class submarines were essentially repeats of the pre ...
after she had torpedoed the cruiser . The Ascianghi fired two torpedoes at the Laforey which both missed and the Laforey and Eclipse carried out five depth charge attacks in response. The Ascianghi was forced to surface where it came under an immediate and heavy fire from the Laforey's guns and was at last sunk. A survivor was picked up who confirmed that the Italian sub had indeed fired four torpedoes at the Newfoundland two hours previously. In August ''Laforey'' was nominated to support the invasion of mainland Italy and on 21 August, she and four other destroyers carried out an offensive sweep through the
Strait of Messina The Strait of Messina (; ) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria (Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, with ...
. She then escorted the convoys and covered the landings. On 9 August she came under fire during a shore bombardment and was hit by five shells. One of the ship's company was killed and another two were injured, while one boiler room was put out of action. She returned to Malta for repairs to the structural damage. She was under repair until mid-October, when she returned to patrolling off the Italian coast. On 1 November she escorted two merchant ships during their passage from Malta to
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 ...
and on 3 November she escorted a military convoy en route to Augusta. On 5 November she came to the assistance of a US merchant ship that had run aground northeast of Augusta, and towed the vessel clear before returning to Malta to refuel. She spent the rest of the month and most of December at Malta, before returning to the Italian coast on 23 December. On 25 December she detected two E-boats on her
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
and moved to intercept them, but they escaped contact and fled. Further shore bombardment operations followed. ''Laforey'' was deployed on patrol off
Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...
on 4 January, before heading into the
Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
. On 6 January she sank the hulk of a
liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...
and on 7 January was despatched to the waters off
Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...
to search for a lifeboat. On 18 January she and a number of other warships bombarded targets around
Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...
. The ships came under air attacks and shore bombardment during these operations. After replenishing at Naples, ''Laforey'', in company with and , joined the escort for the assault convoys of
Operation Shingle The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II that commenced January 22, 1944. The battle began with the Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle, an ...
, the landings at
Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...
. On 22 January ''Laforey'' and ''Loyal'' led the assault force to "P" Beach landing areas. ''Laforey'' remained off the coast, to provide gunfire support and defence against air and surface attacks. On 23 January she assisted in the rescue of survivors from after she had been sunk by a radio controlled bomb. On 29 January she rescued survivors from after she too was sunk by radio controlled bombs. In February she was transferred to the
14th Destroyer Flotilla The14th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from April 1916 to 11 February 1919 and again from 1 June 1940 to January 1944. History World War One The flotilla was first establishe ...
and on 18 February she bombarded Formica and was deployed with on 25 February to intercept E-boats. ''Laforey'' was briefly detached to assist a
Landing Ship, Tank A Landing Ship, Tank (LST) is a ship first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto a low-slope beach with no dock (maritime), docks or pier ...
that had run aground at Sabaudio, but was unable to help her. She rejoined ''Faulknor'' and together they carried out depth charge attacks on a suspected submarine contact. On 26 February they were joined by the destroyers and . ''Laforey'' herself came under attack from an acoustic torpedo, which exploded in her wake. Anti-submarine operations continued on 27 February when another two destroyers joined, and finished on 28 February when the ships returned to Naples. ''Laforey'' sailed to Naples with survivors from , which had been sunk off Anzio on 15 February by a glider bomb.


Sinking

''Laforey'' returned to Naples and was deployed off Anzio on 9 March 1944 on support and patrol duties that were scheduled to last until 19 March. On 23 March she again returned to Anzio and on 24 March she was deployed for night interception and anti-submarine patrols with . On 25 March they engaged a number of E-boats after picking them up on their radar. ''Laforey'' then sailed to Naples. She deployed for another patrol off the west coast of Italy on 28 March and on 29 March she carried out a hunt for north of
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 ...
, in company with the destroyers , , , ''Hambledon'' and . ''U-223'' had been detected by during a routine sweep. The search lasted until 30 March, when after sustaining several hours of depth charge attacks, ''U-223'' surfaced, and was then attacked by the destroyers with gunfire at a range of . ''U-223'' was able to fire three torpedoes which struck ''Laforey''. She sank quickly, resulting in the loss of most of her company, including her captain. There were only 65 survivors out of the 247 on board. One survivor was Petty Officer Ronald Sired, who gives an account of life on board and the sinking in "Enemy Engaged", published in 1957. ''U-223'' was sunk soon afterwards, and the survivors from ''Laforey'' and ''U-223'' were picked up by ''Blencathra'', ''Hambledon'' and ''Tumult''.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * *Mike Rossiter, Ark Royal: the life, death and rediscovery of the legendary Second World War aircraft carrier (Corgi Books, London, 2007).


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laforey (G99) L and M-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Clyde 1941 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in March 1944