Allied Warships
HMS Lamerton (L 88)
Escort destroyer of the Hunt (Type II) class

HMS Lamerton during the Second World War
| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Escort destroyer |
| Class | Hunt (Type II) |
| Pennant | L 88 |
| Built by | Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (Wallsend-on-Tyne, U.K.): Wallsend |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 10 Apr 1940 |
| Launched | 14 Dec 1940 |
| Commissioned | 16 Aug 1941 |
| End service | |
| Loss position | |
| History | In October 1941 HMS Lamerton was a unit of the 12th Escort Group which was based at Londonderry, Northern Ireland whilst escorting convoy HG-75 from Gibraltar to the U.K., the Italian submarine Ferraris was spotted on the 25th, by a patrolling Catalina aircraft, and was damaged by bombing, which prevented her from diving. The aircraft contacted the nearby convoy, who in turn detached Lamerton to the area, and after a long gun duel with the submarine, the Italian submarine was finally sunk. In December Lamerton was involved in the raid on the Lofoten Islands. In March 1942 Lamerton was involved in North Atlantic convoy duties between Liverpool and Hvalfjord in Iceland. By November Lamerton took part in the Allied landings in North Africa. An unopposed landing off Bone, Algeria was made on the 12th but when daylight came, she was subjected to many dive bombing attacks but managed to escape unharmed. In February 1943, whilst escorting a supply convoy off the Algerian coast in company with the destroyers HMS Wheatland, HMS Easton and HMS Bicester, they detected and destroyed the Italian submarine Asteria on the 17th, and again on the 23rd the German submarine U-443 off Algiers. During May she blockaded shipping off the Tunisian coast, thereby preventing them from making a run for Sicily and Sardinia. In July she was involved in operation Husky. When the attack on the Italian mainland began, Lamerton was heavily involved in warding off air attacks in the Straits of Messina. In September 1943, after the surrender of Italy, she was engaged in operations off the Yugoslavian coast. On 21 September 1945, Lamerton entered the Selborne dry dock at Simonstown, South Africa and commenced refitting. On 9 November 1945 she was undocked. On 27 April 1953 Lamerton was lent to the RIN for a period of three years on condition that she could be returned on request, should an emergency occur. She was renamed Gomati on 5 May Later she was purchased from Britain. Gomati was paid off in 1975. Commanding Officers: Lt.Cdr. Cuthbert Richard Purse, DSC, RN Lt.Cdr. Gordon Thomas Seccombe Gray, DSC, RN A/Lt.Cdr. Robert Angus Martin Hennessy, RN |
Commands listed for HMS Lamerton (L 88)
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| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. Hugh Crofton Simms, RN | 10 Jun 1941 | 11 Dec 1941 |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Cuthbert Richard Purse, DSC, RN | 11 Dec 1941 | 30 Nov 1943 |
| 3 | Lt.Cdr. Gordon Thomas Seccombe Gray, RN | 30 Nov 1943 | 26 Feb 1945 |
| 4 | A/Lt.Cdr. Robert Angus Martin Hennessy, RN | 26 Feb 1945 | Oct 1945 ? |
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Noteable events involving Lamerton include:
24 Oct 1941
HMS Lamerton (Lt.Cdr. H.C. Simms, RN) picks up 7 survivors from the British merchant Ariosto that was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-564 about 300 nautical miles west of Gibraltar in position 36º20'N, 10º50'W.
25 Oct 1941
The Italian submarine Ferraris was damaged by bombing from a British Catalina aircraft (Sqdn. 202/A) and was unable to dive. The British escort destroyer HMS Lamerton (Lt.Cdr. H.C. Simms, RN) rushed to the scene and after a long gun duel Ferraris was scuttled east of the Azores in position 37º07'N, 14º19'W.
23 Feb 1943
The German submarine U-443 was sunk in the Mediterranean near Algiers, in position 36º55'N, 02º25'E, by depth charges from the British escort destroyers HMS Bicester (Lt.Cdr. S.W.F. Bennetts, RN) and HMS Lamerton (Lt.Cdr. C.R. Purse, DSC, RN), HMS Wheatland (Lt.Cdr. R.deL. Brooke, DSC, RN). (see map)