HMS Codrington
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HMS ''Codrington'' was one of nine s built for 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 F ...
during the 1920s. She was the flotilla leader for the
class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
. During 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 opposin ...
she served in Home waters and off the Norwegian coast, before being bombed and sunk on 27 July 1940 whilst in dock at
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 ...
.


Construction and commissioning

HMS ''Codrington'' was ordered on 6 March 1928 from the yards of
Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three powe ...
,
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fo ...
, under the 1927
Naval Estimates A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...
. 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 The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O. S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied fo ...
. ''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 A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
mountings and for attacks on
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 ...
s was fitted with four
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 ...
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 The British 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as Third Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1939 and again from 1945 to 1951. History In 1907 the Channel Fleet had a large Channel Flotilla of destroyers in Fe ...
as part of the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
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 The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
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 Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...
with a cargo of
petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
. ''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 ) , 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 ...
. On 12 January 1937, ''Codrington'' and the depot ship were in
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
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 Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
, but was refitted and then attached to the
Royal Naval Engineering College The Royal Naval Engineering College was a specialist establishment for the training of Royal Navy engineers. It was founded as Keyham College in 1880, new buildings were opened in Manadon, Devon in 1940 and the old college site at Keyham close ...
at
Keyham, Plymouth Keyham is a Victorian-built area of Plymouth in the English county of Devon. It was built to provide dense cheap housing just outside the wall of HM Dockyard Devonport for the thousands of civilian workmen. In the early-19th century, Devonport ...
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 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...
, based at
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 ...
as part of the
Nore Command The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...
. During September and October 1939, ''Codrington'' escorted convoys carrying the British Expeditionary Force to France. She remained in the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
throughout October, before being transferred to
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
to defend against a perceived threat of a German attack on the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. She was back in Dover in December, and on 4 December ''Codrington'' embarked
King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
and transported him to
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
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 Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
(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 The 1st Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as the First Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from 1909 to 1940 and again from 1947 to 1951. History Pre-war history In May 1906, the First Destroyer Flotilla was at ...
based at Harwich, replacing , which had been sunk by a
mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...
on 19 January. On 5 February, she carried Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
, 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 The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
. 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
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 ...
s and , the
battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
and the French light cruiser . The fleet was to cover planned operations off
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
, 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 Sullom Voe is an inlet of the North Sea between the parishes of Delting and Northmavine in Shetland, Scotland. It is a location of the Sullom Voe oil terminal and Shetland Gas Plant. The word Voe is from the Old Norse ' and denotes a small ba ...
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 ( se, Áhkanjárga) is the third-largest municipality in Nordland county, Norway, by population. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Narvik. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Ankenesstranda, Ball ...
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 Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. She managed to complete the passage from
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
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 IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...
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 The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...
. On 28 May she embarked 866 troops from the beaches, and took on survivors from the
coaster Coaster (stylized as COASTER) is a commuter rail service in the central and northern coastal regions of San Diego County, California, United States operated by the North County Transit District (NCTD). The commuter rail line features eight s ...
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 Operation Cycle is the name of the evacuation of Allied troops from Le Havre, in the Pays de Caux of Upper Normandy from 1940, towards the end of the Battle of France, during the Second World War. The operation was preceded by the better kno ...
, the troop evacuation from
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
, returning to
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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 A depot ship is an auxiliary ship used as a mobile or fixed base for submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, fast attack craft, landing craft, or other small ships with similarly limited space for maintenance equipment and crew dining, berthing an ...
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

* * * * * * * * * * * *


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