HMS ''Vanquisher'' (D54) was a V-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War I and World War II.

Construction and commissioning

''Vanquisher'', the first Royal Navy ship of the name, was ordered on 30 June 1916 as part of the 9th Order of the 1916–17 Naval Programme. She was laid down on 27 September 1916 by John Brown & Company at

Clydebank Clydebank ( gd, Bruach Chluaidh) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Mil ...

, Scotland, and fitted to carry 60 naval mines by order of the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

on 12 January 1917.Naval History: SHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVY, 1914–1919 – in ALPHABETICAL ORDER (Part 2 of 2)
/ref> She was launched on 18 or 28 August 1917 (sources vary) and was commissioned on 2 October 1917.

Service history

World War I

Upon completion, V- and W-class destroyers, including ''Vanquisher'', were assigned to the Grand Fleet or Harwich Force ''Vanquisher'' saw service in the last year of World War I. On 1 August 1918, ''Vanquisher'' was operating as part of the 20th Destroyer Flotilla when the flotilla departed the Humber estuary to lay a minefield in the North Sea at the outer end of one of the German-swept channels through the German minefield in the Heligoland Bight. At 23:47 hours the force was within 20

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...

s (37 km) of the area it was to mine when the destroyer struck a mine. Its explosion caused ''Vehement''s forward ammunition magazine to detonate, blowing off the entire forward section of the ship forward of the forward funnel, killing one officer and 47 ratings.LITHERLAND AT WAR 1914–1918 Petty Officer Stoker PETER CULSHAW 1877–1918
/ref> As the force manoeuvered to clear the minefield, the destroyer also struck a mine at 00:10 hours on 2 August and, in a repeat of what had happened to ''Vehement'', suffered a magazine detonation that blew off the entire section of the ship forward of the whaleboats

davit Boat suspended from radial davits; the boat is mechanically lowered Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on North Sea ferr ...

. ''Ariel'' sank at about 01:00 hours on 2 August, with the loss of four officers and 45 ratings, but ''Vehement'' remained afloat, and by about an hour after she struck the mine her crew had put out all of her fires. She was taken in tow by the destroyer in the hope of saving her, but at 04:00 hours on 2 August ''Vehement''s stern rose into the air, making further towing impossible. ''Vehement''s surviving crew opened all of her hull valves to speed her sinking and abandoned ship, and ''Vanquisher'' and the destroyer then sank ''Vehement'' with gunfire. ''Vanquisher'' took part in history's first deployment of operational

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...

bottom mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any v ...

s when she joined ''Abdiel'', ''Telemachus'', and the destroyers , , and , escorted by eight other destroyers, in laying 234

Sinker Mk1(M) Sinker may refer to: People: * George Sinker (1900–1986), MA, Bishop of Nagpur and Provost of Birmingham Cathedral * John Sinker (1874–1936), MA, an Anglican priest and author Other uses: * Sinker (fishing), a weight used in fishing * Sink ...

mines in the North Sea off the coast of Flanders, Belgium, about eight

s (15 km) north of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.France, on 8 August 1918. German forces did not interfere with the operations. She also participated with ''Abdiel'', ''Tarpon'', ''Telemachus'', and ''Venturous'' in the second operation to lay Sinker mines on 22 August 1918, in the North Sea off Flanders about north of Zeebrugge, Belgium, supported by Royal Air Force aircraft which patrolled to prevent German aerial observation of the operation.

Interwar years

In 1921, ''Vanquisher'' joined the light cruisers , , , and and the destroyers , , , , , , and in a Baltic cruise, departing the United Kingdom on 31 August 1921. The ships crossed the North Sea, transited the

Kaiser Wilhelm Canal The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links t ...

to enter the Baltic, and called at Danzig in the

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...

; Memel in the Klaipėda Region; Liepāja,

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

;

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, Latvia; Tallinn, Estonia; Helsinki, Finland;

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

; Copenhagen, Denmark;

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden; and Kristiania, Norway, before crossing the North Sea and ending the voyage at Port Edgar, Scotland, on 15 October 1921.Naval History: HMS VANQUISHER, BALTIC CRUISE 1921
/ref> During the 1920s and 1930s, ''Vanquisher'' was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet and

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

, and in 1938 she was attached to the 1st Antisubmarine Flotilla at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, England.

