HMS ''Springbank'' was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

fighter catapult ship Fighter catapult ships also known as Catapult Armed Ships were an attempt by the Royal Navy to provide air cover at sea. Five ships were acquired and commissioned as Naval vessels early in the Second World War, and these were used to accompany conv ...

of the Second World War. Originally a cargo ship built in 1926 for

Bank Line The ''Bank Line'' was a British commercial shipping line that was established in 1905 by Andrew Weir, 1st Baron Inverforth, Andrew Weir. The company was sold to the Swire Group in 2003, eventually ceasing operations in 2009. Initially a Tramp trad ...

it was acquired 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 ...

at the start of the war and converted to an "auxiliary anti-aircraft cruiser" by the addition of four twin

gun turret A gun turret (or simply turret) is a mounting platform from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility and ability to turn and aim. A modern gun turret is generally a rotatable weapon mount that houses the crew or mechani ...

s and two quadruple 2 pdr (40 mm) "pom-pom"s. In March 1941 a catapult for a single

Fairey Fulmar The Fairey Fulmar is a British carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft/fighter aircraft which was developed and manufactured by aircraft company Fairey Aviation. It was named after the northern fulmar, a seabird native to the British Isles. The F ...

naval fighter (from

804 Naval Air Squadron 804 Naval Air Squadron (804 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy, formed in November 1939 from part of 769 NAS Sea Gladiators which had been detached to RNAS Hatston. The squadron was merged into 800 NAS in June 1944 and subsequentl ...

) was fitted midships as a means to give further protection for convoys from enemy aircraft. ''Springbank'' was part of the escort for

Convoy HG 73 Convoy HG 73 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was the 73rd of the numbered HG convoys Homeward bound to the British Isles from Gibraltar. The convoy departed Gibraltar on 17 September 1941Hague, pp. 177– ...

from Gibraltar to

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. ''Springbank''s Fulmar was launched to drive off a German

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'', also known as ''Kurier'' to the Allies ( English: Courier), was a German all-metal four-engined monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner. A Japanese request for a long-range marit ...

reconnaissance aircraft; the Fulmar landing at Gibraltar afterwards. The convoy was attacked by Italian and German submarines over the following days. In the night of 27 September 1941 ''Springbank'' was torpedoed in the North Atlantic by the . After taking off her surviving crew, the ship was sunk by the .

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Springbank World War II naval ships of the United Kingdom 1926 ships Auxiliary anti-aircraft ships of the Royal Navy Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean