HMS Ardent (H41) - Wartime Career

Wartime Career

On the outbreak of the Second World War, Ardent joined the flotilla at Portland to cover the first troop convoys to France, through the South Western Approaches and in the Channel. In October, she was transferred to the Western Approaches Command but was later transferred to Liverpool. She sailed for Liverpool in January 1940, and began deployments in the Irish Sea, and the South Western Approaches. On 30 January, she was patrolling west of Ushant when she received an urgent SOS from Fowey, which had been escorting a convoy which had come under attack by a U-boat, which had already sunk the tanker SS Vaclite. Ardent carried out a hunt for the U-boat with destroyers Whitshed, Valmy, Fowey and Sunderland aircraft of 228 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command. They eventually forced the attacking U-boat — U-55 — to surface, whereupon she was attacked by aircraft and forced to scuttle herself. Forty-one of the crew were rescued by Fowey and Whitshed. The next day, Ardent joined Whitshed in escorting the cruiser Ajax into Plymouth on her return from her battle with the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.

Ardent remained deployed in the Western Approaches throughout February, before spending March escorting convoys from the Clyde to Norway. In April, she was transferred to the Home Fleet after the German invasion of Norway to carry out convoy escort duties. On 14 April, she was deployed with Codrington and Achates as part of the escort for military convoy NP1, on passage to Norway with troops for the planned landings at Narvik. On 4 May, Ardent damaged the underwater dome of her sonar outfit and had to return to the UK. She was taken in hand for the replacement of the dome on6 May, and returned to active duty on 18 May. On 22 May, she escorted the troopship SS Ulster Prince as she took troops to the Faroe Islands to replace the Royal Marines that had been landed there in April as part of Operation Valentine. On 31 May, she and the destroyers Acasta, Acheron, Highlander and Diana escorted the aircraft carriers Ark Royal and Glorious from the Clyde to the Norwegian coast to carry out air operations in support of the evacuation of allied forces from Norway, in Operation Alphabet. She remained as the carriers' escort throughout early June, with a period spent refuelling at Harstad.