Allied Warships

HMS Reading (G 71)

Destroyer of the Town class


HMS Reading during the Second World War

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassTown 
PennantG 71 
Built byBethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., (Squantum, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down3 Jun 1918 
Launched5 Feb 1919 
Commissioned26 Nov 1940 
End service24 Jul 1945 
Loss position
 
History

On 26 November 1940 USS Bailey was decommissioned at Halifax Nova Scotia, and transferred in the destroyer land bases exchange to Great Britain, being renamed HMS Reading she was commissioned 28 November 1940 for service with the 5th "Town" Flotilla and arrived at Plymouth, England, 17 December 1940. Between December 1940 and July 1941 she escorted convoys in the Atlantic, working out of Liverpool. In July 1941 she joined the Newfoundland Escort Group with which she remained until May 1942. Between May and October I 1942 she underwent a yard overhaul, after which she served as a target ship tor aircraft from the Air Station, Fearn, Scotland, and continued in this assignment until July 1945 when she was handed over to ship breakers at Rosyth.

Decommissioned and sold for scrap on 24 Jul, 1945 at Inverkeithing.

Commanding Officers:
Cdr. Ralph Heathcote, RN
26 November 1940 – 1 March 1941

Lt.Cdr. Dennis Victor Clift, RN
1 March 1941 – 12 June 1942

Lt. T.J. Nicholls, RN
12 June 1942 – 16 August 1942

Lt.Cdr. Hedworth Lambton, RN (retired)
16 August 1942 – 8 February 1943

A/Lt.Cdr. Robert E. Blyth, RNVR
8 February 1943 – November 1943

T/Lt. Douglas Louis Ziedler, RNVR
November 1943 – 16 February 1944

A/T/Lt.Cdr. Wynyard Paul Bush, DSC, RNVR
16 February 1944 – June 1944

T/A/Lt.Cdr. Gwilym Pinkerton Evans, DSC, RNVR
June 1944 – still in command in July 1945 according to the Navy List

HMS Reading is not listed in the October 1945 Navy List

 
Former nameUSS Bailey (DD 269)

Commands listed for HMS Reading (G 71)

Please note that we're still working on this section.

CommanderFromTo
1Cdr. Ralph Heathcote, RN26 Nov 19401 Mar 1941
2Lt.Cdr. Dennis Victor Clift, RN1 Mar 194112 Jun 1942
3Lt. Thomas John Nicholls, RN12 Jun 194216 Aug 1942
4Lt.Cdr. (retired) Hedworth Lambton, RN16 Aug 19428 Feb 1943
5A/Lt.Cdr. Robert E. Blyth, RNVR8 Feb 1943Nov 1943
6T/Lt. Douglas Louis Zeidler, RNVRNov 194316 Feb 1944
7T/A/Lt.Cdr. Wynyard Paul Bush, DSC, RNVR16 Feb 1944Jun 1944
8T/A/Lt.Cdr. Gwilym Pinkerton Evans, DSC, RNVRJun 1944July 1945

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