HMS Vanoc (H33)
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HMS ''Vanoc'' was a British 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 ...
, launched in 1917. The ship saw service in both the
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and
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 ...
s. During the First World War, ''Vanoc'' served as part of two destroyer flotillas, undertaking minelayer and convoy escort roles. In 1919, the destroyer took part in British operations in the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
as part of Allied efforts to intervene in the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
. During the Second World War, ''Vanoc'' was involved in evacuation efforts to remove troops from Norway and France, and was utilised as a convoy escort, protecting convoys from German
U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...
. In this role, ''Vanoc'' sank a German submarine, in March 1941 in the Atlantic, and assisted in the destruction of another, . Three years later, ''Vanoc'' was involved in sinking '' U-392'' 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 ...
in concert with a British frigate and several US anti-submarine aircraft. In January 1945, she was involved in a collision with another Allied vessel off
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, before being placed into reserve in June. She was later sold for scrap and was broken up after mid-1946.


Construction

In mid-1916, 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 ...
placed orders for 23 destroyers based on the five V-class leaders that had been ordered earlier that year. Two of these ships, ''Vanoc'' and , were ordered from the
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 ...
shipyard John Brown & Company in June that year.Raven and Roberts 1979, pp. 5–5.Preston 1971, pp. 102–103. ''Vanoc'' was long overall with a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a draught of between and depending on load.
Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
was standard and up to under full load.Gardiner and Gray 1985, p. 83. Three oil-fed Yarrow boilers raising steam at fed Brown-Curtis geared steam turbines which developed , driving two screws for a maximum designed speed of .Lenton 1970, p. 23. ''Vanoc'' reached an average speed of during sea trials on 10 August 1917, with her engines generating and deep load displacement about .Raven and Roberts 1979, p. 5. The ship carried of oil giving a range of at . ''Vanoc''s main gun armament consisted of four 4-inch Mk V QF guns in four single mounts on the ship's centerline. These were disposed as two forward and two aft in
superimposed Superimposition is the placement of one thing over another, typically so that both are still evident. Graphics In graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to ...
firing positions. A single QF 3-inch (76 mm) 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun was mounted aft of the second funnel. Aft of the 3-inch gun, she carried four 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes mounted in pairs on the center-line. It was decided in January 1917 to modify ''Vanoc'' as a minelayer. As such, the aft set of torpedo tubes and one 4 inch gun could be removed to accommodate up to 66 mines, although the rated capacity was 44. The ship could be converted back to a fleet destroyer, with full armament, in about 12 hours.Friedman 2009, pp. 154–155.Preston 1971, p. 25. ''Vanoc'' was laid down at John Brown & Company's
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 ...
shipyard on 20 September 1916 and was launched on 14 June 1917.Friedman 2009, p. 312. She was commissioned on 15 August 1917 with the pennant number H33.Whitley 2000, p. 94. The vessel's name is that of an Arthurian knight in Sir Walter Scott’s ''
The Bridal of Triermain ''The Bridal of Triermain'' is a narrative poem in three cantos by Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1813. It is written in a flexible metre of four and three stress lines. Set in Cumberland, it recounts the exploits of a knight as he seeks ...
''.


Modifications

Between the wars, modifications to the V-class destroyers were relatively limited, with the twin torpedo mounts generally being replaced by triple mounts as in the W class. As a minelayer, only the forward bank of tubes was replaced, giving ''Vanoc'' a five torpedo-tube outfit, while the 3 inch gun was replaced by a 2-pounder "pom-pom".Lenton 1970, p. 21. After the Norwegian campaign, it was decided to strengthen the anti-aircraft armament of Royal Navy destroyers, with the V class being modified by removing the aft bank of torpedo tubes and replacing it by a single 12-pounder anti-aircraft gun, with ''Vanoc'' modified by October 1940.Friedman 2009, pp. 239–241, 285. Other early modifications included the removal of one 4-inch gun ("Y"-mount) to allow the carrying on a heavy
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 ...
battery, with 50 charges carried, with the ship fitted to allow 10-charge patterns to be laid,Friedman 2009, pp. 236–237, 285. while Type 286M radar was fitted in early 1941. A major problem with the use of destroyers for escort work in the
North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
was their lack of endurance,Friedman 2009, p. 247.Brown 2007, p. 19. and ''Vanoc'' was converted to a long-range escort at
Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...
's Southampton shipyard between April and November 1943.Preston 1971, p. 120. The long-range escort conversion involved removal of one boiler (and its associated funnel), to allow fitting of additional oil bunkers and extra accommodation to help solve a chronic overcrowding problem that had only got worse as crews had increased as the war progressed.Whitley 2000, p. 95. While power dropped to , cutting speed to , the ship's range increased by as much as . One 4-inch gun (in "A"-mount) was removed to accommodate a Hedgehog forward-throwing anti-submarine projector, while the remaining set of torpedo tubes and the 12-pounder gun was removed to allow the ship's depth charge armament to be increased again to as many as 150 charges. Radar was changed to a Type 271 surface search radar mounted on the ship's bridge, with a Type 291 air search radar on the mainmast.Brown 2007, pp. 19, 21.