World War II

1939

After the United Kingdom entered World War II in September 1939, ''Vanquisher'', ''Winchelsea'', the destroyer leader , and the destroyers , , , , and , were assigned to the

11th Destroyer Flotilla The British 11th Destroyer Flotilla, or Eleventh Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1915 to September 1945. History World War One The 11th Destroyer Flotilla was formed in August 1915 and was assigned to the ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

for convoy escort and patrol duties in the Western Approaches. ''Vanquisher'', ''Walker'', and ''Winchelsea'' escorted Convoy OB 2 on 9 September 1939, and were returning to Plymouth from this duty when ''Vanquisher'' and ''Walker'' collided in the North Atlantic Ocean about 200

s (370 km) southwest of

Cape Clear Island Clear Island or Cape Clear Island (officially known by its Irish name: Cléire, and sometimes also called Oileán Chléire) is an island off the south-west coast of County Cork in Ireland. It is the southernmost inhabited part of Ireland and ha ...

, Ireland, on 10HMS WALKER (D 27) – V & W-class Destroyer
/ref> or 11 September 1939 (sources differ). Both ships suffered heavy damage, and ''Vanquisher'' had to be towed back to port; ''Walker'', able to proceed under her own power, took casualties from ''Vanquisher'' aboard for transportation to the United Kingdom. ''Walker'' was under repair until mid-November 1939, but ''Vanquisher''s repairs were not complete until early January 1940.

1940

In January 1940, ''Vanquisher'' underwent post-repair acceptance trials, then returned to convoy defence operations in the Western Approaches with the 11th Destroyer Flotilla, later being reassigned to the English Channel and

Southwestern Approaches The Celtic Sea ; cy, Y Môr Celtaidd ; kw, An Mor Keltek ; br, Ar Mor Keltiek ; french: La mer Celtique is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include ...

. In May 1940 she was again reassigned, this time under the

Commander-in-Chief, Dover The Commander in Chief, Dover was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Dover Command. History First World War Dover Patrol In late July 1914, with ...

to take part in Operation Dynamo, the

evacuation Evacuation or Evacuate may refer to: * Casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), patient evacuation in combat situations * Casualty movement, the procedure for moving a casualty from its initial location to an ambulance * Emergency evacuation, removal of per ...

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

troops from Dunkirk, France, which she joined on 28 May 1940. She made seven trips between Dunkirk and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, England, carrying 241 troops in a voyage on 29 May 582 and 622 troops in two trips on 30 May, 640 and 168 troops in two voyages on 1 June 1940, and 37 and 414 troops in two trips on 3 June 1940. On 12 June 1940 she joined the escort of the French

battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

''Jean Bart'' on ''Jean Bart''s voyage from

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean ...

, France, to

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...

, then on 19 June 1940 steamed to Saint-Nazaire to take part in Operation Aerial, the evacuation of British Expeditionary Force personnel from French ports on the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. On 20 June 1940, she embarked a demolition party and steamed to La Pallice to destroy port facilities there, but did not land the team. She returned to the United Kingdom at

on 22 June 1940. In July 1940, ''Vanquisher'' returned to convoy defence duties with the 11th Destroyer Flotilla, and on 8 July 1940 she and the destroyer rescued 43 survivors of the British merchant ship ''Humber Arm'', which the German

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

''U-99'' had torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic south of Fastnet Rock, Ireland, at . In September 1940, she was reassigned to the 8th Escort Group at Liverpool for convoy escort operations in the North Atlantic, and that month was part of the escort for

Convoy OB 216 A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be use ...

. In November 1940, she and the rest of the 8th Escort Group was assigned to the

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 ...

-United Kingdom convoy route and deployed to the Gibraltar area as an antisubmarine hunting group continuing this duty into 1941.

1941

On 19 May 1941, ''Vanquisher'' rescued two survivors of the British merchant ship ''Empire Ridge'', which the German submarine ''U-96'' had torpedoed and sunk in the North Atlantic 90 nautical miles (167 km) west of

Bloody Foreland Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the north to Crolly ...

, Ireland, at . Later in the month, she was transferred to Freetown in Sierra Leone to take part in local convoy escort duties there. From 13 to 19 June 1941 she and the destroyers and escorted Convoy WS 9A during the final segment of its voyage to Freetown, and from 20 to 22 June 1941 the same three destroyers and the destroyer escorted WS 9A on the first leg of the next stage of its voyage as it steamed from Freetown for the Middle East via the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

before they detached from the convoy to return to Freetown. From 16 to 18 July 1941, ''Vanquisher'', ''Boreas'', ''Velox'', and the destroyer similarly escorted Convoy WS 9B after its departure from Freetown for the Cape of Good Hope before detaching and returning to Freetown. ''Vanquisher'' was transferred to the 10th Escort Group and returned to the United Kingdom in October 1941, and in November 1941 – the month in which she was "adopted" by the civil community of

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...

