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Allied Warships

HMS Kimberley (F 50)

Destroyer of the K class


HMS Kimberley at high speed.
Photo with thanks to Lee Brown.

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassK 
PennantF 50 
Built byThornycroft (Southampton, U.K.) 
Ordered 
Laid downJan, 1938 
Launched1 Jun, 1939 
Commissioned21 Dec, 1939 
End service 
Loss position
 
HistoryHMS Kimberley completed her war service patrolling the Greek Islands of Kos; Leros; Simi and Rhodes (amongst others) in the Dodecanese. Also patrolled by German motor Torpedo Boats. Stores and fuel were taken on board at the neutral Turkish port of Marmarice. The Germans had some big guns on Rhodes and the Kimberley kept a respectful distance so that all rounds fired at her fell short. On the 8th May 1945, Kimberley stood off shore at Rhodes and the Commandant of the German forces, together with his senior officers, came alongside, were invited aboard and formally surrendered. It was a droll moment, as they arrived alongside in a British Motor Torpedo Boat that had been captured the night before, flying a white flag and the German ensign. After the formalities were completed the Germans returned to Rhodes to disarm the garrison. Kimberley returned the next day and landed an armed party. The German garrison was confined to their quarters and Shore Leave was granted. Later, Kimberley transported the Germans (about 117 in number) to Alexandria, Egypt, before setting sail for home to Dartmouth to be decommissioned.

Sold to be broken up for scrap on 30 March 1949.

Commanding Officers:
Lt.Cdr. Richard George Kirby Knowling, RN
20 November 1939 – 1 May 1940

Lt.Cdr. John Sherbrook Morris Richardson, RN
1 May 1940 - ???
Promoted to Cdr. on 30 June 1941
DSO awarded on ???

HMS Kimberley was in Dockyard Control during repairs

Lt.Cdr. James Wolferstan Rylands, RN
30 August 1942 – 10 March 1945

Lt.Cdr. Edward Francis Baines, DSO, RN
10 March 1945 – still in command in July 1945 according to the Navy List

HMS Kimberley is not listed as an active unit in the October 1945 Navy List 

Hit by U-boat
Damaged on 12 Jan, 1942 by U-77 (Schonder).


Noteable events involving Kimberley include:

20 Oct, 1940
The Italian destroyer Francesco Nullo was bached after a surface action with HMS Kimberley (Lt.Cdr. J.S.M. Richardson, RN) in the Red Sea. Kimberley was damaged by an Italian shore battery and had to be towed to Port Sudan. The damaged Italian destroyer was sunk the next day be the RAF.

1 Dec, 1941
Acting on an ULTRA intercept, a British force sailed from Malta in the evening of 30 November with the British light cruisers HMS Neptune (Capt. R.C. O'Conor, RN), HMS Aurora (Capt. W.G. Agnew, RN), HMS Ajax (Capt. E.D. McCarthy, DSO and Bar, RN), HMS Penelope (Capt. A.D. Nicholl, RN) and the British destroyers HMS Kimberley (Cdr. J.S.M. Richardson, DSO, RN), HMS Kingston (Cdr. P. Somerville, DSO, DSC, RN) and HMS Lively (Lt.Cdr. W.F.E. Hussey, DSC, RN).
At 0330 hrs of 1/12 the British intercept and sink the Italian transport Adriatico (1976 GRT) then proceed towards the Lybian coast.
At a point 60 nautical miles north-north-west of Tripoli, Libya, Penelope, Aurora and Lively intercept a small convoy consisting of the Italian oiler Iridio Mantovani (10540 GRT) escorted by the Italian destroyer Alvise da Mosto (2125 tons) and sink both.

12 Jan, 1942
At 01.57 hours on 12 January 1942 the German submarine U-77 sighted two destroyers off Tobruk and fired at 02.38 hours a spread of four torpedoes of which one hit the stern of HMS Kimberley (Cdr. J.S.M. Richardson, DSO, RN). The explosion blew her stern off and immediately stopped the vessel, which was missed by a coup de grâce at 02.45 hours. The destroyer was towed to Alexandria by the British escort destroyer HMS Heythrop (Lt.Cdr R.S. Stafford, RN) and after temporary repairs towed in February 1942 to Bombay, India, where she was repaired and returned to service in January 1944.


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