HMS ''Gallant'' (H59) was a G-class destroyer, built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in the mid-1930s. During 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 Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. ''Gallant'' was transferred from the

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 ...

shortly after the beginning of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

to the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

, to escort shipping in local waters. She was slightly damaged by German aircraft during the evacuation of Allied troops from

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Gibraltar and served with

Force H Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place within the ...

for several months. In November, the ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet, where she escorted several

convoys 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 ...

. She struck 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 ...

in January 1941 and was towed to Malta for repairs. These were proved extensive and ''Gallant'' was further damaged by near-misses during an air raid in April 1942, before they were completed. The additional damage made the ship uneconomical to repair so she was

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

as a

blockship A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used. It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of at Portland Harbour in 1914 ...

in 1943. Her wreck was

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

in 1953.

Description

''Gallant'' displaced at

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into we ...

. The ship had an overall length of , 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 g ...

of and a draught of . She was powered by Parsons geared

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turb ...

s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum

water-tube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...

s. ''Gallant'' carried a maximum of of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bu ...

that gave her a range of at . The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime,Whitley, pp. 107–08 but it increased to 146 in wartime. The ship mounted four 45-

calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore matc ...

4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts. For

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

defence ''Gallant'' had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...

. She was fitted with two above-water 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 abo ...

mounts for torpedoes. One rail and two depth charge throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.

Service

''Gallant'' was laid down by

Alexander Stephen and Sons Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, often referred to simply as Alex Stephens or just Stephens, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Linthouse, Glasgow, on the River Clyde and, initially, on the east coast of Scotland. History The com ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, on 15 September 1934, launched on 26 September 1935 and completed on 25 February 1936. Excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament, the ship cost £252,920. She was assigned to 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 ...

of the Mediterranean Fleet upon commissioning. ''Gallant'' patrolled Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the edicts of the Non-Intervention Committee. She pulled off a Spanish merchantman that had grounded between Almeria and Málaga on 20 December 1936. The ship was attacked by a

Spanish Nationalist The creation of the tradition of the political community of Spaniards as common destiny over other communities has been argued to trace back to the Cortes of Cádiz. Revisiting the history of Spain, after 1812 Spanish liberalism tended to take f ...

aircraft off Cape San Antonio on 6 April 1937, but was not damaged. The next month she returned to Great Britain for an overhaul at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

between 31 May and 21 July 1937. When

began in September 1939, ''Gallant'' was in 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 th ...

, but she and her entire flotilla were transferred to the

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 ...

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

in October. After a boiler cleaning, the ship was reassigned at the end of the month to the Nore Command in

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- ...

for patrol and escort duties. On 2 February 1940 ''Gallant'' and her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, , rescued the crew from the

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined c ...

''British Councillor'' which was sinking after it had struck a

. ''Gallant'' took over escorting Convoy HN 12 after the destroyer was sunk on 18 February and she rescued 12 survivors from the Swedish ship ''Santos'' near

Duncansby Head Duncansby Head ( gd, Ceann Dhunngain or Dùn Gasbaith) is the most northeasterly part of both the Scottish and British mainlands, slightly northeast of John o' Groats. It lies approximately 20 km (12 mi) east-southeast of Dunnet Hea ...

a week later. On 20 March 1940 she escorted the

armed merchant cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

s ''Cilicia'' and after they collided. The ship was refitted at

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

between 28 March and 30 April and rejoined her flotilla at Harwich the next day. During the evening of 9/10 May, ''Gallant'' and the destroyer rescued most of the crew of the destroyer after the latter ship was torpedoed by a German

E-boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a la ...

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 ...

.English, p. 92 While ''Gallant'' was participating in the Dunkirk evacuation, a near miss by a bomb on 29 May knocked out her steering and caused minor damage to her hull and electrical systems. She was repaired at Hull and encountered a German mine-laying sortie on the evening of 5/6 June off

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and so ...

when in company with the destroyer . Later in June the ship was refitted in

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th centur ...

with a 12-pounder anti-aircraft gun that replaced the rear torpedo tube mount. After her refit ''Gallant'' was transferred to the

13th Destroyer Flotilla The British 13th Destroyer Flotilla, or Thirteenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from November 1915 – November 1918 and again from September 1939 to January 1944. History World War One The flotilla was first form ...

of the North Atlantic Command, arriving at Gibraltar on 30 July. On her voyage south the ship escorted the aircraft carrier which was loaded with a dozen

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

fighters. During Operation Hurry, ''Gallant'', and three other destroyers, escorted ''Argus'' to a position south-west of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label= Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, af ...

so the carrier could fly off her Hurricanes to Malta on 2 August. After her return to Gibraltar the ship was transferred to

. On 20 October, ''Gallant'', her sister ''Griffin'' and the destroyer sank the east of Gibraltar. The ship escorted the battleship and the cruisers and during Operation Coat in early November as they joined the Mediterranean Fleet. ''Gallant'' herself was transferred to the

14th Destroyer Flotilla The14th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fourteenth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the British Royal Navy from April 1916 to 11 February 1919 and again from 1 June 1940 to January 1944. History World War One The flotilla was first establish ...

at Malta on 10 November. She participated in the inconclusive

Battle of Cape Spartivento The Battle of Cape Spartivento, known as the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War, fought between naval forces of the Royal Navy and the Italian '' Regia Marina'' o ...

on 27 November during Operation Collar. On 10 January 1941, during

Operation Excess Operation Excess was a series of British supply convoys to Malta, Alexandria and Greece in January 1941. The operation encountered the first presence of ''Luftwaffe'' anti-shipping aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea. All the convoyed freighters re ...

, the Italian torpedo boats and attempted an attack on the Allied convoy off

Pantellaria Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisia ...

. Right after the engagement, in which ''Vega'' was sunk, ''Gallant'' struck a mine that detonated her forward magazine, because the Italian action pushed the British convoy too much south of their pre-established route.O´Hara, p. 80 The explosion blew the bow off the ship, killing 65 and injuring 15 more of her crew. Her sister ''Griffin'' rescued most of the survivors and the destroyer towed her stern-first to Malta. The ship was slowly repaired and in October 1941 it was estimated that they would be completed in June 1942. However, on 5 April 1942, she was extensively damaged by bomb splinters by an air raid on

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

and had to be beached at Pinto's Wharf to prevent her from sinking. She was judged to be a

constructive total loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

and any usable equipment was stripped from her hulk. ''Gallant'' was expended as a

St Paul's Island St Paul's Island (Maltese: ''Il-Gżejjer ta' San Pawl''), also known as Selmunett, is a small island off Selmun near the north-east of the main island of Malta. St Paul's Island is sometimes split into two islands by a shallow isthmus, and it is ...

in September 1943, with the wreck being broken up in 1953.

Footnotes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gallant (H59) G and H-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Clyde 1935 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in January 1941 Maritime incidents in April 1942 Maritime incidents in September 1943