Stanley Darling DSC, RANVR
| Born | 17 Aug 1907 | Bellerive, Tasmania, Australia | |
| Died | 18 Nov 2002 | (95) | Sydney, Australia |
 | Ranks
Retired: 1961 Decorations
|
Warship Commands listed for Stanley Darling, RANVR
| Ship | Rank | Type | From | To |
| HMS Loch Oskaig (FY 175) | Lt.Cdr. | ASW Trawler | 18 Oct 1940 | 30 Sep 1941 |
| HMS Inchmarnock (T 166) | Lt.Cdr. | MS Trawler | 23 Dec 1941 | 15 Aug 1942 |
| HMS Clarkia (K 88) | Lt.Cdr. | Corvette | 30 Aug 1942 | 12 Oct 1943 |
| HMS Loch Killin (K 391) | Lt.Cdr. | Frigate | 22 Nov 1943 | 22 Jun 1945 |
| HMS Loch Lomond (K 437) | Lt.Cdr. | Frigate | 27 Jun 1945 | Sep 1945 |
Career information
CAPTAIN STANLEY DARLING, O.B.E., D.S.C. and 2 Bars, V.R.D., R.A.N.R. Captain Walker 's Second Escort Group (R.N.) of Anti-submarine Frigates justly earned their fame as a deadly and greatly feared submarine killer group, and an Australian Naval Officer, Lieut. Commander S. Darling, was perhaps the Group's most skillful hunter of the skulking U-boats. Born in Bellerive, Tasmania, in 1907, Stanley Darling was educated at Hutchins School and at the University of Tasmania, graduating as a Bachelor of Engineering in 1929.
His Naval career began in 1921 when he became an R.A.N.R. Cadet. On the outbreak of war in September, 1939, he was mobilised in Sydney and under-went an anti-submarine course at H.M.A.S. RUSHCUTTER. In August, 1940, Lieut. Cdr. Darling went to England on loan to the Royal Navy. Here he served in command of anti-submarine vessels varying from trawlers to frigates -on convoy escort and A/S patrols in most areas of the Atlantic, including Gibraltar, the Faroes, coastal waters. the Caribbean Sea and West Africa. In command of H.M.S. LOCH KILLIN, one of the first of a new class of frigate equipped with a new A/S weapon he joined the Second Escort Group in June, 1944, on A/S patrol in the South Western Approaches and the English Channel in support of the Normandy landings. In this phase LOCH KILLIN detected and sank two U-boats and assisted in the sinking of two others in a single patrol. LOCH KILLIN was again successful in locating and sinking a U-boat in the English Channel in April, 1945. Promoted in the same year, Commander Darling took H.M.S. LOCH LOMOND to South East Asian waters and operated there until the surrender of Japan. On returning to Australia he resumed training in the R.A.N.R. and was promoted Captain in 1953. Awarded the O.B.E. in 1960, he retired in 1961, completing a distinguished Naval career extending over 40 years.
After the war Darling became a keen yachtsman and became the first person to sail 25 Sydney to Hobart yacht races. He died in Sydney on 18 November 2002 aged 95.
Events related to this officer
Frigate HMS Loch Killin (K 391)
31 Jul 1944 (position 49.39, -7.28)
German U-boat U-333 was sunk in the North Atlantic west of the Scilly Isles, in position 49°39'N, 07°28'W, by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Starling (Cdr. N.W. Duck, DSC, RNR) and the British frigate HMS Loch Killin (Lt.Cdr. S. Darling, RANVR).
6 Aug 1944 (position 47.19, -4.16)
German U-boat U-736 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay south-west of Lorient, France, in position 47°19'N, 04°16'W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Loch Killin (Lt.Cdr. S. Darling, RANVR).
15 Apr 1945 (position 50.09, -3.53)
German U-boat U-1063 was sunk in the English Channel west of Land?s End, in position 50°08'54"N, 03°53'24"W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Loch Killin (Lt.Cdr. S. Darling, DSC and Bar, RANVR).
Sources
- 1944-08-21 ? Must be 1945
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