HMS Panther (G41)

HMS "Panther" was a P class destroyer of the Royal Navy laid down on 5 March 1940 by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company (Govan, Scotland) and launched on 28 May of the following year. She was commissioned to the fleet on 12 December 1941.

Following the sinking of the heavy cruisers "Cornwall" and "Dorsetshire", off Ceylon on April 5, 1942, "Panther" took part in the rescue operations, and assisted in the recovery of approximately 1,120 men from both crews.

On 8 May 1942, in conjunction with HMS "Active" she sank the Vichy French submarine "Monge" as part of operations against Madagascar. HMS "Panther" formed part of a convoy that included the troopship SS Strathallan in December 1942. On 21 December the troopship was torpedoed by U-562. HMS "Panther" under the command of Lt.Cdr. Viscount Jocelyn, RN along with other escort vessels took onboard the crew and troops, including the staff of General Eisenhower, and delivered them to Oran.

Later in 1942 the flotilla including HMS "Panther" moved to the Mediterranean on convoy duties to Malta. After this, she was transferred with her sister ship HMS "Pathfinder" to the North Atlantic. Returning to the Mediterranean in July 1943 with the survivors of her class, she served as part of the Sicily invasion fleet and then at Salerno. HMS "Panther" was sunk in the Scarpento Channel in the Aegean Sea by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka aircraft on 9 October 1943. She sank within one minute.

References

*Destroyers of the World (An International Copy) ISBN 0-304-35675-1
*British Warships of the Second World War ISBN 1-86176-131-7

ee also

External links

*http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4491.html
*http://www.thestrathallan.com/sinking.htm