HMS Fame (H78)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Fame.

Fame in September 1942
Career (UK)
Name:	HMS Fame
Builder:	Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, Wallsend (hull subcontracted to Vickers Armstrongs, Barrow-in-Furness)
Laid down:	5 July 1933
Launched:	28 June 1934
Commissioned:	26 April 1935
Fate:	Transferred to the Dominican Republic in February 1949 as Generalisimo
General characteristics
Class and type:	F-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,405 long tons (1,427.5 t) standard 1,940 long tons (1,971.1 t) deep
Length:	329 ft (100.3 m) o/a
Beam:	33.3 ft (10.1 m)
Draught:	10.8 ft (3.3 m)
Propulsion:	3 x Admiralty 3-drum water tube boilers, Parsons geared steam turbines, 38,000 shp on 2 shafts
Speed:	35.5 kn (65.7 km/h), 31.5 kn (58.3 km/h) deep
Range:	6,350 nmi (11,760 km) at 15 kn (27.8 km/h) 1,275 nmi (2,361 km) at 35.5 kn (65.7 km/h)
Complement:	145
Armament:	4 x 4.7-inch (120-mm) QF Mk. IX guns single mounts CP Mk.XVII 8 x 0.5-inch (12.7-mm) Vickers machine guns, quad mounts Mk.I 8 (4x2) tubes for 21-inch (530 mm) torpedoes 1 rack for 20 x depth charges

HMS Fame was an F class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was active during the Second World War, taking part in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Construction

She was built by Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, Wallsend, although her hull was sub-contracted to Vickers Armstrongs, Walker. She was launched on 28 June 1934, the same day as her sister-ship, Firedrake.

Service history

Second World War

In 1939 Fame was assigned to 8 Destroyer flotilla attached to Home Fleet, acting as anti-submarine escort for the fleet. In 1940 she served in the Norwegian Campaign, and was involved in the Bodø evacuation. In October 1940 Fame collided with Ashanti, causing major damage. She was moved to Chatham and paid off into the hands of the dockyard where she remained for nearly 2 years.

In September 1942 Fame returned to active service and was assigned to B-6 Escort Group under Cdr R Heathcote as group leader (SOE). In this role she was engaged in all the duties performed by escort ships; protecting convoys, searching for and attacking U-boats which attacked ships in convoy, and rescuing survivors.

Her first Atlantic convoy action was with SC 104, a major convoy battle that saw the loss of 8 ships, with 2 warships damaged, and 2 U-boats destroyed, with 2 more damaged and forced to retire. Fame was responsible for the destruction of U-353 on 16 October 1942, but was damaged in the process. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Fame was back in action in December, and while escorting ON 155 was dispatched to the aid of ON 154, which was under heavy attack. Heathcote was ordered to take command of the escort after the SOE (G Windeyer, in St Laurent), had collapsed from exhaustion. In a five day battle, ON 154 had lost 14 ships for 1 U-boat destroyed.^[4]

In February 1943 Fame was escort to ON 165, which lost 2 ships for 2 U-boats destroyed. Fame destroyed U-69 in this battle,^[5][6] and Viscount, another escort, destroyed U-201. (Viscount was originally credited with U-69, and Fame with U-201,^{[7][8][clarification needed]} but post war analysis reversed this.

In August Fame, now under the command of RA Currie, was leader of the escort for ON 206 which was attacked during the U-boat Arm’s autumn offensive. This battle, which also involved the ships and escorts of ONS 20, saw 6 U-boats destroyed for the loss of one ship.

In May 1944 Fame was reassigned to patrol duty in the South-Western Approaches as part of Operation Neptune as senior ship of 14 Escort Group. During this time Fame participated in the sinking of edit] Post war

In 1947 Fame went into the RN Reserve,and in 1949 was transferred to the Dominican Republic as Generalisimo. In 1962 she was renamed Sanchez, and in 1968 scrapped.

Tables

U-Boats destroyed

• U-353 rammed by Fame on 16 October 1942 ^[11]
• U-69 rammed by Fame on 17 February 1943 ^[12]
• edit] Convoys escorted

  Homebound	Outbound
  .	ON 132
  SC 104
  HX 217	ON 155, ON 154
  SC 116	ON 165
  HX 227	ONS 1
  SC 125	.
  .	ON 194
  HX 251	ONS 17
  HX 257	ON 206
  SC 145	ON 212
  SC 148	ON 218
  SC 151	ONS 29
  HX 281	ON 229
  HX 286

  Commanding officers

  From	To	Captain
  pre-war	July 1940	Cdr PN Walter
  July 1940	. ?	Cdr. CA Chatwin
  August 1942	July 1943	Cdr. R Heathcote
  July 1943	April 1945	Cdr. RA Currie
  April 1945	post-war	Cdr JA Luther

  Notes

  1. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 167
  2. ^ Blair 1998, pp. 38, 41
  3. ^ Kemp 1997, p. 92
  4. ^ Blair 1998, p. 134
  5. ^ Blair 1998, p. 184
  6. ^ Neistle 1998, p. 43
  7. ^ Kemp 1997, pp. 102–103
  8. ^ Roskill p. 357
  9. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 284
  10. ^ Kemp 1997, p. 198
  11. ^ Kemp 1997, p. 92
  12. ^ Neistle 1998, pp. 43, 224
  13. ^ Kemp 1997, p. 198

  References

  • Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War Vol II. ISBN 0-304-35261-6. 
  • English, John (1993). Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9. 
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-59114-081-8. 
  • Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed. ISBN 1 85409 515 3. 
  • Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Commonwealth Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7. 
  • Neistle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses during World War II. ISBN 1 85367 352 8. 
  • Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2. 
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1. 

  External links

  • HMS Fame at naval-history
  • HMS Fame at uboatnet