Allied Warships

HMS Pink (K 137)

Corvette of the Flower class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeCorvette
ClassFlower 
PennantK 137 
Built byHenry Robb Ltd. (Leith, U.K.): Ailsa Shipbuilding Company Ltd. (Troon, Scotland)and N.E. Marine 
Ordered 
Laid down20 May 1941 
Launched16 Feb 1942 
Commissioned2 Jul 1942 
End service27 Jun 1944 
Loss position
 
History

Heavily damaged after being hit by a gnat torpedo fired by the German submarine U-988 off the Normandy beaches in position 49º48'N, 00º49'W and declared a Constructive Total Loss (CTL).
Scrapped at Llanelly in 1947.

 

Hit by U-boat
A total loss on 27 Jun 1944 by U-988 (Dobberstein).

U-boat AttackSee our U-boat attack entry for the HMS Pink

Commands listed for HMS Pink (K 137)

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CommanderFromTo
1Lt. Robert Atkinson, DSC, RNR20 Oct 194226 Feb 1944
2Cdr. George Victor Legassick, RD, RNR26 Feb 1944???

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Noteable events involving Pink include:


16 Dec 1942
HMS Pink (Lt. R. Atkinson, DSC, RNR) picks up 7 survivors from the Norwegian tanker Bello that was torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic in position 51º45'N, 23º50'W by the German submarine U-610.

5 May 1943
HMS Pink (Lt. R. Atkinson, DSC, RNR) was part of the escort of convoy ONS-5. On May 4th, she had been detached from the convoy to become the only escort of four stragglers. On May 5th, they were 80 miles behind the convoy, when at 1154 AM a positive ASDIC echo was heard (range 2,200 yards). Atkinson, in spite of being short of fuel, decided to attack. The ship run over the target, and dropped 10 depth charges. The second attack was a salvo of 24 HedgeHog projectiles from an estimated range of 250 yards. A thrid attack consisted in another salvo of 10 depth charges, set at 250 and 385 feet. A fourth followed, this time set at 350 and 550 feet. As three large bubbles were seen 500 feet astern, Pink fired again the HedgeHog, but the projectiles failed as they exploded in contact with the sea surface. Then she made the last attack, ten depth charges set at 350, 550 and 700 feet. Fifteen minutes later an explosion was heard, and Atkinson thought he han sunk the sub. He was credited by the Admiralty with a "Probably Sunk", but in fact the target, that turned out to be U-358, although very severely damaged, could escape and make to base. Meanwhile, another u-boat, U-584, sunk the American merchant West Madaket that was under Pink's protection, making realize the young Atkinson (27) that perhaps he had been too stubborn to chase the submarine and giving up earlier to resume the protection duty could have been a better choice.

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