- HMS Laforey (G99)
HMS "Laforey" was a L class
destroyer of theRoyal Navy . She was commissioned in and served during theSecond World War , and was torpedoed and sunk by aU-boat in 1944. She had been adopted by the civil community ofNorthampton in November 1941.Construction and commissioning
"Laforey" was ordered from the yards of
Yarrow Shipbuilders ,Scotstoun ,Glasgow on31 March 1938 under the 1937 Naval Estimates. She was laid down on1 March 1939 at the same time as her sister, HMS "Lance". She was launched on15 February 1941 and commissioned on26 August 1941. She cost £445,684, excluding items such as weapons and communications equipment supplied by theAdmiralty . On commissioning she was assigned to the 19th Destroyer Flotilla of theHome Fleet as theFlotilla leader .Career
Mediterranean waters
"Laforey" was almost immediately reassigned to the Mediterranean, where she joined
Force H in escorting a relief convoy toMalta as part ofOperation Halberd . Despite heavy air attacks, the convoy reached Malta on28 September , and "Laforey" returned toGibraltar with the ships of Force X. In October she was permanently assigned to Force H,to carry out convoy escort duties, and fleet screening patrols. On10 November she and the destroyers HMS "Lightning", HMS "Legion", HMS "Sikh", HMS "Zulu", HMS "Gurkha" and HNLMS "Isaac Sweers" were deployed to escort the cruiser HMS "Hermione", the battleship HMS "Malaya" and the aircraft carriers HMS "Ark Royal" and HMS "Argus" during an operation to deliver aircraft to Malta. "Ark Royal" was torpedoed by "U-81" on13 November as the task force returned to Gibraltar. "Laforey" made several unsuccessful anti-submarine attacks against suspectedsonar contacts, before standing by the stricken carrier. Later in the day, "Laforey" ran power cables across to "Ark Royal" to support damage control measures. These were ultimately unsuccessful and "Ark Royal" sank the next day, and "Laforey" returned to Gibraltar."Laforey" spent January as part of anti-submarine patrols that had been instigated to intercept
U-boat s as they passed through theStrait of Gibraltar . On18 January she and HMS "Hesperus" intercepted and attacked U-93 withdepth charge s. February and March were then spent escorting convoys through the Atlantic, and screening aircraft carriers on operations to deliver aircraft to Malta. On1 April "Laforey" was detached from Force H and sailed toFreetown to screen fleet units and cover convoys in the Atlantic. She arrived atCape Town on18 April with a military convoy, and escorted them on toDurban , arriving there on22 April .Operation Ironclad
On
28 April she was deployed to support Operation Ironclad, the planned Invasion of Madgascar. She carried out shore bombardments on2 May and then, together with the destroyers HMS "Anthony" and HMS "Lightning", she used buoys to mark the approach channel to the landing areas at Diego Suarez on4 May . The next day, "Laforey" and "Lightning" led landing ships into the harbour, and provided naval gunfire support. On6 May , "Laforey" and her sisters "Lightning" and HMS "Lookout" screened the battleship HMS "Ramillies" during a search for Japanese warships that had been reported in the area. On7 May "Laforey" covered "Anthony" as she landed marines and the next day she began a series of anti-submarine patrols that would last until she was detached from the operation on27 May , when she, "Lookout" and "Lightning" sailed forColombo to join theEastern Fleet . She spent June with the Eastern Fleet, mostly carrying out exercises and conducting offensive sweeps, before sailing toMombasa on23 June .Return to the Mediterranean
Arriving at Mombasa on
1 July , she was initially deployed in the South Atlantic to huntcommerce raider s and escort convoys. On19 July she was detached and nominated to rejoin Force H. After sailing around Africa with a number of other capital ships, she arrived at Gibraltar in early August. She sailed on9 August , escorting the ships comprisingOperation Pedestal . On10 August she and HMS "Lookout" escorted HMS "Furious" in an attempt to deliver aircraft to Malta, but were detached on11 August to rescue survivors from the torpedoed aircraft carrier HMS "Eagle". The two ships and a rescue tug were able to rescue 927 survivors. After transferring survivors to HMS "Keppel", "Laforey" continued escorting the convoy. Together with HMS "Fury" and HMS "Foresight", she launched an unsuccessful attack on the Italian submarine "Brin" later that day.The next day,
12 August , the ships of the convoy came under heavy air attack. "Laforey" managed to escape damage and with a number of other ships, was detached from the convoy when it reached theSicilian Narrows . They remained in the area until14 August , when they sailed for Gibraltar, arriving there on15 August . She deployed the next day to escort HMS "Furious" and HMS "Charybdis" in another delivery of aircraft to Malta. They returned on18 August and on21 August "Laforey" began anti-submarine operations off Gibraltar.On
4 September she and HMS "Lookout" escorted the SS "Leinster" into Gibraltar. "Laforey" then sailed forSouthampton for a refit, arriving there on17 September . She spent October and most of November under refit, followed by a period of post-trial workup exercises with her sister HMS "Lightning" atScapa Flow . She and "Lightning" then escorted thetroopship SS "Duchess of Athol" out ofLiverpool en route to Gibraltar, where they arrived on20 December . On21 December "Laforey" and "Lightning" carried out rescue operations after the torpedoing of the SS "Strathallan".Force Q
"Laforey" and her flotilla were assigned to Bône as part of Force Q at the start of 1943. The ships of the force came under heavy air attack and "Laforey" had to sink the tanker SS "British Metal" on
