Navy | The Royal Navy |
Type | Motor Launch |
Class | Fairmile B |
Pennant | ML 129 |
Built by | Mashford Brothers (Cremyll, England, U.K.) |
Ordered | 8 Jan 1940 |
Laid down | |
Launched | |
Commissioned | 14 Oct 1940 |
Lost | 22 Mar 1942 |
History | Bombed and sunk off the Algerian coast on 22 March 1942 |
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Notable events involving ML 129 include:
12 Apr 1941
HMS Kashmir (Cdr. H.A. King, RN) and HMS Jackal (Lt.Cdr. R.McC.P. Jonas, DSC, RN) departed Plymouth to escort the 3rd ML flotilla on their passage from the U.K. to Gibraltar. This flotilla was made up of the following ML's; ML 121, ML 129, ML 130, ML 132, ML 134, ML 135 and ML 168.
17 Apr 1941
HMS Kashmir (Cdr. H.A. King, RN), HMS Jackal (Lt.Cdr. R.McC.P. Jonas, DSC, RN) and the the ML's of the 3rd ML flotilla; ML 121, ML 129, ML 130, ML 132, ML 134, ML 135 and ML 168 arrived at Gibraltar.
26 May 1941
Convoy OG 63.
This convoy was assembled to the west of the North Channel on 26 May 1941 and was made up of ships from four sections; the Milford Haven, Liverpool, Clyde and Oban sections.
The Milford Haven section (sailed 24 May 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels; Dimitrios Inglessis (Greek, 5275 GRT, built 1918), Disa (Swedish, 2002 GRT, built 1918), Fjord (Norwegian, 4032 GRT, built 1914), Katvaldis (British, 3163 GRT, built 1907), Lapwing (British, 1449 GRT, built 1920), Osric (Swedish, 1418 GRT, built 1919), Pandis (Greek, 4981 GRT, built 1912) and Pelayo (British, 1346 GRT, built 1927). They were escorted by the escort destroyers HMS Vivien (Lt.Cdr. S.H. Beattie, RN), HMS Woolston (Lt.Cdr. K.W. Michell, RN) and the A/S trawler HMS Paynter (Lt. R.H. Nossiter, RANVR).
The Liverpool section (sailed 25 May 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels; Avoceta (British, 3442 GRT, built 1923), Empire Dunlin (British, 6323 GRT, built 1919), Leonidas N. Condylis (Greek, 3923 GRT, built 1912), Lublin (Polish, 1409 GRT, built 1932), Marionga D. Thermiotis (Greek, 4784 GRT, built 1904), Solitaire (Norwegian, 3350 GRT, built 1920) and Vernon City (British, 4748 GRT, built 1929). With them the destroyers HMS Vanquisher (Cdr. N.V. Dickinson, DSC, RN), HMS Winchelsea (Lt.Cdr. W.A.F. Hawkins, OBE, DSC, RN), HMS Reading (Lt.Cdr. D.V. Clift, RN) and the corvettes HMS Hibiscus (Lt. H. Roach, RNR) and HMS Pimpernel (Lt. F.H. Thornton, RNR) also departed Liverpool. With the Liverpool section the M/S trawlers HMS Runswick Bay (T/Lt. S. Sparrow, RNVR) and HMS St. Melante (T/A/Lt.Cdr. L.C. Gilbert, RNR) also sailed for passage to the South Atlantic Station via Gibraltar.
From Preston the following merchant vessels sailed on the 25th; Como (British, 1295 GRT, built 1910), Cortes (British, 1390 GRT, built 1919) and Erato (British, 1335 GRT, built 1923).
The Milford Haven section, Liverpool section and Preston section joined company around 1820B/25.
On the 26th, HMS Vivien, HMS Woolston and HMS Paynter arrived at Belfast.
The Clyde section (sailed 26 May 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels; Christine Marie (British, 3895 GRT, built 1919), Delilian (British, 6423 GRT, built 1923), Glen Head (British, 2011 GRT, built 1909), King Edward (British, 5224 GRT, built 1919), Mars (Dutch, 1662 GRT, built 1925) and Taberg (Swedish, 1392 GRT, built 1920). The sloop HMS Wellington (Lt.Cdr. W.F.R. Segrave, RN) and armed boarding vessel HMS Corinthian (A/Cdr. E.J.R. Pollitt, RNR) also sailed with the Clyde section.
The Oban section (sailed 26 May 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels; Baron Lovat (British, 3395 GRT, built 1926), Belgravian (British, 3136 GRT, built 1937), Blairdevon (British, 3282 GRT, built 1925), Campus (British, 3667 GRT, built 1925), Dago II (British, 1993 GRT, built 1917), Empire Brook (British, 2852 GRT, built 1941), Empire Strait (British, 2841 GRT, built 1940), Shuna (British, 1575 GRT, built 1937), Tintern Abbey (British, 2471 GRT, built 1939), Waziristan (British, 5135 GRT, built 1924) and William Wilberforce (British, 4013 GRT, built 1930).
Around the time of the final assembly of the convoy the destroyers HMS Reading, HMS Vanquisher and HMS Winchelsea topped off with fuel at Londonderry while the corvette HMS Freesia (Lt.Cdr. T.P.G. Crick, RN) also joined having departed Londonderry on 27 April.
HMS Vanquisher however arrived back at Londonderry on 29 May 1941 after having parted company with the convoy.
Around 0800A/30, in position 51°00'N, 21°40'W, HMS Reading, HMS Winchelsea, HMS Freesia, HMS Hibiscus and HMS Pimpernel parted company with the convoy.
