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Allied Warships

HMS Sabre (H 18)

Destroyer of the Admiralty S class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassAdmiralty S 
PennantH 18 
Built byA. Stephen & Sons Ltd. (Glasgow, Scotland) 
OrderedApr, 1917 
Laid down10 Sep, 1917 
Launched23 Sep, 1918 
Commissioned9 Nov, 1918 
End service 
Loss position
 
HistoryCompleted by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Govan, Scotland)

Served as a target ship before the Second World War.

Took part in the Dunkirk evacuation during late May / early June 1940.

In late 1940 Sabre was modified as escort. Equipped with 14-charge pattern depth-charge arrangements, both the after 4" guns and the torpedo tubes were landed, one 12pdr.(AA) and 8-.5" (AA) (2x4) were added. Radar type 286 and later 291 were added. Later in the war four single 20mm.(AA) mountings eventually supplanted the .5" AA mountings.

Sold to be broken up for scrap in November 1945.

Commanding Officers:
Lt.Cdr. Brian Dean, RN
15 November 1937 – 11 January 1941
Promoted to Cdr. on ???
Retired on ???
DSO awarded on 6 June 1940

Lt. Peter William Gretton, DSC, RN
11 January 1941 – 11 February 1942
OBE 1 July 1941

Lt. Reginald Lacey Calpe, DSC, RN
11 February 1942 – July 1943

T/A/Lt.Cdr. the Hon. Grenville Howard, RNVR
July 1943 – June 1944

Lt. T. Cumming
June 1944 – still in command in October 1945 according to the Navy List 


Noteable events involving Sabre include:

13 Oct, 1939
While at Rosyth HMS Sabre (Lt.Cdr. B. Dean, RN) is heavily damaged when she is rammed by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay. Sabre was under repair to 6 May 1940.

31 Dec, 1941
The German submarine U-87 torpedoed and damages the British merchant Cardita about 110 nautical miles bearing 307 from St.Kilda in position 59º18'N, 12º50'W. The vessel foundered in 3 January 1942 in position in 59º42'N, 11º58'W.

HMS Sabre (Lt. P.W. Gretton, OBE, DSC, RN) later picks up 10 of the crew.


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