HM Trawler ''Arab'' was a trawler launched in 1936. At the outbreak of World War II, she became a

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 ...

serving in the

Royal Naval Patrol Service The Royal Naval Patrol Service (RNPS) was a branch of the Royal Navy active during both the First and Second World Wars. The RNPS operated many small auxiliary vessels such as naval trawlers for anti-submarine and minesweeping operations to pro ...

(RNPS; aka "Harry Tate's Navy" or "Churchill's Pirates"). Lieutenant

Richard Been Stannard Captain Richard Been Stannard, (21 August 1902 – 22 July 1977) was a British sailor, officer in the Royal Naval Reserve (RNR), and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awa ...

won the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(VC) while serving as her commander during the Namsos campaign in 1940. The Admiralty returned her to her owners in 1945 and she remained in commercial service until she was scrapped at Ghent in 1963.

Trawler

''Arab'' was built by Smith's Dock Co. of

South Bank-on-Tees South Bank is a township in the Redcar and Cleveland borough in North Yorkshire, England on the south bank of the River Tees. It is east of Middlesbrough and south-west of Redcar. The town is served by railway station. The namesake ward had ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, with hull name ''Arab H293''. (Smith's Dock Company also built a number of other trawlers that would serve in the RNPS such as ''Phyllis Rosalie'', which became .) ''Arab'' had a displacement of 531 tons. She was launched 19 June 1936 and worked as a trawler for her owners, Hellyer Brothers Ltd., of Hull.

War service

The

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

commissioned her in September 1939 with the

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

FY202, equipping and arming her for

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

warfare. Lieutenant

Royal Navy Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

became her captain. On 12 March 1940, ''Arab'' was escorting a convoy during which the German air force bombed SS ''Statira''. For his actions, Stannard received a

mention in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. In late April 1940, the Admiralty sent the 15th Anti-Submarine Striking Force, under Commander Sir Geoffrey Congreve, to

Namsos ( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Kl ...

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 ...

, about 100 miles north of

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

. The task force was to evacuate troops that had landed there on 14 April as part of the unsuccessful Namsos Campaign. During the five days, 28 April to 2 May, that ''Arab'' was in the

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...

, she endured 24

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact througho ...

attacks, and seven higher altitude (8000 or 10,000 feet) bombing attacks. The ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' sank three other naval trawlers from A/S SF 15 at Namsfjord: ''Aston Villa'', ''Gaul'' and ''St. Goran''. On 3 May, as ''Arab'' was leaving Namsos, taking ''St. Goran''’s crew with her, ''Arab'' managed to shoot down a

Heinkel He 115 The Heinkel He 115 was a three-seat World War II ''Luftwaffe'' seaplane. It was used as a torpedo bomber and performed general seaplane duties, such as reconnaissance and minelaying. The aircraft was powered by two 960 PS (947 hp, 720&n ...

that had ordered her to ‘steer east (i.e., back to Namsos and captivity) or be sunk’. Stannard then brought ''Arab'' safely home in spite of her damaged engines. It was for his actions and leadership during the five days at Namsos that Stannard received the VC. ''Arab'', with Stannard in command, served at 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 ...

during 26 May and 4 June 1940. On 29 June 1940, the Admiralty promoted Stannard to lieutenant commander, RNR. At the end of the year he left ''Arab'' and went on to command destroyers, earning a DSO (

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

) while captain of . On 29 January 1941, ''Arab'', under the command of Lieutenant C.A. Shillan, was escorting

Convoy SC-19 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 ...

. About 150 miles south west of

Rockall Rockall () is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom claims that Rockall lies within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its territory, but this claim is not recognised by Ireland. ...

, was able to torpedo ''W.B. Walker''. ''Arab'' came to the aid of the torpedoed vessel, and together with , took her into tow. ''Walker'' eventually broke in half and sank, but ''Arab'' landed her master and 42 crew members (four had been lost in the torpedoing), at

Gourock Gourock ( ; gd, Guireag ) is a town in the Inverclyde council area and formerly a burgh of the County of Renfrew in the west of Scotland. It was a seaside resort on the East shore of the upper Firth of Clyde. Its main function today is as a r ...

Trawler and fate

In 1945, the Admiralty returned ''Arab'' to her owners, Prince Fishing Co. Ltd., (Owen S. Hellyer, Manager). In 1947 Loch Fishing Co., Ltd., of Hull, bought her and renamed her ''Loch Seaforth''. Loch Fishing operated her until she arrived at

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

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 ...

on 6 April 1963. There Van Heyghen Frères scrapped her.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arab 1936 ships Naval trawlers of the United Kingdom Anti-submarine trawlers of the Royal Navy