Allied Warships

HMS Coral (T 07)

ASW Trawler

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeASW Trawler
Class[No specific class] 
PennantT 07 
Built byCochrane & Sons Shipbuilders Ltd. (Selby, U.K.) 
Ordered 
Laid down 
Launched7 Feb 1935 
CommissionedJan 1939 
Lost13 Apr 1942 
History

Completed in March 1935.
Taken over by the Admiralty in January 1939.
Displacement: 705 tons.
Armament: 1 4" gun.

 

Commands listed for HMS Coral (T 07)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Mid. Frank Harvey Walton, RNRDec 1940Jun 1941
2Lt. Malcolm Christopher English, RNRJun 194113 Apr 1942

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Notable events involving Coral include:


7 Sep 1939
HMS Salmon (Lt.Cdr. E.O. Bickford, RN) conducted exercises off Alexandria. These exercises included an A/S exercise with HMS Coral and HMS Moonstone (Lt. W.J.H. Moorman, RN). Later on the day she made a practice attack on HMS Devonshire (Capt. J.M. Mansfield, DSC, RN, flying the flag of Vice-Admiral J.H.D. Cunningham, CB, MVO, RN) who was conducting 4" gunnery exercises off Alexandria. (1)

8 Sep 1939
HMS Salmon (Lt.Cdr. E.O. Bickford, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Alexandria with HMS Coral and HMS Moonstone (Lt. W.J.H. Moorman, RN). (2)

9 Sep 1939
HMS Snapper (Lt. W.D.A. King, RN) conducted exercises off Alexandria. These exercises included an A/S exercise with HMS Coral and HMS Moonstone (Lt. W.J.H. Moorman, RN) and later with HMS Jade and HMS Beryl. (3)

11 Sep 1939
HMS Salmon (Lt.Cdr. E.O. Bickford, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Alexandria with HMS Coral and HMS Moonstone (Lt. W.J.H. Moorman, RN). (2)

12 Sep 1939
HMS Snapper (Lt. W.D.A. King, RN) conducted exercises off Alexandria. These exercises included A/S exercises with HMS Coral and HMS Beryl. (3)

14 Sep 1939
HMS Salmon (Lt.Cdr. E.O. Bickford, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Alexandria with HMS Coral and HMS Beryl. (2)

14 Dec 1939
HMS Otway (Cdr. H.R. Conway, RN) conducted exercises off Malta together with HMS Ouse and HMS Coral. (4)

21 Dec 1939
HMS Otway (Cdr. H.R. Conway, RN) conducted exercises off Malta. This included a practice attack on HMS Malaya (Capt. I.B.B. Tower, DSC, RN) and A/S exercises with HMS HMS Coral and HMS Beryl. (4)

17 Jun 1940
HMS Diamond (Lt.Cdr. P.A. Cartwright, RN) was near missed and slightly damaged during an Italian air raid on Malta.

Also on this day HMS Diamond and the ASW trawler HMS Coral claim to have sunk an enemy submarine in position 3.8 nautical miles, 92°, from St. Elmo Lighthouse.

18 Jun 1940
HMS Diamond (Lt.Cdr. P.A. Cartwright, RN) searched near Malta for the missing submarine HMS Grampus (Lt.Cdr. C.A. Rowe, RN). (5)

4 May 1941
Coral was stationed at Malta with ASW duties and was sunk, along with HMS Fermoy, while inside #3 Dock in Valletta harbour, in the course of a heavy air attack brought in the night of 4-5 May by the German planes of X Fliegerkorps.
The planes deployed that night were 16 Ju-87s of II/St.G.1, 15 He.111 of II/KG.26 and 11 He.111 of 2/KG.4 and 5/KG/4. due to the location, Coral was easily refloated and repairs carried out.

31 Oct 1941
During the night a raid against naval targets was made by Italian planes from Sicily. The attacking formation included 4 Ju-87 of the 101st Gruppo Bombardamento a Tuffo and 8 Br.20 of the 37th Stormo Bombardamento terrestre.
Coral, then anchored in French Creek, sustained several hits and sank. She was again raised but found to be beyond repairs and eventually scrapped in Valletta during 1943.

Sources

  1. ADM 53/ 108301 + ADM 173/16021
  2. ADM 173/16021
  3. ADM 173/16103
  4. ADM 173/15881
  5. ADM 199/387

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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