Allied Warships

HMS Springbank (F 50)

Anti-Aircraft ship


Photo courtesy of Fleet Air Arm Museum

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeAnti-Aircraft ship
Class[No specific class] 
PennantF 50 
ModSeagoing 
Built byHarland & Wolff Ltd. (Govan, Scotland) 
Ordered 
Laid down 
Launched13 Apr 1926 
Commissioned25 Nov 1940 
Lost27 Sep 1941 
Loss position49° 09'N, 20° 10'W
History

Completed on 26 May 1926.
Displacement: 5155 GRT
Armament: 8 4" AA guns (4x2), 8 2pdr AA (2x4), later converted to a fighter catapult ship and fitted with a Fulmar aircraft

At 02.11 hours on 27 September 1941 the German submarine U-201 fired two torpedoes at HMS Springbank (Capt. (retired) Claud Herbert Godwin, DSO, RN) in the convoy HG-73 north-northeast of the Azores and observed two hits. Most survivors were rescued by HMS Jasmine (K 23) (Lt.Cdr. C.D.B. Coventry, RNR (retired)), which went alongside to take off survivors and later scuttled her by gunfire after an attempt to sink her with depth charges failed. Other survivors were picked up by HMS Hibiscus (K 24) (Lt. H. Roach, RNR), which landed them at Gibraltar and by HMS Periwinkle (K 55) (Lt.Cdr. P.G. MacIver, RNR), which landed them at Milford Haven.

 

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 27 Sep 1941 by U-201 (Schnee).

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

Commands listed for HMS Springbank (F 50)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Capt. (retired) Claud Herbert Godwin, DSO, RN18 Nov 194027 Sep 1941

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Notable events involving Springbank include:


10 Jun 1941
HMS Springbank makes her first operational launch as fighter catapult ship when the Fulmar fighter starts to intercept a sighted aircraft in the vicinity of convoy HX-129, but the enemy evades and the Fulmar lands in Belfast.

18 Sep 1941
HMS Springbank makes her second operational launch as fighter catapult ship and starts the Fulmar fighter to intercept a German Fw200 aircraft while escorting the convoy HG-73, but the enemy escapes its attacks. When the fighter lands at Gibraltar it is discovered that faulty ammunition had caused all but one of the guns to jam.


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