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Allied Warships

HMS Vanessa (D 29)

Destroyer of the Admiralty V & W class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassAdmiralty V & W 
PennantD 29 
Built byWilliam Beardmore & Co. (Dalmuir, Scotland) 
Ordered 
Laid down16 May, 1917 
Launched16 Mar, 1918 
Commissioned27 Apr, 1918 
End service 
Loss position
 
HistoryReconstruction to Long Range Escort finished in June 1942.

Sold to be broken up for scrap on 4 March 1947.

Commanding Officers:
Lt.Cdr. John Henry Plumer, RN
31 July 1939 – 12 February 1940

Lt.Cdr. Eric Alonzo Stocker, RN
12 February 1940 – 7 January 1941
DSC awarded on 9 July 1940

Lt. J.H. Stuckley, RN
7 January 1941 - ???

HMS Vanessa was in Dockyard Control during conversion / refit

Lt. Charles Edward Sheen, RN
31 March 1942 – 21 February 1944
DSC awarded on 5 March 1943

Lt. Barry John Anderson, RN
21 February 1944 – 4 October 1944

T/A/Lt.Cdr. A.St.G. Walton, RNVR
4 October 1944 – still in command in January 1945 according to the Navy List

HMS Vanessa is not listed in the April 1945 Navy list  


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, thr 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)


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