6 January after she had been set on fire during an air raid. "Laforey" carried out interception patrols and convoy defence throughout February and March. On28 April she and HMS "Tartar" took part in an action against six E-boats and a submarine. They sank one E-boat by ramming it, and damaged two others. During the action, "Laforey" sustained damage to her forepeak.In May she was assigned with Force Q to intercept ships attempting to evacuate German troops from
Cap Bon after the defeat of theAfrika Korps . On8 May she and HMS "Tartar" captured two merchant ships, but on9 May "Laforey" came under fire from shore batteries and was hit in the engine room. She sustained damage and several severe injuries to her crew, causing her to head for Malta for repairs. After being repaired she returned to Force Q. En route, she investigated Plane Island and discovered twenty three enemy soldiers, whom she promptly took prisoner. Back with Force Q, on23 July she sank an enemy supply ship.In June she took part in covering the allied landings at
Pantelleria (Operation Corkscrew ), during which she bombarded enemy positions, before sailing toAlexandria to escort convoys for the planned invasion of Sicily. After the landings on9 July she bombarded enemy targets inland. On15 August she embarked General Alexander and conveyed him to Augusta. She continued to carry out bombardments and anti-submarine patrols throughout July. On23 July she and HMS "Eclipse" sank the Italian submarine "Ascianghi" after she or U-407 had torpedoed HMS "Newfoundland".In August "Laforey" was nominated to support the invasion of mainland Italy and on
21 August , she and four other destroyers carried out an offensive sweep through theStrait of Messina . She then escorted the convoys and covered the landings. On9 August she came under fire during a shore bombardment and was hit by five shells. One of the ship's company was killed and another two were injured, while one boiler room was put out of action. She returned to Malta for repairs to the structural damage. She was under repair until mid-October, when she returned to patrolling off the Italian coast.On
1 November she escorted two merchant ships during their passage from Malta toNaples and on3 November she escorted a military convoy en route to Augusta. On5 November she came to the assistance of a US merchant ship that had run aground northeast of Augusta, and towed the vessel clear before returning to Malta to refuel. She spent the rest of the month and most of December at Malta, before returning to the Italian coast on23 December . On25 December she detected two E-boats on herradar and moved to intercept them, but they escaped contact and fled. Further shore bombardment operations followed."Laforey" was deployed on patrol off
Corsica on4 January , before heading into theBay of Naples . On6 January she sank the hulk of aliberty ship and on7 January was despatched to the waters offCapri to search for a lifeboat. On18 January she and a number of other warships bombarded targets aroundGaeta . The ships came under air attacks and shore bombardment during these operations. After replenishing at Naples, "Laforey", in company with HMS "Loyal" and HMS "Jevis", joined the escort for the assault convoys ofOperation Shingle , the landings atAnzio . On22 January "Laforey" and HMS "Loyal" led the assault force to “P” Beach landing areas. "Laforey" remained off the coast, to provide gunfire support and defence against air and surface attacks. On23 January she assisted in the rescue of survivors from HMS "Janus" after she had been sunk by a radio controlled bomb. On29 January she rescued survivors from HMS "Spartan" after she too was sunk by radio controlled bombs.In February she was transferred to the 14th Destroyer Flotilla and on
18 February she bombarded Formica and was deployed with HMS "Faulknor" on25 February to intercept E-boats. "Laforey" was briefly detached to assist aLanding Ship, Tank that had run aground at Sabaudio, but was unable to help her. She rejoined "Faulknor" and together they carried out depth charge attacks on a suspected submarine contact. On26 February they were joined by the destroyers HMS "Lamerton" and HMS "Hambledon". "Laforey" herself came under attack from an acoustic torpedo, which exploded in her wake. Anti-submarine operations continued on27 February when another two destroyers joined, and finished on28 February when the ships returned to Naples. "Laforey" sailed to Naples with survivors from HMS "Inglefield", which had been sunk off Anzio on25 February by a Glider Bomb.inking
"Laforey" returned to Naples and was deployed off Anzio on
9 March on support and patrol duties that were scheduled to last until19 March . On23 March she again returned to Anzio and on24 March she was deployed for night interception and anti-submarine patrols with HMS "Grenville". On25 March they engaged a number of E-boats after picking them up on their radars. "Laforey" then sailed to Naples. She deployed for another patrol off the west coast of Italy on28 March and on29 March she carried out a hunt for U-223 north ofPalermo , in company with the destroyers HMS "Tumult", HMS "Tuscan", HMS "Urchin", HMS "Hambledon" and HMS "Blencathra". U-223 had been detected by HMS "Ulster" during a routine sweep. The search lasted until30 March , when after sustaining several hours of depth charge attacks, U-223 surfaced, and was then attacked by the destroyers with gunfire at a range of 1,500 yards. U-223 was able to fire three torpedoes which struck "Laforey". She sank quickly, resulting the loss of most of her company, including her captain. There were only 65 survivors out of the 247 on board. U-223 was sunk soon afterwards, and the survivors from the "Laforey" and U-223 were picked up by HMS "Blencathra", HMS "Hambledon" and HMS "Tumult".References
*Colledge
*Mike Rossiter, Ark Royal: the life, death and rediscovery of the legendary Second World War aircraft carrier (Corgi Books, London, 2007). ISBN 978-0-552-15369-0
*cite web
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*cite web
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