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Allied Warships

HMS Woodruff (K 53)

Corvette of the Flower class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeCorvette
ClassFlower 
PennantK 53 
Built byWilliam Simons & Co. Ltd. (Renfrew, Scotland) 
Ordered21 Sep, 1939 
Laid down29 Apr, 1940 
Launched28 Feb, 1941 
Commissioned7 Apr, 1941 
End service 
Loss position
 
History

Sold in 1947 and became the merchantile Southern Lupin in 1948.
Sold to Salvesen 1948 and refitted as bouy-boat at Clelands Ltd., Willington Quay in Tyne in September 1948.
Last season as whaler was 1953/1954. Sold to shipbreakers in Odense in 1959.

Commanding Officers:
Lt. Richard Valentine Smith, RNR
17 December 1940 – 23 April 1941

Lt. T. Muir, RNVR
23 April 1941 – 28 February 1942

A/Lt.Cdr. Francis Harden Gray, RNR
28 February 1942 - ???

Lt. T. Muir, RNVR
??? – September 1944

Lt. William Kilvington Tadman, RNR
September 1944 – still in command in July 1945 according to the Navy List
RD awarded on 12 June 1945

HMS Woodruff is not listed as active unit in the October 1945 Navy List 


Noteable events involving Woodruff include:

21 May, 1942
HMS Woodruff (A/Lt.Cdr. F.H. Gray, RNR) scuttles the British tanker Montenol with gunfire. The Montenol was torpedoed and damaged by the German submarine U-159 about 140 nautical miles east-south-east of Santa Maria, Azores in position 36º41'N, 22º45'W.

HMS Woodruff also picks up 5 survivors from the British merchant New Brunswick that was also torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-159 about 140 nautical miles east-south-east of Santa Maria, Azores in position 36º53'N, 22º55'W.

27 Oct, 1942
The British merchant Stentor is torpedoed and sunk north-west of the Canary Islands in position 29º13'N, 20º53'W by the German submarine U-509. 207 survivors were picked up by HMS Woodruff (A/Lt.Cdr. F.H. Gray, RNR).


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