Service


First World War

Following commissioning, ''Vanoc'' joined the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla, attached to the
Battle Cruiser Force A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
of the Grand Fleet.English 2019, p. 59 In October 1917, ''Vanoc'' was part of a large scale operation involving 30 cruisers and 54 destroyers deployed in eight groups across the North Sea in an attempt to stop a suspected sortie by German naval forces. Despite these countermeasures the two German light cruisers and managed to evade the patrols and attacked the regular convoy between Norway and Britain, sinking nine merchant ships and two destroyers, and , before returning safely to Germany. ''Vanoc'' remained with the Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla, which formed part of the Battlecruiser Force of the Grand Fleet, until June 1918, when she joined the
Twentieth Destroyer Flotilla 20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score. In mathematics *20 is a pronic number. *20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20. *20 is the ...
.Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 22. The Twentieth Flotilla was a specialised minelaying flotilla, based at
Immingham Immingham is a town, civil parish and ward in the North East Lincolnshire unitary authority of England. It is situated on the south-west bank of the Humber Estuary, and is north-west from Grimsby. The region was relatively unpopulated and un ...
on the Humber,Friedman 2009, p. 155. which laid up to 20,000 mines during 1918, as well as carrying out its share of convoy escort and patrol duties. ''Vanoc'' herself laid 965 mines during the First World War.Smith 2005, p. 95.


Between the wars

''Vanoc'' was reduced to 3/5th complement in January 1919, while remaining part of the Twentieth Flotilla. She returned to a full complement on 19 June that year. The Twentieth Flotilla, including ''Vanoc'', was deployed to the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
as part of the British intervention in the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
. She was off
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in October 1919 when British and French naval gunfire helped the Latvian army to drive off an attack by the pro-German West Russian Volunteer Army, which was attempting to set up a German-dominated puppet state.Preston 1971, pp. 31–33. ''Vanoc'' was attached to the
Second Destroyer Flotilla The British 2nd Destroyer Flotilla (also styled as Second Destroyer Flotilla) was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1943 and again from 1945 to 1946. History The 2nd Destroyer Flotilla originated in early 1907 as a part of a Home ...
in November 1919, but was reduced to reserve at Devonport on 5 February 1920. ''Vanoc'' was recommissioned in October 1923, serving as a special trials vessel at Portsmouth. In November that year, ''Vanoc'', together with sister ship carried out rough-weather trials. ''Vanoc'' was then used for torpedo trials at , the Royal Navy's torpedo establishment. From January 1926, she was permanently attached to ''Vernon''. On 29 June 1927, ''Vanoc'', together with , and escorted 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 ...
, carrying the Duke and Duchess of York into Portsmouth at the end of the royal couple's tour of the Commonwealth. ''Vanoc'' was part of the British
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 ...
during the Spanish Civil War. Activities during Britain's attempt to enforce
non-intervention Non-interventionism or non-intervention is a political philosophy or national foreign policy doctrine that opposes interference in the domestic politics and affairs of other countries but, in contrast to isolationism, is not necessarily opposed t ...
included ferrying an inspection team to
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in January 1937 to investigate German activities. In June 1938, ''Vanoc'' was sent to
Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in th ...
in response to Nationalist air attacks on British shipping, while on 30 December 1938, after the Republican destroyer ran aground at Catalan Bay following an engagement with Nationalist warships, ''Vanoc'' patrolled to prevent the Nationalists attacking while ''José Luis Díez'' was towed into
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 ...
to be interned.Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 401.


