Allied Warships

HMS Holcombe (L 56)

Escort destroyer of the Hunt (Type III) class

Navy	The Royal Navy
Type	Escort destroyer
Class	Hunt (Type III)
Pennant	L 56
Built by	A. Stephen & Sons Ltd. (Glasgow, Scotland)
Ordered
Laid down	3 Mar 1941
Launched	14 Apr 1942
Commissioned	17 Sep 1942
Lost	12 Dec 1943
Loss position	37.20N, 05.30E (See a map)

History	At 1445hours on 12 December 1943, HMS Holcombe (Lt. Frank Maclear Graves, RN) was hit by a Gnat torpedo from the German submarine U-593 and sank north-east of Bougie, Algeria in position 37º20'N, 05º30'E. 83 members of her crew went down with the ship. The survivors were picked up by the US destroyer USS Niblack. Earlier that day, the U-boat had sunk her sistership HMS Tynedale. Commanding Officers: Lt.Cdr. Sidney Hugh Pinchin, DSC, RN 20 June 1942 - 16 August 1943 Promoted to Cdr. on 30 June 1943 Lt. Frank Maclear Graves, RN 16 August 1943 - 12 December 1943 Hit by U-boat Sunk on 12 Dec 1943 by U-593 (Kelbling).

Commands listed for HMS Holcombe (L 56)

Please note that we're still working on this section.

	Commander	From	To
1	Lt.Cdr. Sidney Hugh Pinchin, DSC, RN	20 Jun 1942	16 Aug 1943
2	Lt. Frank Maclear Graves, RN	16 Aug 1943	12 Dec 1943

You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.

Return to the Allied Warships section