HMS ''Blackmore'' ( pennant number L43) was an

escort destroyer An escort destroyer with United States Navy hull classification symbol DDE was a destroyer (DD) modified for and assigned to a fleet escort role after World War II. These destroyers retained their original hull numbers. Later, in March 1950, t ...

of the Type II Hunt class. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

ordered ''Blackmore''s construction three months after the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. A. Stephen & Sons laid down her keel at their

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

yard on 10 February 1941, as Admiralty Job Number J1479. The ship was adopted by the civil community of

Langport Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

after a successful

Warship Week Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of a Royal Navy warship being adopted by a civil community. During the early parts of the war, the Royal Navy not only had lost many capital ships bu ...

campaign. The ship was sold to the

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). O ...

and renamed HDMS ''Esbern Snare''.

Career

Early operations

''Blackmore'' began her contractor sea trials in April, and the destroyer joined the Second Destroyer Flotilla. After completing trials and working up for operational service, in May the destroyer was nominated for escort of military convoys during their passage to

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

. On 1 June ''Blackmore'' joined Convoy WS 19P, with the battleship and the destroyer as ocean escort during the convoy's

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

passage. On 15 June the destroyer detached from WS 19P upon arrival at Freetown, where she was retained for local escort duties. On 24 June, the destroyer left Freetown with the destroyer to meet with and escort Convoy WS 20 during its Atlantic passage from the

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

. On 26 June she joined WS 20 on its way to Freetown. In July ''Blackmore'' was transferred to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

for convoy defence, detaching from WS 20 on 2 July along with the other ships on arrival to Freetown. On 6 July, ''Blackmore'' joined WS 20 as ocean escort, with the battleship the destroyers ''Brilliant'' and during the convoy's passage to the Cape of Good Hope. On 17 July, ''Blackmore'' detached from ocean escort duties with ''Malaya'' and escorted the convoy into Cape Town. On 19 July the destroyer was deployed at Simonstown for convoy defence in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The destroyer remained in duty at Simonstown up until January 1943. In February, the destroyer joined Convoy WS 26 during its passage from Freetown to the Cape. ''Blackmore'' then joined as escort for WS 26 as a relief for the destroyer . The destroyer sailed to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

for convoy defence duties in the Indian Ocean. On 1 March, the destroyer rejoined WS 26 from Durban as escort with the minesweeper and the destroyers and . On 3 March, ''Blackmore'' detached from the convoy to join another Convoy DN 21 as escort. After arriving at Durban with DN 21, ''Blackmore'' took passage to Simonstown to effect a refit. The destroyer's refit was finished in May, and after completing post refit trials, ''Blackmore'' took passage to Freetown to serve for Atlantic convoy defence. The destroyer was then deployed for local escort duties at Freetown, making a passage to Gibraltar on 20 June to escort Convoy WS 31 to Freetown. In July, ''Blackmore'' was nominated for transfer to the Mediterranean. The destroyer arrived at Freetown with WS 31 on 4 July and rejoined military convoy WS 31. ''Blackmore'' escorted the convoy until 15 July when she returned to Freetown and took passage to the Mediterranean.

Mediterranean

In August ''Blackmore'' joined the 57th Fleet Division based at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, and deployed for convoy defence in the central Mediterranean. In September the destroyer joined a naval task force to escort and support the Allied invasion of Italy. On 8 September the destroyer was deployed as an escort of the military convoy TSF1X during passage from Palermo to the Salerno beach head. Upon being released from the invasion of Italy, the destroyer resumed her convoy defence duties with the Division. Between November and December, ''Blackmore'' joined the 60th Destroyer Division, also based in Malta but deploying for convoy defence and support duties of military operations in the

Adriatic sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. From January to May 1944, ''Blackmore'' continued in her convoy escort duties. On 16 January she carried out a bombardment of Durazzo in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

with the destroyer . During June ''Blackmore'' was transferred to the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, Mediterranean Fleet, taking part in an engagement against four German

E-Boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...

s in the Adriatic, with the destroyer . One E-Boat was sunk, with ten survivors rescued. In July the destroyer continued in her deployment with the flotilla, this time with the nomination for escort and patrol duties of military convoys during Allied landings in the south of France. This operation was carried under overall

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

command. In August, ''Blackmore'' joined in the escort of Convoy SM 2 from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, sailing on 13 August. After being released from the operation, the destroyer resumed her flotilla duties. In September ''Blackmore'' was recalled to the United Kingdom for a refit at Sheerness, before being nominated for service with the

Eastern Fleet Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

Service in the East

The ship was taken in hand, the refit taking from October to January. Post refit trials were made at Nore Command. In March, ''Blackmore'' was deployed briefly for convoy defence, since additional escorts were needed to combat a concerted submarine and E-Boat attack in the

Thames estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

. In April the destroyer was prepared for foreign service with the 18th Destroyer Flotilla within the Eastern Fleet. On 28 April ''Blackmore'' joined the flotilla at

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

. In May the destroyer was deployed as a weather ship in the Andamans, during the Allied landings at Rangoon. After these landings, ''Blackmore'' was again deployed for convoy defence in support of military operations and patrol in the Indian Ocean. ''Blackmore'' continued to be deployed in this theatre until August, sailing from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

on 4 September as part of the escort task force for aircraft carriers during their passage to the

Malacca Straits The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...

. On 6 September the destroyer joined military convoy JE1F, in the Malacca Straits, forming part of the escort in Operation Zipper.

Postwar Service

''Blackmore'' was then deployed at

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, and was nominated for return to the United Kingdom where she was to be paid off into the reserve. The destroyer sailed from Trincomalee on 8 October 1945, and on arriving at Plymouth the destroyer was paid off at Devonport where she was laid up in the reserve fleet until 1952.

Danish service

After being placed on the sales list, ''Blackmore'' was transferred on loan to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, on 18 July 1952. After refitting, the destroyer joined the

as a frigate, renamed ''Esbern Snare''.Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p61 The ship remained in Danish naval service until 1966, when she was stricken from the active list.

References

Publications

* * English, John (1987). The Hunts: a history of the design, development and careers of the 86 destroyers of this class built for the Royal and Allied Navies during World War II. England: World Ship Society. .

External links

The Hunt (Type II) class Escort destroyers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmore (L43) Hunt-class destroyers of the Royal Navy 1941 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Hunt-class destroyers of the Royal Danish Navy Ships built on the River Clyde