Michael Gordon Rimington DSO, RN
| Birth details unknown |
| Ranks
Retired: 21 May 1954 Decorations
|
Warship Commands listed for Michael Gordon Rimington, RN
| Ship | Rank | Type | From | To |
| HMS Parthian (N 75) | Lt.Cdr. | Submarine | 27 May 1938 | Oct 1941 |
| HMS Tantivy (P 319) | Cdr. | Submarine | 24 May 1943 | 19 Aug 1944 |
Career information
We currently have no career / biographical information on this officer.
Events related to this officer
Submarine HMS Parthian (N 75)
19 Jun 1940
At 1243 hours (no time zone given in patrol report) HMS Parthian (Lt.Cdr. M.G. Rimington, RN) fires two torpedoes from 6500 yards at the old Italian armoured cruiser San Giorgio in Tobruk harbour. Both torpedoes exploded about 3/4 nautical mile short of the target. Most likely they hit a boom net.
20 Jun 1940
HMS Parthian (Lt.Cdr. M.G. Rimington, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Italian submarine Diamante about 35 nautical miles north-north-west of Tobruk, Libya in position 32º42'N, 23º49'E.
At 1445 hours (no time zone given in patrol report) HMS Parthian sighted a submarine running on the surface at 6500 yards. At 1502 hours 4 torpedoes were fired from 400 yards. 4 hits were claimed by the British.
20 Jul 1940
HMS Parthian (Lt.Cdr. R.D. Cayley, RN) landed an agent on Crete.
31 Aug 1940
HMS Parthian (Lt.Cdr. R.M.T. Peacock, RN) attacks the Italian cruisers Giuseppe Garibaldi and Luigi di Savoia Duca Delgi Abruzzi in the Ionian Sea about 105 nautical miles east-south-east of Cape Spartivento, Italy in position 37º45'N, 18º22'E. All torpedoes fired missed their target.
9 Jan 1941
HMS Parthian (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Carlo Martinolich (4208 GRT) about 10 nautical miles east of Punta Stilo, Calabria, Italy in position 38º28'N, 16º44'E.
16 Mar 1941
HMS Parthian (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) torpedoes and damages the Iitalian merchant Giovanni Bocaccio (3141 GRT) in the central Mediterranean about 55 nautical miles east of Malta in position 35º57'N, 15º40'E.
3 Jun 1941
HMS Parthian (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) torpedoes and damages the Italian oiler Strombo (5232 GRT) east of Limnos in position 39º57'N, 25º38'E.
8 Jun 1941
HMS Parthian (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) sinks 2 sailing vessels and an other small vessel at Mitylene, Lesbos, Greece. Parthian fired two torpedoes in the harbour.
25 Jun 1941
HMS Parthian (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) torpedoes and sinks the Vichy French submarine Souffleur south-west of Beirut in position 33º49'N, 35º26'E.
Submarine HMS Tantivy (P 319)
23 Jul 1943
Tantivy departs her builders yard bound for Holy Loch where she is to be commissioned on the 25th.
28 Jul 1943
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) begins her training program. During this time that last till ca. the middle of October. She undergoes training at, among other places, Loch Ranza, Arrochar, Campbeltown, Scapa Flow and Larne.
18 Oct 1943
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) departs Holy Loch bound for Lerwick.
20 Oct 1943
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) departs Lerwick for her 1st war patrol. This is a working up patrol off the Norwegian coast in the Trondheim area.
30 Oct 1943
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) ends her 1st war patrol (working up patrol) at Lerwick. The patrol was uneventful. She is now ordered to proceed to Chatham Dockyard.
Nov 1943
Unfortunately the logs of HMS Tantivy from November to February 1944 are not at the National Archives in London, so we lack details of this period.
6 Jan 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) departs Plymouth bound for Gibraltar, this is the first leg of her passage to Trincomalee.
For HMS Tantivy’s daily (1200 hours) positions during the passage from Plymouth to Gibraltar see the map below.
15 Jan 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) arrives at Gibraltar.
23 Feb 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) departs Trincomalee for her 2nd war patrol (1st in Far Eastern waters), patrol area is the Sunda Strait.
29 Feb 1944
Sortly before arriving in her assigned patrol area HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) is sighted and bombed by a Japanese aircraft. No damaged was caused.
