HMS Eridge (L68)
.jpg) Eridge in July 1941
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Eridge |
| Builder | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear |
| Laid down | 21 November 1939 |
| Launched | 20 August 1940 |
| Commissioned | 28 February 1941 |
| Reclassified | Base ship on 29 August 1942 (constructive total loss) |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 1946 |
| General characteristics Type II | |
| Class and type | Hunt-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
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| Length | 85.3 m (279 ft 10 in) o/a |
| Beam | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion |
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| Speed |
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| Range | 3,600 nmi (6,700 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h) |
| Complement | 164 |
| Armament |
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| Service record | |
| Commanders: | Lt.Cdr. William Frank Niemann Gregory-Smith |
HMS Eridge was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1940 and served during the Second World War.
Service history
[edit]On 29 August 1942, Eridge assisted the destroyers Hero and Hurworth in sinking the German submarine U-568.[1] At 04:15 on 29 August 1942, she began shelling Axis positions off El Daba, Egypt, at 31°7′N 28°26′E / 31.117°N 28.433°E, together with the destroyers Croome and Hursley. At 05:00, she was permanently disabled by a 450mm torpedo fired by the Italian motor torpedo boat MTSM-228. The attack caused five fatalities on board Eridge.[2]
She was towed to Alexandria by the destroyer Aldenham,[3] where Eridge was declared a constructive total loss due to structural damage to the hull and damage beyond repair to the main turbines, condenser, gearing and intermediate shaft. The destroyer was used as a base ship in situ for the rest of the war and sold for scrapping in October 1946.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "HMS Eridge (L 68) of the Royal Navy - British Escort destroyer of the Hunt (Type II) class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Paul Kemp (1999). The Admiralty regrets: British warship losses of the 20th century. Sutton. p. 192. ISBN 9780750915670.
- ^ "Commander Alex Stuart-Menteth". The Daily Telegraph. 6 June 2000. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
- ^ Webb, Tim (1 August 2020). "HMS ERIDGE". Ships Nostalgia. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
Publications
[edit]- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- 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. ISBN 0-905617-44-4.
Further reading
[edit]- Gregory-Smith, Frank (2008). Red Tobruk: Memoirs of a World War II Destroyer Commander. Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84415-862-1.
External links
[edit]- HMS Eridge (L 68)
- Captain Frank Gregory-Smith - Daily Telegraph obituary
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in August 1942 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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