HMS Exmoor (L61)

HMS "Exmoor" was a Hunt class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was a member of the first subgroup of the class, and saw service in the Second World War, before being sunk by German E-boats in 1941.

Construction and commissioning

"Exmoor" was ordered under the 1939 Naval Building Programme from Parsons Marine Steam Turbines Company, with the hull building being subcontracted to the Vickers-Armstrongs yard, Tyneside. She was laid down as Job No J4099 on 8 June 1939 and launched on 25 January 1940. She was commissioned into service on 18 October 1940, and after working up, was assigned to the 16th Destroyer Flotilla at Scapa Flow.

Career

"Exmoor" arrived at the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in November, and on 6 November was detached in company with HMS "Pytchley" to escort the SS "Adda" to the Faeroe Islands. "Exmoor" returned on 11 November and resumed her working up period. In December she escorted the armed merchant cruisers "Chitral" and "Salopian" on their way to begin patrols. "Exmoor" then sailed to Plymouth.

In January "Exmoor" was part of the escort for HMS "Queen Elizabeth" as she sailed from Portsmouth to Rosyth. "Exmoor" then sailed to Harwich to begin escorting coastal convoys through the North Sea with the 16th Destroyer Flotilla. She carried out these duties into February, and on 23 February was deployed with HMS "Shearwater" to escort a convoy from the Thames estuary to Methil. The convoy was attacked by E-boats as it passed off Lowestoft on 25 February. "Exmoor" suffered an explosion aft, suffering major structural damage and rupturing a fuel supply line. A fire soon broke out which spread rapidly. "Exmoor" capsized and sank in ten minutes. The survivors were picked up by the "Shearwater" and the trawler "Commander Evans", and were taken to Yarmouth. The "Exmoor" had either been hit by the E-Boat "S30" commanded by Klaus Feldt, as the Germans claimed, or had struck a mine. The wreck is designated as a "protected place" under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.

A later Hunt class destroyer, previously planned as HMS "Burton", was renamed and launched as HMS "Exmoor".

References

*Colledge
* [http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DE-Exmoor1.htm HMS Exmoor's wartime career]
* [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4619.html Exmoor at Uboat.net]