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Allied Warships

HMS Volunteer (D 71)

Destroyer of the Admiralty Modified W class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassAdmiralty Modified W 
PennantD 71 
Built byWilliam Denny & Brothers (Dumbarton, Scotland) 
OrderedJan, 1918 
Laid down16 Apr, 1918 
Launched17 Apr, 1919 
Commissioned7 Nov, 1919 
End service 
Loss position
 
HistoryReconstruction to Long Range Escort finished in January 1943.

Sold to be broken up for scrap on 4 March 1947.

Commanding Officers:
Lt.Cdr. Hugh Gartside-Tippinge, RN
31 July 1939 – 30 December 1939

Lt.Cdr. Norman Lanyon, RN
30 December 1939 - ???

HMS Volunteer was in Dockyard Control during repairs

Lt.Cdr. Norman Lanyon, RN
25 July 1941 – 12 January 1942

Lt. Arthur Shubrook Pomeroy, RN
12 January 1942 - ???
DSC awarded on 25 August 1942

HMS Volunteer was in Dockyard Control during refit

Lt.Cdr. Gordon John Luther, RN
3 December 1942 – 3 February 1944

Cdr. James Edward Rickards Wilford, RD, RNR
3 February 1944 >

HMS Volunteer is not listed as active unit in the July 1945 Navy List 


Noteable events involving Volunteer include:

7 Jun, 1940
The British merchant Frances Massey is torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-48 14 nautical miles north-west of Tory Island. The sole survivor, the master, was picked up by the British destroyer HMS Volunteer (Lt.Cdr. N. Lanyon, RN).

27 Mar, 1942
On 27 March 1942 the German submarine U-587 was sunk in position 47º21'N, 21º39'W by depth charges by the British escort destroyers HMS Grove (Lt.Cdr. J.W. Rylands, RN) and HMS Aldenham (Lt. H.A. Stuart-Menteth, RN) and the British destoyers HMS Volunteer (Lt. A.S. Pomeroy, RN) and HMS Leamington (Lt.Cdr. H.G. Bowerman, RN) of the 2nd Escort Group, escorting the troop convoy WS-17. The u-boat was found after a HF/DF fix by the British destroyer HMS Keppel (Cdr. J.E. Broome, RN). (see map)


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