Allied Warships

HMS Forfar (F 30)

Armed Merchant Cruiser

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeArmed Merchant Cruiser
Class[No specific class] 
PennantF 30 
Built byFairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Govan, Scotland) 
Ordered 
Laid down 
Launched14 Dec 1920 
Commissioned6 Nov 1939 
Lost2 Dec 1940 
Loss position54° 35'N, 18° 18'W
History

Since June 1939 used as troopship.
On 4 September 1939 the passenger ship Montrose of the Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd, Montreal was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted to the armed merchant cruiser HMS Forfar. Conversion was completed on 6 November 1939.

Displacement: 16402 BRT
Armament: 8x 152mm, 2x 76mm
Speed: 17 knots

Career:
November 39 - October 40: Northern Patrol
November 40 - December 40: Northern and Western Patrol

On 2 December 1940 HMS Forfar (Capt. Norman Arthur Cyril Hardy, RN) was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-99 after she had just left the convoy HX-90 bound for OB-251 about 500 nautical miles west of Ireland in position 54º35'N, 18º18'W. The master, 35 officers and 136 naval ratings were lost. Three officers and 18 naval ratings were rescued by the Canadian destroyer HMCS St. Laurent (Cdr. H.G. De Wolf, RCN), the British destroyer HMS Viscount (Lt.Cdr. M.S. Townsend, OBE, DSC, RN) and the British merchant Dunsley and landed at Oban.

 

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 2 Dec 1940 by U-99 (Kretschmer).

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

Commands listed for HMS Forfar (F 30)

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) Hubert Henry de Burgh, DSO, RN16 Sep 193913 Nov 1939
2Capt. (retired) Henry Neville Lake, DSO, DSC, RN13 Nov 193931 Jul 1940
3Capt. Norman Arthur Cyril Hardy, RN31 Jul 19402 Dec 1940 (+)

You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.


Return to the Allied Warships section