Allied Warships
HMS Pintail (L 21 / K 21)
Patrol vessel of the Kingfisher class
Photo from Imperial War Museum (IWM), A-7577
| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Patrol vessel |
| Class | Kingfisher |
| Pennant | L 21 / K 21 |
| Mod | Third group |
| Built by | William Denny & Brothers (Dumbarton, Scotland) |
| Ordered | 6 Apr 1938 |
| Laid down | 23 Aug 1938 |
| Launched | 18 Aug 1939 |
| Commissioned | 28 Nov 1939 |
| Lost | 10 Jun 1941 |
| Loss position | 53° 31'N, 0° 53'E |
| History | Mined in the Humber estuary on 10 June 1941 some 28 nautical miles east-south-east of Spurn Point in position 53º30'536"N, 00º52'625"E. On 10 June 1941, the Harwich based patrol vessel HMS Pintail was escorting a convoy near 62-Buoy some 30 miles off the Humber when the steamship Royal Scot detonated an acoustic mine, blew up and sank. Pintail immediately dashed to the scene to help in the rescue, but she was also caught out by an acoustic mine, close to the steamship. HMS Pintail blew up and was lost almost immediately, instantly killing her Commanding Officer, Lt. John Leopold Elphinstone McClintock, RN, six-officers and forty-eight ratings. Lt.Cdr. D.J.L. Heber-Percy, RN, Commanding Officer of HMS Quantock, a destroyer also based at Harwich, which was passing with another convoy, reported later, "It was the most dreadful sight that I had ever seen. It did not seem possible that there could be any survivors". HMS Quantock and HNoMS Sleipner however, did manage to rescue one-third of her crew, twenty-two in all. |
Commands listed for HMS Pintail (L 21 / K 21)
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.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. Thomas Harry Hill-Walker, RN | 23 Nov 1939 | 1 Nov 1940 (+) |
| 2 | Lt. (retired) John Henry Atkinson, RN | 1 Nov 1940 | 5 Feb 1941 |
| 3 | Lt. John Leopold Elphinstone McClintock, RN | 5 Feb 1941 | 10 Jun 1941 (+) |
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Notable events involving Pintail include:
12 Dec 1939
HMS Oberon (Lt.Cdr. J.A.S. Wise, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Portland with HMS Scott (Cdr. E.H.B. Baker, RN) and HMS Pintail (Lt.Cdr. T.H. Hill-Walker, RN). (1)
10 May 1940
Around 1100A/10, Tigris (Lt.Cdr. H.F. Bone, RN) departed from Sheerness for Portsmouth. She is escorted by HMS Pintail (Lt.Cdr. T.H. Hill-Walker, RN). (2)
11 May 1940
Around 0810A/11, HMS Tigris (Lt.Cdr. H.F. Bone, RN) arrived at Portsmouth (Fort Blockhouse, Haslar) from Sheerness for further outfitting.
Her escort, HMS Pintail (Lt.Cdr. T.H. Hill-Walker, RN) also entered Portsmouth but departed again and returned to Sheerness later the same day. (2)
1 Oct 1940
Around 0625A/1, HMS Triumph (Lt.Cdr. W.J.W. Woods, RN) departed from Sheerness for Harwich where she arrived around 1930A/1. She was escorted by HMS Pintail (Lt.Cdr. T.H. Hill-Walker, RN). (3)
Sources
- ADM 173/15805
- ADM 173/16603
- ADM 173/16659
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.