HMS Codrington

HMS ''Codrington'' was one of nine s built for the Royal Navy during the 1920s. She was the flotilla leader for the class. During the Second World War she served in Home waters and off the Norwegian coast, before being bombed and sunk on 27 July 1940 whilst in dock at Dover.

Construction and commissioning

HMS ''Codrington'' was ordered on 6 March 1928 from the yards of Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, Wallsend, under the 1927 Naval Estimates. She was laid down on 20 June 1928 and was launched a year later on 8 August 1929. She was commissioned on 4 June 1930. She has so far been the only ship of the Royal Navy to be named HMS ''Codrington'', after Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, commander of the allied fleet at the Battle of Navarino.

''Codrington'' was a flotilla leader and therefore larger than the other A-class destroyers. Her bridge structure was larger to provide the additional accommodation required for the Flotilla Staff. She displaced with an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was fitted with turbine machinery giving a speed of on trials carried out in February 1930. Some smaller weapons were fitted for use against aircraft. The ship had two quadruple torpedo tube mountings and for attacks on submarines was fitted with four depth charge chutes and two throwers, and an additional gun fitted between the two funnels.

Pre-war operations

After working up, in July 1930 ''Codridgton'' joined the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Mediterranean as leader. In June 1931, the destroyer returned to Devonport Naval Base for modifications to her turbines, returning to the Mediterranean at the end of the month after the completion of the modifications. ''Codrington'' was refitted again at Devonport in September–October 1932, again returning to the 3rd Flotilla. On 12 June 1934, ''Codrington'' and the destroyer collided. Both ships received minor damage, with no injuries occurring.

On 17 July 1936, the Spanish Civil War broke out, with ''Codrington'' carrying out patrols off the Spanish coast. On 23 August, ''Codrington'' went to the aid of the British steamer ''Gibel Jerom'' (operated by the Bland Line), which had been stopped by the Spanish Republican cruiser off Cape Tres Forcas while bound for Nationalist-held Melilla with a cargo of petrol. ''Codrington''s commanding officer warned the Captain of ''Miguel de Cervantes'' that Britain would not tolerate any interference with British shipping outside the Three-mile limit. ''Codrington'' escorted ''Gibel Jerom'' back to Gibraltar. On 12 January 1937, ''Codrington'' and the depot ship were in Valencia harbour when the harbour was shelled by a Nationalist warship.

''Codrington'' returned to Britain in March 1937, and was replaced as leader of the 3rd Flotilla by the newly built in June 1937. She then entered the reserve, but was refitted and then attached to the Royal Naval Engineering College at Keyham, Plymouth in October 1938. On 7 June 1939, ''Codrington'' took part in a tribute to the crew of the submarine , which had sunk on trials in Liverpool Bay, above where ''Thetis'' had sunk. After another refit she was recommissioned on completion of the refit in August 1939.

Wartime career

The English Channel and French coast

After being recommissioned after her refit, ''Codrington'' became part of the 19th Destroyer Flotilla, based at Dover as part of the Nore Command. During September and October 1939, ''Codrington'' escorted convoys carrying the British Expeditionary Force to France. She remained in the English Channel throughout October, before being transferred to Harwich to defend against a perceived threat of a German attack on the Low Countries. She was back in Dover in December, and on 4 December ''Codrington'' embarked King George VI and transported him to Boulogne for his visit to the British Expeditionary Force in France.Codrington's career
/ref> ''Codrington'' re-embarked him on 10 December and brought him back to Dover. On 22 December, she joined the escort – consisting of , and – for the auxiliary minelayer ''Princess Victoria'' during a minelay in the Dover Barrage.

1940 saw ''Codrington'' continue to host VIPs, as on 4 January, she embarked Winston Churchill (then First Lord of the Admiralty) on a visit to France. In February, she was nominated as the flotilla leader of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla based at Harwich, replacing , which had been sunk by a mine on 19 January. On 5 February, she carried Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill and several high-ranking military leaders to Boulogne for a war council meeting in Paris. ''Codrington'' then put into Chatham Dockyard for a refit.

The North Sea and Norwegian coast

On completion of the refit, she joined the flotilla at Harwich on 6 March and began convoy defence and patrol duties in the North Sea. In April, she was transferred for detached service with the Home Fleet after the German invasion of Norway. On 7 April, ''Codrington'' was deployed with the destroyers , , , , ''Brazen'', , , and as a screen for the battleships and , the battlecruiser and the French light cruiser . The fleet was to cover planned operations off Norway, including Operation Rupert, a minelaying mission to prevent German ships carrying iron ore. The operation was overtaken though by the sudden German invasion the following day on 8 April. ''Codrington'' came under air attack on 9 April whilst with the fleet, and was detached to return to Sullom Voe for refuelling.

She was back in action on 14 April, being deployed with and as part of the screen for ''Valiant'' and the heavy cruiser , which were escorting military convoys transporting troops and stores for the planned landings in Norway. On 28 April, ''Codrington'' embarked Admiral of the Fleet, the Earl of Cork and Orrery and the French General Antoine Béthouart. They carried out a reconnaissance of the Narvik area, in preparation for the later assaults by allied troops. During the survey, ''Codrington'' carried out bombardments of enemy gun positions.

Covering the evacuations

She was released from the Home Fleet deployment off Norway in May, and on 10 May took passage to Dover to support the evacuation of allied personnel from Belgium and the Netherlands. She managed to complete the passage from Scapa Flow to Dover in just 23 hours. She refuelled on 11 May and began patrolling off the Dutch and Belgian coasts. On 13 May, she embarked members of the Dutch Royal Family at IJmuiden and carried them to safety in the UK. She returned to deploying out of Harwich on 15 May, and on 27 May she deployed with , and to intercept German surface craft attempting to attack Allied ships. She was then transferred to Dover Command to assist in Operation Dynamo, the Dunkirk evacuation. On 28 May she embarked 866 troops from the beaches, and took on survivors from the coaster with ''Grenade'' and and took them to Dover. She made a second trip on 29 May, embarking 766 troops, and a third on 30 May, embarking 799 troops. A fourth trip followed on 31 May, when she embarked 909 troops, landing 440 at Dover. 1 June saw her taking 746 troops back to Dover, and her final run on 2 June brought 878 troops back to the UK. ''Codrington'' was one of the few destroyers that had escaped major damage and was able to continue supporting operations after the evacuation had been completed.

''Codrington'' was deployed at Dover on 3 June, carrying out patrols in the Channel, and covering the evacuations from the French Channel ports. On 12 June, she was deployed as the base of the Senior Naval Officer (Afloat) during Operation Cycle, the troop evacuation from Le Havre, returning to Portsmouth once it had been completed. On 15 June, she was supporting the continuing military evacuation from French ports, and remained on patrol against attempts to intercept allied shipping in the North Sea and English Channel.

Sinking

In July 1940 ''Codrington'' was deployed out of Dover for convoy defence and patrol duties in the English Channel. She put into port near the end of the month for a boiler clean, alongside the depot ship in the Submarine Basin. The port came under air attack on 27 July and a bomb fell alongside ''Codrington''. The subsequent explosion broke her back and she sank. She had only three men wounded. The sinking was not made public until 18 May 1945. The wreck was still evident in 1947.

Notes

References

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External links

* HMS ''Codrington'' a
Uboat.net

{{DEFAULTSORT:Codrington (D65)
1929 ships
A- and B-class destroyers
Military history of Dover, Kent
Maritime incidents in July 1940
Ships built by Swan Hunter
Destroyers sunk by aircraft
Ships built on the River Tyne
World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
World War II shipwrecks in the English Channel
Ships sunk by German aircraft