Allied Warships

HMS Melbreak (L 73)

Escort destroyer of the Hunt (Type III) class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeEscort destroyer
ClassHunt (Type III) 
PennantL 73 
Built bySwan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (Wallsend-on-Tyne, U.K.): Wallsend 
Ordered 
Laid down23 Jun 1941 
Launched5 Mar 1942 
Commissioned10 Oct 1942 
End service 
Loss position
 
History

Scrapped at Grays on 22 November 1956.

Commanding Officers:
Lt. Gerald Edward Christopher Talbot Baines, RN
28 August 1942 – 13 July 1943

Lt. Geoffrey John Kirkby, DSC and Bar, RN
13 July 1943 – 2 February 1945
Promoted to A/Lt.Cdr. on 1 November 1944
2nd Bar to DSC awarded on 14 November 1944

A/Lt.Cdr. Evelyn Francis Hamilton-Meikle, MBE, RN
2 February 1945 - still in command in October 1945 according to the Navy List

 

Commands listed for HMS Melbreak (L 73)

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CommanderFromTo
1Lt. Gerald Edward Christopher Talbot Baines, RN28 Aug 194213 Jul 1943
2Lt. Geoffrey John Kirkby, RN13 Jul 19432 Feb 1945
3Lt. Evelyn Francis Hamilton-Meikle, RN3 Feb 1945Oct 1945 ?

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Noteable events involving Melbreak include:


11 Jul 1943
The British escort destoyers HMS Melbreak (Lt. G.E.C.G. Baines, RN), HMS Wensleydale (Lt. W.P. Goodfellow, RNVR) and the Norwegian escort destroyer HNoMS Glaisdale (Lt. D.E. Kjeholt, RNN) intercept a German convoy off Quessant, France. In the resulting battle the German minesweeper M-153 (874 tons) is sunk by the Glaisdale but Melbreak in turn is heavily damaged by the German torpedo boats T-24 and T-25.

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