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HMS ''Vancouver'' was a British V-class destroyer. She was launched on 28 December 1917; in July 1922 she accidentally rammed the submarine . She was renamed HMS ''Vimy'' in April 1928. She served with distinction during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, earning two battle honours and damaging or sinking three enemy submarines. The
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 ...
retired her in 1945 and she was scrapped in 1948.


Service history


Service during World War II

In September 1939 she was part of the
11th Destroyer Flotilla The British 11th Destroyer Flotilla, or Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1915 to September 1945. History World War One The 11th Destroyer Flotilla was formed in August 1915 and was assigned to the ...
. On 6 February 1940, ''Vimy'' rescued the sole survivor of a crew of four from an
Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) ...
that had crashed into the sea while escorting a convoy. In May 1940 she participated in the
Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the n ...
. Anticipating the need, the Royal Navy had sent 200 seaman and marines aboard ''Vimy'', to organise the port of
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...
on 23 May. At one point, fired at her but without result as the torpedoes were faulty. Also on 28 May, small arms fire from the shore fatally wounded Lieutenant Commander Colin Donald, her captain, and killed the officer of the watch, Sub Lieutenant Webster. Lt Cdr Donald was carried below and died in hospital in Dover; the first lieutenant who was summoned from the upper deck,Lieutenant Adrian Northey ( DSC,Despatches), took temporary command for two days between 28.05.40 and 30.05.40. Lieutenant Commander Donald's replacement as captain was found to be missing on the second day of the Dunkirk evacuation, and the crew searched the entire vessel for him without result. On 1 June, ''Vimy'' collided with and sank the yacht ''
Amulree Amulree (Scottish Gaelic: ''Àth Maol Ruibhe'', 'Ford of t.Maelrubha') is a small hamlet in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies in hilly country on the A822 road, east of Loch Freuchie in Strathbraan, west of Dunkeld and north of Crieff. It ...
'' in the Gull Channel, to the west of the
Goodwin Sands Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...
. That same day an air attack caused some damage. During the evacuation of Dunkirk, ''Vimy'' transported 2,976 troops; for her efforts she received the battle honours "Dunkirk 1940". In 1941 she was reconstructed to long range escort, the work being finished in June 1941. On 21 September 1941,
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use ...
s from ''Vimy'' damaged the Italian , which was attempting to attack
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– ...
, west of Gibraltar. On 3 September 1942, depth charges from the British destroyers ''Vimy'', and sank the German submarine in the mid-Atlantic north-east of Trinidad, in position . The
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
had had a particularly successful year to that point, having sunk 14 vessels totaling 82,000 tons. ''Vimy''s captain, Lieutenant Commander de Chair received the
DSC DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...
for this action. All but three of the submarine's crew survived to be taken prisoner. Her captain,
Jürgen Wattenberg Jürgen Wattenberg (28 December 1900 – 27 September 1995) was a German naval officer and U-boat commander during the Second World War. In a successful career spanning just under a year, he sank 14 ships, a total of . Wattenberg had an eventful ...
, went on to organize a break from the
POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
camp at
Papago Park Papago Park () is a municipal park of the cities of Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona, United States. It has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride. It includes Hunt's Tomb, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Descriptio ...
, in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...
. On 18 September, ''Vimy'' rescued survivors from the US merchantman , which had sunk on 30 August. On 4 February 1943, '' Vimy'' and the destroyer ''Beverley'', using
HF/DF High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF or nickname huff-duff, is a type of radio direction finder (RDF) introduced in World War II. High frequency (HF) refers to a radio band that can effectively communicate ove ...
, located , which was shadowing
Convoy SC 118 Convoy SC 118 was the 118th of the numbered series of World War II slow convoys of merchant ships from Sydney, Cape Breton Island, to Liverpool. The ships departed New York City on 24 January 1943Hague 2000 p.135 and were met by Mid-Ocean Esco ...
in the North Atlantic, south of Greenland at the exit of the Baffin Bay. Depth charges from the two destroyers sank the submarine south-east of
Cape Farewell, Greenland Cape Farewell ( kl, Nunap Isua; da, Kap Farvel) is a headland on the southern shore of Egger Island, Nunap Isua Archipelago, Greenland. As the southernmost point of the country, it is one of the important landmarks of Greenland. Geography L ...
. ''U-187'' was on her first cruise and had not had any successes. Nine of her crew members perished, including the commander, during the sinking, but ''Vimy'' and ''Beverley'' rescued 45 men from the water. Her commanding officer, Lt Cdr R B Stannard VC, received a DSO for ''Vimy''s contribution to breaking up the U-boat pack hunting SC 118.


Fate

''Vimy'' was no longer listed as an active unit in the July 1945 ''Navy List''. She was sold for scrap in March 1947 and was scrapped at
Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style subur ...
by Metal IndustriesColledge, p.657 in February 1948.


Notes


Bibliography

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External links


Vanoc class
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vimy V and W-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Clyde 1917 ships World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom