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Allied Warships

HMS Grafton (H 89)

Destroyer of the G class


HMS Grafton as seen before the Second World War

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassG 
PennantH 89 
Built byThornycroft (Southampton, U.K.) 
Ordered 
Laid down30 Aug, 1934 
Launched18 Sep, 1935 
Commissioned20 Mar, 1936 
Lost29 May, 1940 
Loss position51.24N, 02.49E (See a map)
 
HistoryIn the early morning of 29 May 1940, HMS Grafton (Cdr. Cecil Edmund Charles Robinson, RN) was returning to Dover with a load of rescued men from Dunkerque and came upon the sinking British destroyer HMS Wakeful, which had been hit by an s-boot.
Also at the scene were drifters Comfort and Nautilus as well as minesweeper Lydd. Grafton went alongside & began taking men aboard when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-62. The torpedo hit at the stern, then a second, hitherto unexplained explosion, occurred in the bridge area, which killed the Captain and 3 other officers that were on the bridge.
The torpedo (the sub had fired only one) blew the stern off but the destroyer remained afloat and on an even keel. At this juncture, drifter Comfort, having been swamped by the torpedo detonation & forced to cast off from Wakeful, was sighted by Lydd and mistaken for an S-boot. She was taken under fire from Grafton and Lydd, then rammed and sunk by the latter with only 5 survivors.
After taking off as many men as posible, Lydd returned to Dover, leaving Grafton alone. Later in the day the British destroyer HMS Ivanhoe arrived at the scene. After an attempt at taking grafton in tow failed, in consideration of the danger posed by remaining in the area, Ivanhoe's Captain ordered the scuttling of Grafton by torpedo.
The wreck lies in 24 meters of water in position 51º24'28"N, 02º49'10"E.

Commanding Officers:
Cdr. Mervyn Somerset Thomas, RN
19 February 1938 - 18 January 1940

Cdr. Cecil Edmund Charles Robinson, RN
18 January 1940 - 29 May 1940+ 

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 29 May, 1940 by U-62 (Michalowski).


Noteable events involving Grafton include:

29 Oct, 1939
HMS Grafton (Cdr. M.S. Thomas, RN) picks up 70 survivors from the British merchant Malabar that was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-34 about 180 miles west of Lands End in position 49º57'N, 07º37'W.

26 Apr, 1940
The Polish destroyer Burza and the British destroyer HMS Grafton were part of an escort of small convoy (two cargo ships and one tanker). Those vessels were sailing to Skjel Fjord, Norway where an Allied supply base was located.

27 May, 1940
On the 27 May HMS Grafton (Cdr. C.E.C. Robinson, RN) ferried 860 men to Dover and returned the following day to pick up another 800. On passage back to England, Grafton stopped to assist with the rescue of survivors from another destroyer that had been sunk, but whilst doing so was herself torpeded by a U-Boat. Despite being packed with troops, Only 4 people were killed and other vessels took on the remaining troops and ship's company. Grafton was scuttled by gunfire.


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