HMS ''Lady Shirley'' (T464), also known as HMT'' Lady Shirley'',
was a
fishing trawler requisitioned by the
Royal Navy in 1940 and converted for
anti-submarine warfare duties.
She sank on 4October 1941, capturing 44 of her crew. ''Lady Shirley'' was sunk herself on 11December 1941, by a single torpedo from .
Description
''Lady Shirley'' was a fishing trawler of 472 tons displacement based at Hull. She was built at Beverley in the UK by
Cook, Welton & Gemmell and launched in 1937. She was long and in the beam. She had a engine giving a top speed of .
Service record
She was pressed into service by the
Royal Navy in 1940 and converted into an anti-submarine trawler. Conversion included fitting an
ASDIC anti-submarine dome, a
4-inch naval gun and
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s. She had a complement of 33. ''Lady Shirley'' went into service in January 1941 and served with the 31st Anti-Submarine Group based at
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. She was under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Arthur Henry Callaway.
Sinking of ''U-111''
On 4 October 1941, while searching for the damaged ''Silverbelle'', ''Lady Shirley'' encountered engaged in a similar mission south-west of
Tenerife, at position .
Mistaking the trawler for the damaged freighter (though ''Lady Shirley'' was small, the U-boat skipper thought she was far away) the U-boat was caught at periscope depth when ''Lady Shirley'' closed, and was depth charged. Forced to the surface, ''U-111'' was engaged with gunfire until she was abandoned and sunk.
[Clay Blair, ''Hitler's U-Boat War Vol I '' (1996) pp. 385-6]
Of the
U-boat crew of 52, eight were killed, including her commander,
Wilhelm Kleinschmidt Kapitänleutnant Wilhelm-Josef Kleinschmidt (* 27.January 1907 in Oldenburg (Germany) as Wilhelm-Josef Kleinschmidt, named Josef. † 4.October 1941 Atlantic Ocean) was captain of during World War II. He was Married and He was father of 6 Kids and ...
; 44 survived. ''Lady Shirley'' had one crew member killed and several injured in the battle.
This was the first time that
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
(POWs) were captured from a U-boat operating in the
South Atlantic. German survivors claimed that ''U-111'' was the first U-boat to be lost of those operating in that area.
Loss
On 11December 1941, a torpedo from hit ''Lady Shirley'', sinking her in the
Straits of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medit ...
at position . All 33 crew were lost with their ship.
References
External links
U 111 versus Lady Shirley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Shirley (Asw)
Anti-submarine trawlers of the Royal Navy
Protected Wrecks of the United Kingdom
1937 ships
Maritime incidents in December 1941
World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II