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Allied Warships

HMS Harvester (H 19)

Destroyer of the Havant class


HMS Harvester as completed, she still had two banks of torpedo tubes

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassHavant 
PennantH 19 
Built byVickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) 
Ordered 
Laid down3 Jun, 1938 
Launched29 Sep, 1939 
Commissioned23 May, 1940 
Lost11 Mar, 1943 
Loss position51.23N, 28.40W (See a map)
 
HistoryRequisitioned by the Royal Navy on 4 September 1939 while being built for the Brazilian Navy. Named HMS Handy, renamed HMS Harvester before completion on 27 February 1940.

HMS Harvester (Cdr. Arthur Andre Tait, DSO, RN) was sunk on 11 March 1943 while escorting convoy HX-228. HMS Harvester rams the German submarine U-444 but is disabled and the U-boat has to be finished off by French corvette Aconit. HMS Harvester, now stationary, is torpedoed and sunk in position 51º23'N, 28º40'W by U-432 which is in turn brought to the surface by Aconit's depth charges and finally destroyed by gunfire and ramming.

Commanding Officers:
Lt.Cdr. Mark Thornton, RN
11 March 1940 – 15 March 1942
DSC awarded on 3 January 1941

Cdr. Harold Pitcairn Henderson, RN
15 March 1942 – 9 August 1942

Cdr. Arthur Andre Tait, DSO, RN
9 August 1942 – 11 March 1943+ 

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 11 Mar, 1943 by U-432 (Eckhardt).

Former nameHMS Handy (ex. Brazilian Jurus)

Noteable events involving Harvester include:

9 Jul, 1940
HMS Harvester (Lt.Cdr. M. Thornton, RN) and HMS Havelock (Capt. E.B.K. Stevens, DSC, RN) together pick up 35 survivors from the British merchant Aylesbury that was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-43 about 200 nautical miles south-east of Ireland in position 48º39'N, 13º33'W.

13 Sep, 1940
During the night of 13/14 September 1940 the destroyers HMS Highlander (Cdr. W.A. Dallmeyer, RN), HMS Harvester (Lt.Cdr. M. Thornton, RN), HMS Bulldog (Lt.Cdr. F.J.G. Hewitt, RN) and HMS Beagle (Lt.Cdr. R.H. Wright, RN) bombard Cherbourg in a sweep through the Seine Bay.

30 Oct, 1940
The German submarine U-32 was sunk north-west of Ireland, in position 55º37'N, 12º19'W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Harvester (Lt.Cdr. C.M. Thornton, RN) and HMS Highlander (Cdr. W.A. Dallmeyer, RN). (see map)

27 Nov, 1940
HMS Harvester (Lt.Cdr. M. Thornton, RN) and HMS Havelock (Lt.Cdr. E.H. Thomas, RN) both pick up a survivor from the British merchant Glenmoor that was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-103 about 167 miles northwest of Sylne Head in position 54º35'N, 14º31' W.

7 Dec, 1941
The German submarine U-208 was sunk in the Atlantic west of Gibraltar, in position 35º51'N, 07º45'W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Harvester (Lt.Cdr. M. Thornton, DSC, RN) and HMS Hesperus (Lt.Cdr. A.A. Tait, RN). (see map)

11 Mar, 1943
The German submarine U-444 was sunk in the North Atlantic, in position 51º14'N, 29º18'W, by ramming and depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Harvester and the Free French corvette Aconit. (see map)


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