HMS Whitshed (D77) - World War Two

World War Two

In 1939 HMS Whitshed was reactivated and assigned to the 18th Destroyer Flotilla at Portland for convoy defence in the English Channel and South-West Approaches. On 30 January 1940, in conjunction with HMS Fowey and an RAF aircraft from No. 228 Squadron, Whitshed sank U-55 in the South-West Approaches whilst escorting convoy OA30G.

In April, she was transferred to the 19th Destroyer Flotilla at Dover to assist with support of operations off the Belgian and Dutch coasts. She took part in the demolition and evacuation of Ijmuiden and Amsterdam (Operation XD(A)) in early May 1940. She then carried supplies to Dunkirk and embarked the Irish Guards before assisting in the evacuation of the Hook of Holland (Operation Ordnance) and Ostend in mid-May. On the 22nd she escorted the ships carrying the Guards battalions to Boulogne. She suffered damage and casualties under shore fire, and provided gun-fire support for Keith and Vimy on their departure for England. On the 26th she deployed for the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo). At this time her pennant number was changed to I77 for visual signalling purposes. Upon release from Op Dynamo she returned to Harwich and convoy defence, and anti-invasion patrols in the North Sea and English Channel. She was one of the few ships not damaged at Dunkirk.

On 31 July she sustained serious structural damage after detonating a mine off Harwich. HMS Wild Swan towed her back to Harwich. She was under repair until December.

The year 1941 was one of continuing convoy escort and patrolling of the North Sea and English Channel. In February she escorted Motor Torpedo Boats for mine laying in the North Sea. The operation came under air attack with no casualties or damage.

In February 1942, Whitshed joined the destroyers MacKay and Walpole of the 21st Flotilla and Campbell, Worcester and Vivacious of the 16th Flotilla. On the 12th, she carried out a torpedo attack on the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, which had broken out of Brest and proceeded via the Dover Straits to Wilhelmshaven (The Channel Dash).

For the remainder of 1942 and most of 1943, Whitshed undertook convoy escort duties and patrolled the North Sea and English Channel. In 1942, her ‘A’ gun was replaced with a twin 6-pounder army gun for engaging E-Boats. In November 1943 she was in action with E-Boats while escorting convoy CW221 off Hastings with two motor gun boats and four motor launches of the Coastal Forces. On 18 April 1944 she was in action again with E-Boats on a mine laying operation in the English Channel.

In June 1944 she joined Escort Group 104 with HMS Montrose, Borage and Loosestrife and escorted convoy EIL1 comprising 12 Landing Ship Tank (LST) and 24 Landing Craft Tank (LCT) from Southend to the assembly area of the Eastern Task Force. Then she returned to Southend to escort the build-up convoys.

In July she was released from Operation Neptune and resumed mercantile convoy escort and interception patrols engaging E-Boats and submersibles employed in mine laying operations in the North Sea and English Channel through April 1945. After VE-Day she was deployed in re-occupation operations. In June 1945 she was reduced to reserve status.