(all times are zone -6,5)
1240 hours - Sighted an aircraft and dived. When Tantivy passed 70 feet a bomb exploded. Cdr. Rimington is not happy with that he was sighted shortly before arriving in the patrol area
2030 hours - Surfaced
22 Mar 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) ends her 2nd war patrol at Trincomalee. The patrol was uneventful.
17 Apr 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) departs Trincomalee for her 3rd war patrol (2nd in Far Eastern waters). Patrol area is the Malacca Straits and the west coast of Siam.
29 Apr 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) attacks shipping inside Phuket harbour. Three torpedoes were fired into the harbour against damaged / sunken ships that were undergoing salvage. The attack fails as the torpedoes most likely got stuck in mud.
(all times are zone -6,5)
0448 hours - Dived and ran in to attack shipping inside Phuket harbour
1143 hours - At a range of 4500 yards fired No 1. torpedo tube at a sunken ship in the harbour, No 2 and 3 torpedo tubes were fired at a damaged ship. All torpedoes fired were seen running for the first 3000 yards. They were also seen to be running strait towards their intended targets. However nothing happened and all torpedoes probably got stuck in mud. Tantalus retired to deeper water
1912 hours - Surfaced
4 May 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) attacks a Japanese submarine with six torpedoes south of the mouth of the Perak river. All torpedoes fired missed their target.
All times are zone -6,5)
0456 hours - Dived
1540 hours - Sighted a Japanese submarine of the I-68 class to the south of the mouth of the Perak river
1549 hours - Attacked the Japanese submarine with six torpedoes. The enemy however sighted the tracks and combed them. They were then seen to pass to the eastward of the Sembilan Islands making for the Dindings
1903 hours - Surfaced. As it was hoped that the submarine would spent the night in the Dindings and proceed towards Penang the next day. Cdr. Rimington decided to proceed to a position between the Dindings and Penang
7 May 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) sinks a Siamese sailing vessel with gunfire of the west coast of Siam.
(All times are zone -6,5)
0502 hours - Dived
1525 hours - Surfaced for gun action, 24 rounds were fired at a junk (about 150 tons) from about 700 yards of which 14 were hits. After the junk sank 4 survivors were picked up. The junk was fully loaded with tin and also had a deck cargo of bagged rice. She was en-route from Puket to Penang
9 May 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) encounters a submerged submarine. She is not able to attack.
(all times are zone -6,5)
0530 hours - Dived
1400 hours - Surfaced
1548 hours - Dived to periscope depth upon sighting of periscope. H.E. (= Hydrophone Effect) was heard and echo contact was obtained until 1850 hours. During a cat and mouse game neither submarine was able to attack
1910 hours - The other submarine was heard to inrease speed and make off. Contact was lost soon afterwards
2115 hours - Surfaced
12 May 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) ends her 3rd war patrol at Trincomalee.
1 Jun 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) departs Trincomalee for her 4th war patrol (3rd in Far Eastern waters). Patrol area is the Malacca Straits and the west coast of Siam.
7 Jun 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) lays mines in the Strait of Malacca off Sembilang Island.
At 1915 hours (time zone -6.5) commenced minelaying operation
M.L.O. 11.
2200 hours - completed minelaying
15 Jun 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) tries to intercept a small merchant vessel off Phuket. She is not able to attack.
(All times are zone -6,5)
0522 hours - Dived and started approaching Phuket harbour
1112 hours - Sighted a small diesel merchant ship of about 1500 to 2000 tons leaving Phuket harbour. Tantivy turned to intercept. Immediataly after three A/S vessels were seen making a direct attack impossible. Cdr. Rimington decided to try to intercept the ship off Go Lantar Yai about 25 nautical miles away. The target was however not seen again
1900 hours - Surfaced and proceeded to the vicinity of Goh Beng light
26 Jun 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) ends her 4th war patrol at Trincomalee.
24 Jul 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) departs Trincomalee for her 5th war patrol (4th in Far Eastern waters). Patrol area is the Malacca Straits.
31 Jul 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) tries to intercept a merchant vessel bound for Sabang (see also 1 August 1944)
(All times are zone -6,5)
0635 hours - Dived
1215 hours - Sighted an unidentified aircraft
1810 hours - Surfaced
1814 hours - Sighted two submarine chasers about five nautical miles inshore steering north-west along the coast. They sighted Tantivy at the same time and turned towards. Tantivy retired to seawards at 13 knots. One of the submarine chasers turned towards the coast again to other continued to follow Tantivy. A merchant was now sighted about two to three nautical miles to the westward of the escorts in position 05º15'N, 97º10'E. After about ten minutes the submarine chaser that was following Tantivy abandoned the pursuit. Tantivy now proceeded towards the south-east point of Pulo Weh to intercept as the merchant was obviously bound for Sabang.
