| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | Admiralty V & W |
| Pennant | D 29 |
| Built by | William Beardmore & Co. (Dalmuir, Scotland) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 16 May 1917 |
| Launched | 16 Mar 1918 |
| Commissioned | 27 Apr 1918 |
| End service | |
| Loss position | |
| History | Reconstruction to Long Range Escort at the Green and Silley Weir shipyard, London was finished in June 1942. Sold to be broken up for scrap on 4 March 1947. Commanding Officers: Lt.Cdr. Eric Alonzo Stocker, RN Lt. John Humphrey Stucley, RN HMS Vanessa was in Dockyard Control during conversion / refit Lt. Charles Edward Sheen, RN Lt. Barry John Anderson, RN T/A/Lt.Cdr. Arthur St. George Walton, RNVR HMS Vanessa is not listed in the April 1945 Navy list |
Commands listed for HMS Vanessa (D 29)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. John Henry Plumer, RN | 31 Jul 1939 | 12 Feb 1940 | |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Eric Alonzo Stocker, RN | 12 Feb 1940 | 7 Jan 1941 | |
| 3 | Lt. John Humphrey Stucley, RN | 7 Jan 1941 | ??? | |
| 4 | Lt. Charles Edward Sheen, RN | 31 Mar 1942 | 21 Feb 1944 | |
| 5 | Lt. Barry John Anderson, RN | 21 Feb 1944 | 4 Oct 1944 | |
| 6 | T/A/Lt.Cdr. Arthur St. George Walton, RNVR | 4 Oct 1944 | Jan 1945 ? | |
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Noteable events involving Vanessa include:
16 Mar 1918
HMS Vannessa was launched by Mrs. Frederick Elvy.
13 Jul 1940
Shortly after leaving Dover, escorting a convoy HMS Vanessa (Lt.Cdr. E.A. Stocker, DSC, RN) was damaged by near misses during a German air attack. Vanessa's propellers were damaged and put out of action by a bomb exploding 6 yards astern. Vanessa was towed to Sheerness by HMS Griffin (Lt.Cdr. J. Lee-Barber, RN). Repairs to Vanessa were completed on 4 November 1940.
19 Jun 1941
HMS Vanessa is damaged by a German aircraft while on patrol in the North Sea. She suffered a direct amidships, blowing up boilers, the forefunnel was blasted overboard, and the deck opened up. Eleven ratings and the engineer officer were killed and many of the crew were injured and burned. The damaged destroyer collided with anti-submarine trawler HMT Turquoise. Vanessa was towed to Yarmouth by destroyer HMS Vesper. Repairs were carried out at London, until mid-April 1942.
26 Dec 1942
The German submarine U-357 was sunk in the North Atlantic north-west of Ireland, in position 57º10'N, 15º40'W by the British destroyers HMS Hesperus (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO, RN) and HMS Vanessa (Lt. C.E. Sheen, RN). U-357 was forced to the surface by depth charges and was rammed by HMS Hesperus. (see map)