Second World War

''Vanoc'' was commanded by Lieutenant Commander James Godfrey Wood Deneys from 9 February 1939 to 15 December 1941. At the outbreak of the war, the ship was 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 ...
, based out of Plymouth, and in the early stages of hostilities undertook patrols in the English Channel and South Western Approaches areas. In February 1940, ''Vanoc'' accompanied escorting a Gibraltar bound convoy, before escorting two Liverpool bound convoys in March. In mid April, she accompanied ''Chrobry'' into Namsos in Norway. On 29 April 1940, she deployed with the destroyers , , and to evacuate troops from Mo and
Bodø Bodø (; smj, Bådåddjo, sv, Bodö) is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Bodø (which is also the capital of Nordland count ...
to Harstad. Later, in June 1940, ''Vanoc'' took part in Operation Aerial, the evacuation of British and Allied troops from ports in western France, escorting a convoy of 10 ships from
St 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. T ...
on 18June. In early March 1941, ''Vanoc'' was assigned to the 5th Escort groupBlair ''Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942'' 1990, p. 255. and on 15 March the group joined
Convoy HX 112 HX 112 was a North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War. It saw the loss of U-boats commanded by two of the Kriegsmarine's most celebrated commanders and propaganda heroes: under ...
as escort. On the night of 15/16 March, the German submarine , commanded by
Fritz-Julius Lemp Fritz-Julius Lemp (19 February 1913 – 9 May 1941) was a captain in the Kriegsmarine during World War II and commander of , and . He sank the British passenger liner in September 1939, in violation of the Hague conventions. Germany's respon ...
, sighted the convoy, and made a surface attack, torpedoing the tanker ''Erdona'', which did not sink. The destroyer spotted ''U-110'' and summoned ''Vanoc'' and . Together, the three destroyers attacked ''U-110'' with depth charges, and ''Vanoc'' and ''Scimitar'' were assigned to keeping the submarine submerged while the convoy sailed away. Despite this, Lemp evaded the destroyers and re-sighted the convoy later that night, sending location signals that helped to direct more U-boats against the convoy.Blair ''Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942'' 1990, pp. 254–255. At about 10:00 pm on the night of 16/17 March under the command of
Otto Kretschmer Otto Kretschmer (1 May 1912 – 5 August 1998) was a German naval officer and submariner in World War II and the Cold War. From September 1939 until his capture in March 1941 he sank 44 ships, including one warship, a total of 274,333 tons. For ...
infiltrated the convoy and fired ''U-99''s remaining eight torpedoes, hitting six merchant ships and sinking five of them. At 01:30, ''Walker''s sonar detected a submerged submarine, and after an initial attack by ''Walker'' and ''Vanoc'', ''Walker'' left to rescue survivors from ''U-99''s attack, leaving ''Vanoc'' to continue the attack. The depth charges caused serious flooding aboard the German submarine, , under the command of
Joachim Schepke Joachim Schepke (8 March 1912 – 17 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the seventh recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Schepke is credited with having sunk 36 Allied ships. Durin ...
, and Schepke, fearing the submarine would sink, and hoping that he could torpedo the British destroyer, ordered ''U-100'' to the surface. ''Vanoc'' spotted ''U-100'' on the recently fitted but primitive Type 286M radar, the first confirmed British surface ship radar sighting of a U-boat, and rammed the German submarine, sinking her. Only six of ''U-100''s crew, not including Schepke, survived. Shortly afterwards, ''U-99'', which was trying to slip out of the convoy on the surface, spotted ''Walker'' and dived. ''Walker'' picked up ''U-99'' on her sonar and attacked with depth charges, forcing the submarine to the surface. ''Vanoc'' spotted the surfaced ''U-99'', and both destroyers opened fire on the stricken U-boat, which was scuttled by her crew as they abandoned ship.Blair ''Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942'' 1990, pp. 256–258.Brown 2007, pp. 76–77. From March 1942 she joined the Escort Group B-5 team of destroyers , ''Caldwell'', , frigate , and corvettes , , , and .Rohwer & Hummelchen (1992) pp.124 Escort Group B-5 was reassigned to
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trade convoys from March 1942; and returned to the Mid-Ocean Escort Force a year later to escort
Convoy SC 122 During the Battle of the Atlantic, British merchant shipping was formed into convoys for protection against German submarine attack. In March 1943 convoys HX 229 and SC 122 were the focus of the largest convoy battle of the war. ''Kriegsmarine'' ...
. On 16 March 1944, 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 she co-operated with the frigate and three 3 US Catalina aircraft (VP 63) to sink the submarine with a hedgehog attack, resulting in 52 dead (all hands) from ''U-392''. On 21 January 1945, ''Vanoc'' collided with, and sank, the
naval trawler Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built to ...
off
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. (). In June 1945, the ship was placed into reserve before being sold for scrap to T.W. Ward the following month. She was broken up sometime after mid-1946 in Falmouth.


Notes


References

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External links


Escort V+W Class
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanoc 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