HMS Punjabi (F21)

HMS "Punjabi" was a Tribal Class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in the Second World War, being sunk in a collision with the battleship HMS "King George V". She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name "Punjabi" which in common with the other ships of the Tribal class, was named after an ethnic group of the British Empire. In this case, these were the Punjabi people, the inhabitants of the Punjab region between India and Pakistan.

Construction and commissioning

She was ordered under the 1935 Naval Estimates, on 19 June 1936 from Scotts at Greenock, Scotland. She was launched on 18 December 1937 and commissioned on 23 March 1939 at a total cost of £343,005, which excluded items supplied by the Admiralty, such as weapons and communications outfits. "Punjabi" was commissioned for service in the 2nd Tribal Destroyer Flotilla in the Home Fleet, which was re-identified at the 6th Destroyer Flotilla in April 1939. Whilst on work-up trials she was redirected to aid in search and rescue attempts for the submarine HMS "Thetis", which had sunk in Liverpool Bay. She then rejoined the Home Fleet on exercises.

Career

Home waters

On the outbreak of war in September "Punjabi" deployed with the Flotilla for Home Fleet duties including anti-submarine patrols and convoy defence in the North Western Approaches and the North Sea. In October she made an unsuccessful attempt to salvage a crashed German flying boat. On 2 December she sustained structural damage to her bows when she collided with the merchant vessel SS "Lairdscrest" south of Holy Island. She was under repair at Alexander Stephen and Sons' shipyard in Govan from 15 December until late February, when she rejoined the flotilla. She was then based at Scapa Flow on screening and patrol duties.

In April she made a number of deployments with the Home Fleet to search for German warships in the North Sea and off the Norwegian coast. On 8 April she screened the battleships coming to assist the destroyer HMS "Glowworm", which was under attack by the German cruiser "Admiral Hipper". The "Glowworm" eventually rammed the "Admiral Hipper", before sinking. "Punjabi" was then deployed off Narvik as a screen for operations during the Second Battle of Narvik. On 13 April she engaged a number of German destroyers, receiving six hits and being disabled for an hour before she could resume service. She was temporarily repaired at Skelfjord before returning to Devonport Dockyard for more thorough repairs. Her 4.7 inch mounting in X position was replaced with a 4 inch Twin AA mounting.

On returning to active service in June she was based at Plymouth. On 17 June she took part in the evacuation of allied military and civil personnel from Saint-Nazaire. She returned again on 20 June to evacuate Polish troops. On 9 August she deployed with other Home Fleet destroyers in escorting the capital ships of Force H from Gibraltar. In September "Punjabi" screened the military convoys for Operation Menace, the attacks on Dakar on their passage through the North Western Approaches. She also escorted the damaged cruiser HMS "Fiji" back to the UK after she had been torpedoed and damaged off the Hebrides. The rest of the year was spent on deployments with the Flotilla.

In February 1941 "Punjabi" returned to Scapa Flow with the Flotilla, before undergoing a refit at Rosyth throughout March and April. The work included the fitting of a RAF ASV type radar outfit modified for shipborne use. At the end of May she was part of the escort for capital ships of the Home Fleet hunting for the German battleship "Bismarck" after the sinking of the battlecruiser HMS "Hood". On 27 July she and HMS "Tartar" escorted the cruisers HMS "Aurora" and HMS "Nigeria" to assess the potential of using Spitsbergen as a refuelling base for escorts used in the defence of convoys on passage to and from North Russia.

Arctic Ocean

On 1 August "Punjabi" and "Tartar" evacuated Norwegian nationals from Bear Island and carried out an offensive sweep off the Norwegian coast before returning to Scapa Flow. On 30 August "Punjabi", HMS "Matabele" and HMS "Somali" escorted the aircraft carrier HMS "Argus" and the cruiser HMS "Shropshire" during an operation to supply the Soviet Union with Hawker Hurricanes and RAF personnel. She then resumed normal flotilla duties before beginning a refit in December at Hawthorn Leslie and Company's yards at Newcastle upon Tyne. The refit lasted until the end of January 1942 and involved repairing damage to machines and systems due to excess stress when steaming in heavy weather.

In March she joined other Home Fleet units in providing cover for convoys PQ-12 and the returning QP-8. During these operations it was believed that the German battleship "Tirpitz" had put to sea to intercept the convoys. "Punjabi" was one of the ships tasked to support the search for her, but the "Tirpitz" had in fact returned to port. "Punjabi" was detached from the search on 11 March and returned to Scapa Flow after encountering problems with her steering gear. In April she escorted Convoy QP-10 back to the UK. On 12 April she came under attack from U 453, but the attack was unsuccessful. She escorted Convoy PQ-10 to Iceland and was detached from the convoy on its arrival there on 21 April.

inking

"Punjabi" was deployed on 26 April as part of the screen providing distant cover for the passage of Convoy PQ-15. They sailed from Hvalfjörður on 29 April. On 1 May she was rammed and sunk in a collision with HMS "King George V" in foggy conditions. "Punjabi" was sliced in two by the battleship's bows. 169 of the ship’s company were rescued from the forward section, and another 40 were picked up from the sea by other escorts, including HMS "Marne". Those crew left in the after section, which sank very quickly, were killed when her depth charges were detonated. 49 of her crew lost their lives in the accident. She sank directly in the path of the US battleship USS "Washington", which had to sail between the halves of the sinking destroyer. "Washington" suffered slight damage from the detonation of the depth charges. HMS "King George V" had sustained serious damage to her bows and was forced to return to port for repairs.

References

*Colledge
* [http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-34Tribal-Punjabi.htm HMS Punjabi's career]