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HMSMarigold(K87)

Coordinates:36°50′00″N03°00′00″E/ 36.83333°N 3.00000°E/36.83333; 3.00000
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For other ships with the same name, seeHMS Marigold.

History
United Kingdom
NameHMSMarigold
Ordered31 August 1939
BuilderHall, Russell & Company,Aberdeen,Scotland
Laid down26 January 1940
Launched16 November 1940
Commissioned28 February 1941
IdentificationPennant number:K87
FateSunk in air attack on 9 December 1942
General characteristics
Class and typeFlower-classcorvette
Displacement925 long tons (940 t)
Length205 ft (62 m)
Beam33 ft (10 m)
Draught11.5 ft (3.5 m)
Propulsion
  • Two fire tubeboilers
  • one 4-cycle triple-expansion steam engine
Speed16 knots (30 km/h) at 2,750 hp (2,050 kW)
Range3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement85
Armament

HMSMarigoldwas aFlower-classcorvetteof theRoyal Navy.She was launched on 4 September 1940 and was sunk by an Italian air-dropped torpedo on 9 December 1942.

Design and construction

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The Flower class arose as a result of the Royal Navy's realisation in the late 1930s that it had a shortage of escort vessels, particularly coastal escorts for use on the East coast of Britain, as the likelihood of war with Germany increased. To meet this urgent requirement, a design developed based on the whale-catcherSouthern Pride- this design was much more capable thannaval trawlers,but cheaper and quicker to build than theHunt-class destroyersorKingfisher-class sloopsthat were alternatives for the coastal escort role.[1][2]

The Flowers were 205 feet 0 inches (62.48 m)long overall,196 feet 0 inches (59.74 m)at the waterlineand 190 feet 0 inches (57.91 m)between perpendiculars.Beamwas 33 feet 0 inches (10.06 m) anddraughtwas 14 feet 10 inches (4.52 m) aft.[3][4]Displacementwas about 940 long tons (960 t) standard and 1,170 long tons (1,190 t) full load. TwoAdmiralty three-drum water tube boilersfed steam to avertical triple expansion enginerated at 2,750 indicated horsepower (2,050 kW) which drove a single propeller shaft. This gave a speed of 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h).[4]200 tons of oil were carried, giving a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).[4]

Design armament was a singleBL 4-inch Mk IX naval gunforward and a single2-pounder"pom-pom" anti-aircraft cannon aft, although the pom-poms were not available until 1941, so early Flowers such asMarigoldwere completed with improvised close-range anti aircraft armament such asLewis gunsorVickers.50 machine gunsinstead.[5][6]

Marigoldwas one of 24 Flowers ordered by the British Admiralty on 31 August 1939 under the 1939/40 Naval estimates. She waslaid downatHall, Russell & Company'sAberdeenshipyard on 21 January 1940, waslaunchedon 4 September 1940 and completed on 28 February 1941.[7][8]

Service

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Marigoldserved in a number of the theatres of theSecond World War.[9][10]

On 7 May 1941,Marigold,a member of the 7th Escort Group, was part of the escort for the westbound Atlantic convoyConvoy OB 318.That night, the convoy was attacked by the German submarineU-94200 miles (320 km) south west ofReykjavík,Iceland.U-94torpedoed and sunk two merchant ships.Marigoldpicked up 19 survivors from one of the ships sunk in the attack,SSIxion.Meanwhile,U-94was driven off by a sustained depth charge attack by the destroyersBulldogandAmazonand the sloopRochester.[11][12][13]The corvettes of the 7th Escort Group, includingMarigoldwere relieved by ships from the 3rd Escort group on 8 May, allowing the 7th Escort Group ships to join the inbound Convoy HX 123.[11]Attacks on OB 318 continued, with three merchant ships sunk on 8 May, at the cost ofU-110which was captured by British warships, sinking under tow.[14]

Marigoldremained part of the 7th Escort Group on 1 July 1941.[15]From 18 AugustMarigold,now part of Escort Group 36, formed part of the escort of Convoy HG 71, bound for the UK fromGibraltar.While four Italian submarines were deployed against the convoy, none managed to find it, and HG 71 reachedLiverpoolunharmed on 1 September.[16][17]On 12 September 1941,Marigoldleft Liverpool as part of the escort for the Gibraltar-bound convoy OG 74. Two merchant ships were sunk by the German submarineU-124on the night of 20/21 September, while the rescue shipWalmer Castlewas badly damaged by a GermanFocke-Wulf Fw 200 Condorlong-range bomber on 21 September and was scuttled byMarigoldand the sloopDeptford.MarigoldandDeptfordwere then detached from the convoy to support four ships that had lost contact with the convoy, but three of the four ships were sunk byU-201on the night of 21/22 September.Marigoldarrived in Gibraltar on 26 September. In total, six ships from OG 74 were sunk.[18][19][20]Marigoldremained part of the 36th Escort Group on 1 October 1941.[21]