, Warwickshire, in a Warship Week National Savings campaign – she began convoy escort operations in the

Northwestern Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

. From 13 to 16 November 1941, she and the destroyers , , , and joined the escort of Convoy WS 12Z during the first leg of its voyage from the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

in Scotland, then detached and returned to the Clyde. From 14 to 15 December 1941, ''Vanquisher'', ''Volunteer'', and ''Witch'' escorted

Convoy WS 14 A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

during a portion of its voyage from the Clyde to Freetown, then returned to the Clyde.

1942

On 12 January 1942, ''Vanquisher'', ''Vanoc'', ''Volunteer'', ''Walker'', and the destroyer departed the Clyde as the local escort for Convoy WS 15, staying with it during its transit of the Western Approaches until relieved by the Royal Australian Navy destroyer and the Polish Navy destroyer ORP ''Garland'' on 17 January 1942, after which she and rest of the local escort detached and returned to the Clyde. In February 1942, ''Vanquisher'' was detached from the 8th Escort Group to operate with the 1st Minelaying Squadron, and on 18 February she escorted the squadrons ships during a minelaying sortie in the Northern Barrage in Operation SN84. She then returned to her escort group to continue convoy defence operations. In September 1942, ''Vanquisher'' entered Portsmouth Dockyard for conversion into a long-range escort. The conversion lasted into 1943.

1943

In April 1943, ''Vanquisher'' underwent post-conversion acceptance trials, then conducted workups to prepare for operations in the North Atlantic. In May 1943, she resumed her convoy escort duties as a part of the 6th Escort Group, which also included the destroyer , the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s , and , and the Royal Norwegian Navy corvettes ''Andenes'', ''Rose'', ''Eglantine'', and ''Potentilla''. In October 1943, the 6th Escort Group joined the destroyers and and the corvettes and of the 7th Escort Group in defending

Convoy ON 206 ONS 20 and ON 206 were North Atlantic convoys of the ONS/ON series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were the subject of a major U-boat attack in October 1943, the third battle in the ''Kriegsmarine''s autumn o ...

during its

transatlantic voyage Transatlantic crossings are passages of passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe or Africa and the Americas. The majority of passenger traffic is across the North Atlantic between Western Europe and North America. Centuries ...

. On 15 October 1943, ON 206 came under sustained attack by German submarines, and on 16 October ''Vanquisher'', ''Duncan'', and ''Vidette'' drove off the submarine ''U-844'', which made a determined effort to attack the convoy.

1944

''Vanquisher'' continued her North Atlantic convoy operations into 1944, and escorted Convoy ONS 29 with the rest of the 6th Escort Group during February 1944. In May 1944, she was selected for participation in Operation Neptune, the assault phase of the Allied invasion of Normandy scheduled for early June 1944, and was assigned to Escort Group 106 with the frigate , the corvettes and , and motor launches of the Royal Navy Coastal Forces for the operation. In early June, she joined Escort Group 106 at

Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...

, Wales, and on 4 June the group, supplemented by two more corvettes and the naval trawlers and , rendezvoused with an assault convoy, Convoy EMB 3 – consisting of 11 empty motor transport ships – in the Irish Sea. On 5 June, the landings were delayed for 24 hours due to bad weather, but on 6 June, the day of the initial landings, ''Vanquisher'' and the other ships of her convoy moved to ports on the south coast of England, where the motor transport ships were loaded. On 7 June, the convoy made its passage to the beachhead, and on 8 June it arrived off the invasion beaches and discharged its cargo. On 10 June, ''Vanquisher'' began escorting convoys carrying reinforcements and supplies from Falmouth to the beachhead, continuing in this role until Operation Neptune concluded toward the end of June. She then returned to the 6th Escort Group and escorted North Atlantic convoys for the rest of 1944 and into 1945.

1945

In April 1945, ''Vanquisher'' was part of the escort for Convoy ONA 265. On 10 April, she and the corvette cooperated in a depth-charge attack that sank the German submarine ''U-878'' with all hands in the

west of Saint-Nazaire, France, at . After the surrender of Germany in early May 1945, the Royal Navy withdrew ''Vanquisher'' from service.

Decommissioning and disposal

''Vanquisher'' was decommissioned in June 1945 and placed in reserve. Placed on the disposal list in 1947, she was sold on 4 March or 4 May 1947 (sources differ) to BISCO for scrapping by Metal Industries. She arrived under tow at the shipbreakers yard at Charlestown,

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

, Scotland, in October 1948.

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Naval History: HMS VANQUISHER (D 54) - V & W-class Destroyer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanquisher (D54) V and W-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Clyde 1917 ships World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in September 1939