1 Aug 1944
While trying to attack the merchant spotted the previous day, HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) is spotted by an aircraft. The attack therefore had to be broken off.
(All times are zone -6,5)
0508 hours - Dived off the south-east corner of Pulo Weh.
0608 hours - The masts and bridge of a ship were sighted. Also one single engined aircraft was patrolling over the Malacca Passage. After a while the ship suddenly turned towards leaving Tantivy perfectly placed for an attack. At 0704 hours when Cdr. Rimington wanted to have a last quick peep through the attack periscope an aircraft bomb went off. Fortunately it was not close. The aircraft had probably seen us and dropped the bomb as a warning that a submarine was very close. The target immediately changed course. One of the escorts was only 400 yards away and turned strait towards Tantivy. Cdr. Rimington immediately ordered Tantivy deep. It was only after seven minutes that the first two depth charges were dropped and these were not close. When Tantivy was able to return to periscope depth the target could be seen stern on and out of range. At the same time a twin-engined bomber, a Sally, was seen to dive towards us from 1000 feet but failed to drop anything as Tantivy went deep again
0910 hours - Returned to persicope depth to find the sea and sky clear. Proceeded to a position to the north-west of the One Fathom Bank
1852 hours - Surfaced.
6 Aug 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) is spotted by a Japanese torpedo boat. She is depth charged but no damage was done.
(All times are zone -6,5)
0440 hours - In position 210 degrees, 3 nautical miles from Observation Island (Butangs) a light was sighted flashing. It was challenging us. Tantivy turned to the south stern on to the light. A small destroyer was then sighted that started to challenge again. We had clearly been sighted and as it was getting light Cdr. Rimington dived at 0449 hours. Tantivy went deep immediately expecting to be attacked. The destroyer was picked up on the Asdic and was approaching at 12 knots. No attack however developed and by 0540 hours Tantivy came to periscope depth. It was now light enough to see the destroyer, (Otori class) about 4 nautical miles to the eastward steering towards Langkawi
0750 hours - The destroyer was seen to make off towards Penang. Also the first aircraft of the day was sighted at this time. During the day at least one aircraft was in sight. Sometimes up to three were in sight at the same time
1815 hours - The mast of an escort vessel (most likely the Otori-class destroyer again) was sighted bearing 110 degrees, 5 to 6 nautical miles. She appeared to be heading slowly north. Tantivy was at this time about 3.5 nautical miles to the south-east of Observatory Island. Cdr. Rimington turned to the west to open up the range to the vessel before surfacing. She was very soon out of sight in the dusk
1908 hours - Surfaced
2030 hours - The after lookout sighted the destroyer closing us. She was then about 4 nautical miles away on the starboard quarter. Turned to the south-west, stern on to the destroyer and increased speed to 13 knots. The destroyer soon followed us and appeared to have increased speed
2116 hours - Distance was now about 3 nautical miles and decreasing so therewas no other choice then to dive. Just before diving a second vessel was sighted bearing 050 about 4 nautical miles away. On diving Tantivy turned to port to 090 degrees, hoping the destroyer's Commanding Officer was thinking the submarine would turn to seaward. The destroyer steamed on to the diving position and as she crossed fairly close astern she dropped a single depth charge. She ten reduced speed and to Cdr. Rimingtons disgust also turned to Port and steamed up Tantivy's Starboard side dropping two more depth charges about half a mile apart. The destroyer then turned to Port, crossed close ahead and then drew out to the North of Tantivy. Cdr. Rimington started to turn slowly 180 degrees to Starboard to 270 degrees. During this time nothing had been heard from the second vessel. The destroyer appeared to be at fault. As the destroyer drew clear, Cdr. Rimington took the risk to increase speed to get clear of the search area. At this moment the second vessel was heard to approach fast from the South-West (Port bow). She passed very close to port and then joined the destroyer. The game of cat and mouse continued during the whole night and Tantivy was unable to surface during the night so measures were taken to conserve battery power and inprove the air quality.
16 Aug 1944
HMS Tantivy (Cdr. M.G. Rimington, DSO, RN) ends her 5th war patrol at Trincomalee.