On 16 November 1941,Marigoldset out from Gibraltar as part ofOperation Chieftain,a diversion operation forOperation Crusader,the British offensive in the North African desert. The operation was a dummy convoy (with empty merchant ships) intended to attract attention of German and Italian air power away from the land battle.[22][23]That nightMarigoldwhich had lost contact with the convoy because of engine trouble, and was trying to rejoin the convoy, was spotted by theGerman submarineU-43330 miles East of Europa Point and south ofMálaga.U-433misidentified the corvette for a cruiser and attacked with a spread of four torpedoes, all of which missed.Marigoldthen detected the surfaced submarine on radar at a range of about 4,000 yards (3,700 m) and attacked, butU-433dived away beforeMarigoldcould ram the submarine. An initial pattern of fivedepth chargeswas ineffective, but after 15 minutes,Marigolddetected the submarine on sonar, and attacked with ten depth charges, causing the commander ofU-433to surface the submarine so that the crew could abandon ship.Marigoldopened fire on the submarine when it surfaced andU-433sank quickly.Marigoldpicked up 38 survivors, with six ofU-433's crew killed.[22][24]The First Sea Lord congratulated theMarigoldand its commander, LieutenantWilliam MacDonaldR.N.V.R., on this action.[citation needed]

On 14 December 1941,Marigold,now part of the36th Escort Group,left Gibraltar as part ofConvoy HG 76.The convoy came under sustained U-boat attack from 17 December, and on 19 December,Marigoldcarried out a depth charge attack on a U-boat, which although failing to sink the submarine, helped to drive the U-boat away from the convoy. In total, the escort carrierHMSAudacity,the destroyerStanleyand two merchant ships were sunk by German submarines, while the convoy's escort sank three U-boats.[25][26]

On 9 June 1942, the 36th Escort Group, includingMarigold,left Gibraltar escortingConvoy HG 84.Marigoldand the corvetteConvolvulusattacked and drove off the submarinesU-89andU-437on 14 June.[27][28]On 15 June 1942 she picked up 41 survivors from the British merchantSSEtrib,20 survivors from the Norwegian tankerSSSlemdaland 29 survivors from the British merchantSSThursothat had beentorpedoedand sunk byU-552380 miles (610 km) West ofCorunna,Spain.[9]On the night of 15/16 June,Marigold,Convolvulusand the sloopStorkdrove off the U-boatsU-71,U-84andU552.[27][28]On 13 November 1942 she rescued 81 survivors from the British merchantSSMaronwhich had been torpedoed and sunk byU-81offOran,Algeria.[9]

Sinking

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On the afternoon of 9 December 1942Marigoldwas escorting convoy MKS 3Y, offAlgiers,Algeria when she came under attack by three ItalianS.79 VTBstorpedo bombers of 254aSquadriglia(254th squadron) of 105º Gruppo AS (105th Torpedo group).Marigoldwas hit by a single torpedo and sank after about 9 minutes, with 40 of her crew killed.[29][30][31][32]

References

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  1. ^Friedman 2008,pp. 133–134
  2. ^Lambert & Brown 2008,pp. 3–4
  3. ^Friedman 2008,pp. 323–324
  4. ^abcLambert & Brown 2008,p. 4
  5. ^Elliott 1977,p. 184
  6. ^Lambert & Brown 2008,p. 73
  7. ^Friedman 2008,p. 340
  8. ^Lambert & Brown 2008,pp. 65–66
  9. ^abc"HMS Marigold (K 87) of the Royal Navy - British Corvette of the Flower class - Allied Warships of WWII".uboat.net.Retrieved1 November2015.
  10. ^"Marigold".Aberdeen Ships.Retrieved1 November2015.
  11. ^abRohwer & Hümmelchen 1992,p. 60
  12. ^Blair 2000,p. 278
  13. ^Helgason, Guðmundur."Ships hit by U-Boats: Ixion: British Steam Merchant".U-boat.net.Retrieved26 February2019.
  14. ^Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992,pp. 60–61
  15. ^Kindell, Don (8 April 2012)."Royal Navy Ships, 1 July 1941 (Part 1 of 2)".British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day.Naval-history.net.Retrieved26 February2019.
  16. ^Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992,p. 79
  17. ^Kindell, Don (8 April 2012)."Naval Events, August 1941 (Part 2 of 2): Friday 15th - Sunday 31st".British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day.Naval-history.net.Retrieved27 February2019.
  18. ^Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992,p. 86
  19. ^Kindell, Don (8 April 2012)."Naval Events, September 1941 (Part 1 of 2): Monday 1st – Sunday 14th".British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day.Naval-History.net.Retrieved27 February2019.
  20. ^Kindell, Don (8 April 2012)."Naval Events, September 1941 (Part 2 of 2): Monday 15th - Tuesday 30th".British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day.Naval-History.net.Retrieved27 February2019.
  21. ^Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992,p. 89
  22. ^abBlair 2000,p. 398
  23. ^Smith 1985,p. 163
  24. ^Kemp 1997,p. 74
  25. ^Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992,p. 108
  26. ^Blair 2000,pp. 416–417
  27. ^abRohwer & Hümmelchen 1992,p. 145
  28. ^abBlair 2000,p. 6247
  29. ^Rohwer & Hümmelchen 1992,p. 181
  30. ^Kemp 1999,p. 202
  31. ^Shores et al. 2016,pp. 190, 679
  32. ^H.M. Ships Damaged or Sunk by Enemy Action1952,p. 353

Sources

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36°50′00″N03°00′00″E/ 36.83333°N 3.00000°E/36.83333; 3.00000

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