Allied Warships

HMS Ariadne (M 65)

Minelayer of the Abdiel class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeMinelayer
ClassAbdiel 
PennantM 65 
Mod2nd Group 
Built byA. Stephen & Sons Ltd. (Glasgow, Scotland) 
Ordered19 Apr 1941 
Laid down15 Nov 1941 
Launched16 Feb 1943 
Commissioned9 Oct 1943 
End service 
History

Scrapped in June 1965.

 

Commands listed for HMS Ariadne (M 65)

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and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN1 Jul 194323 Apr 1945
2Capt. Francis Bernard Lloyd, OBE, RN23 Apr 194524 Apr 1946

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Notable events involving Ariadne include:


28 Oct 1943
HMS Uther (Lt. P.S. Beale, RN) conducted exercises at Scapa Flow with HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN) and HMNZS Gambia (Capt. N.J.W. William-Powlett, DSC, RN).

HMNZS Gambia also carried out gunnery exercises. (1)

29 Oct 1943
HMS Uther (Lt. P.S. Beale, RN) conducted exercises off Scapa Flow with HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN) and HMS Ashanti (Lt.Cdr. J.R. Barnes, RN). (2)

11 Nov 1943
HMS Bellona (Capt. C.F.W. Norris, RN) conducted gunnery exercises at Scapa Flow which were later continued in the Pentland Firth.

Also exercises were carried out with HMNZS Gambia (Capt. N.J.W. William-Powlett, DSC, RN) and HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN). (3)

13 Nov 1943
HMS Spiteful (Lt.Cdr. F.H. Sherwood, DSC, RCNVR) conducted A/S exercises at Scapa Flow with HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN), HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. C.H.de B. Newby, RN), HMS Virago (Lt.Cdr. A.J.R. White, RN), HMIS Cauvery (A/Cdr. A.W. Beeton, RIN) and another vessel. (4)

15 Nov 1943
HMNZS Gambia (Capt. N.J.W. William-Powlett, DSC, RN) and HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN) conducted exercises off Scapa Flow. (5)

14 Aug 1944
During 14/15 August 1944, HMAS Shropshire (Capt. H.A. Showers, RAN, flying the flag of Commodore J.A. Collins, CB, RAN), USS Nashville (T/Capt. C.E. Coney, USN), HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN), USS O'Bannon (T/Cdr. R.W. Smith, USN), USS Taylor T/Cdr. N.J.F. Frank, Jr., USN) and USS Hopewell (T/Cdr. C.C. Shute, USN) conducted exercises off Manus. (6)

18 Aug 1944
HMAS Shropshire (Capt. H.A. Showers, RAN, flying the flag of Commodore J.A. Collins, CB, RAN), USS Nashville (T/Capt. C.E. Coney, USN), HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN), USS Nicholas (T/Cdr. R.T.S. Keith, USN, with COMDESRON 21, T/Capt. J.K.B. Ginder, USN on board), USS O'Bannon (T/Cdr. R.W. Smith, USN), USS Taylor T/Cdr. N.J.F. Frank, Jr., USN) and USS Hopewell (T/Cdr. C.C. Shute, USN) conducted exercises off Manus. (7)

21 Aug 1944
During 21/22 August 1944, HMAS Shropshire (Capt. H.A. Showers, RAN, flying the flag of Commodore J.A. Collins, CB, RAN), USS Nashville (T/Capt. C.E. Coney, USN), HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN), USS Nicholas (T/Cdr. R.T.S. Keith, USN, with COMDESRON 21, T/Capt. J.K.B. Ginder, USN on board), USS Hopewell (T/Cdr. C.C. Shute, USN) and USS Bush (T/Cdr. R.E. Westholm, USN) conducted exercises off Manus. (6)

11 May 1945

Operation Kingdom.

The object of this operation was to transport the Norwegian Crown Prince, together with Norwegian Government officials and military commanders and also members of the Allied Shaef mission (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force).

For this operation the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire (Capt. G.M.B. Langley, OBE, RN), fast minelayers HMS Apollo (Capt. J.A. Grindle, CBE, RN), HMS Ariadne (Capt. F.B. Lloyd, OBE, RN), destroyers HMCS Iroquois (Capt. K.F. Adams, RCN), HMS Savage (Lt.Cdr. C.W. Malins, DSO, DSC and Bar, RN), HMS Campbell (Lt. B.W. Meaden, RN), escort destroyer HNoMS Arendal departed Rosyth around 1630B/11. They arrived at Oslo in the afternoon of the 13th.

The were swept in by the minesweepers HMS Catherine (Cdr. Kenneth Hillam Fraser, RN), 6541 HMS Cynthia (T/A/Lt.Cdr. C.L. Chatwin, RNVR), HMS Elfreda (T/A/Lt.Cdr. L. Jolly, RNVR), HMS Grecian (T/A/Cdr. C.R. Fraser, DSC and Bar, RNR) and HMS Gazelle (Lt.Cdr. J.D. Sutcliffe, RN), HMS Maenad (Cdr. C.E. Duggan, RD, RNR), HMS Steadfast (T/A/Lt. A.H. Hall, RNVR) and HMS Tattoo (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) F.G. Rogers, RD, RNR) which had come from Copenhagen. (8)

Sources

  1. ADM 53/117567 + ADM 173/18397
  2. ADM 173/18397
  3. ADM 53/117022 + ADM 53/117568
  4. ADM 173/18096
  5. ADM 53/117568
  6. War diary of HMS Ariadne for August 1944
  7. War diary of HMS Ariadne for August 1944 + War diary of USS O'Bannon for August 1944
  8. ADM 53/121219 + ADM 199/1440

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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