HMS ''Bramble'' was a (officially, "fleet minesweeping sloop") of 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 ...

, which was commissioned in 1939, just prior to

World War II 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 opposing ...

. During the war she served as a minesweeper in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

, and then on Russian convoys until sunk in the

Battle of the Barents Sea The Battle of the Barents Sea was a World War II naval engagement on 31 December 1942 between warships of the German Navy (''Kriegsmarine'') and British ships escorting convoy JW 51B to Kola Inlet in the USSR. The action took place in the Bare ...

on 31 December 1942 by the

German cruiser Admiral Hipper ''Admiral Hipper'' was the lead ship of the of heavy cruisers which served with Nazi Germany's '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1935 and launched February 1937; ...

and the destroyer Friedrich Eckoldt.

Service history

The ship was ordered on 11 August 1937 from HM Dockyard Devonport, with engines supplied by Barclay Curle. She was laid down on 22 November 1937, and launched on 12 July 1938. After

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s in July 1939 ''Bramble'' was assigned to the 1st Minesweeping Flotilla at Portland Harbour, sailing with the Flotilla to Scapa Flow in August. She served as a minesweeper in the North Sea until February 1941, when she transferred to Harwich for operations 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 1941 she was transferred to

Western Approaches Command Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsibl ...

for Atlantic convoy escort duty, and attached to the 3rd Escort Group. Between 22 July 1941 and 16 November 1942 she was commanded by Captain John Crombie. In October she was detached to serve on the Russian convoys, and joined Convoy PQ 2 sailing to

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near ...

, where she remained carrying out local minesweeping and patrol duties, as well as escorting in- and out-bound convoys. She returned to the UK in January 1942 to be refitted at a yard in Sunderland. She returned to convoy duty in April, returning to Russia with Convoy PQ 15. She served there until October, when she returned to the UK to be repaired at a shipyard in the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

Sinking

On 22 December 1942 ''Bramble'' sailed with

Convoy JW 51B Convoy JW 51B was an Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during World War II. It sailed in late December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early January 1943. JW 51B came under attack b ...

from

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

. The convoy was sighted by the on 30 December and the German cruisers and '' Lützow'', accompanied by six destroyers, sailed from Altenfjord to intercept them in Operation Regenbogen, leading to the

. On 31 December ''Bramble'', which had been detached to search for stragglers, was returning to the convoy when she encountered ''Admiral Hipper'' and three destroyers. ''Hipper'' promptly opened fire with her guns. ''Bramble'' returned fire but was overwhelmed and finally sunk with all hands by the destroyer in position .

Convoys

''Bramble'' served on the following convoys between the UK and Russia, prefixed PQ, with returning convoys prefixed QP:

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bramble, HMS 1938 ships Ships built in Plymouth, Devon Halcyon-class minesweepers World War II minesweepers of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in December 1942 Warships lost in combat with all hands