Around 1130A/30, in position 50°50'N, 21°40'W, ships with destinations in North America and Caribbean parted company. This were the following merchant vessels; Blairdevon (arrived at Clarke City on 9 June), Campus (arrived at Three Rivers on 9 June), Delilian (arrived at Quebec on 9 June), Dimitrios Inglessis (arrived at Montreal on 10 June), Empire Dunlin (arrived at Philadelphia on 13 June), Fjord (arrived at Wabana on 11 June), Katvaldis (arrived at Halifax on 9 June), King Edward (arrived at Three Rivers on 11 June), Marionga D. Thermiotis (arrived at Sorel on 11 June), Solitaire (arrived at New York on 15 June) and Vernon City (arrived at Philadelphia on 13 June).
Around 1900A/1, in position 44°00'N, 21°30'W, ships with destinations in the South Atlantic area parted company. This were the following merchant vessels; Belgravian (arrived at Bathurst on 9 June [which seem a bit fast !?]), Christine Marie (arrived at Freetown on 18 June), Dago II (arrived at Bathurst on 13 June), Leonidas N. Condylis (arrived at Freetown on 14 June), Mars (arrived at Bathurst on 13 June), Waziristan (arrived at Pernambuco on 19 June) and William Wilberforce (arrived at Freetown on 13 June).
Around 2330A/1, the submarine HrMs O 23 (Lt.Cdr. G.B.M. van Erkel, RNN) and A/S trawler HMS Lady Hogarth (T/Lt. S.G. Barnes, RNR) joined the convoy.
At 1825A/5, the Italian submarine Velella sighted and reported the convoy in position 35°38'N, 11°22'W.
At 2312A/5, the Italian submarine Marconi also sighted the convoy.
At 0422A/6, the Marconi commenced to attack the convoy. A total of 6 (3x2) torpedoes were fired and the merchant vessels Baron Lovat and Taberg were hit and sunk in these attacks.
At 0604A/6, the Velella also attacked with torpedoes but no hits were obtained. Following this attack she was fired upon by HMS Wellington which claimed a hit near the conning tower but this was not the case.
At 0825A/6, a German Focke Wulf Condor aircraft attacked the convoy in position 35°58'N, 10°35'W, and managed to hit the merchant vessel Glen Head with one ore more bombs. She sank in two minutes.
At 1016A/6, the Italian submarine Emo sighted the smoke of a convoy in position 35°45'N, 10°15'W and six minutes later she sent out an enemy report. The submarine then closed to the attack.
At 1400A/6, in position 35°53'N, 09°46'W, the Emo made a submerged attack in which two torpedoes were fired and two ships were claimed sunk but this was not the case. The Tintern Abbey was in fact hit in No.4 hold but the torpedo failed to explode and only caused a small leak. HMS Wellington and HMS Lady Hogarth then searched for the attacked but were unable to gain contact.
Around 2045A/6, the motor launches ML 129 and ML 134 joined the convoy escort and were placed on either beam of the convoy.
Around 0140A/7, the corvette HMS Azalea (Lt. G.C. Geddes, RNR) joined the convoy escort.
Around 0600A/7, the motor launches ML 132 and ML 135 joined the convoy escort.
Around 0842A/7, the destroyer HMS Wrestler (Lt. E.L. Jones, DSC, RN) joined the convoy escort. She parted company around 1237A/7.
Around 1240A/7, near Cape Trafalgar, the following merchant vessels parted company with the convoy to proceed directly to ports in Portugal and south-west Spain. This were the following merchant vessels; Cortes (arrived at Lisbon on 9 June), Empire Strait (arrived at Lisbon on 8 June), Erato (arrived at Oporto on 9 June), Osric (arrived at Lisbon on 9 June) and Shuna (arrived at Huelva on 8 June).
The remainder of the convoy arrived at Gibraltar around 1630A/7. (1)
4 Jun 1941
Convoy HG 64.
This convoy departed Gibraltar on 4 June 1941.
On departure from Gibraltar the convoy was made up of the following merchant vessels; Algerian (British, 2315 GRT, built 1924), Ardeola (British, 2609 GRT, built 1912), Ariosto (British, 2176 GRT, built 1940), Baron Kelvin (British, 3081 GRT, built 1924), Blairatholl (British, 3319 GRT, built 1925), British Coast (British, 889 GRT, built 1934), Caledonia (British, 1268 GRT, built 1913), Cara (British, 1760 GRT, built 1929), Empire Bay (British, 2824 GRT, built 1940), Empire Snipe (British, 2497 GRT, built 1919), Indra (Panamanian, 2026 GRT, built 1900), Kellwyn (British, 1464 GRT, built 1920), Lapland (British, 1330 GRT, built 1936), Leadgate (British, 2125 GRT, built 1925), Leka (Norwegian, 1599 GRT, built 1922), Leonardia (Swedish, 1583 GRT, built 1906), Lissa (British, 1511 GRT, built 1927), Magne (Swedish, 3103 GRT, built 1912), Mount Helikon (Greek, 5525 GRT, built 1918), Philipp M. (British, 2085 GRT, built 1924), Polo (British, 1950 GRT, built 1919), Selene (Swedish, 1347 GRT, built 1894) and Sheaf Crown (British, 4868 GRT, built 1929).
The Thursobank (British, 5575 GRT, built 1940) was also to have sailed with the convoy but was unable to do so. She sailed later to overtake and join the convoy escorted by the corvette HMS Woodruff (T/Lt. T. Muir, RNVR) which also joined the convoy.
On departure from Gibraltar the convoy was escorted by the sloop HMS Bideford (Lt.Cdr. W.J. Moore, RNR), corvettes HMS Coreopsis (Lt.Cdr. A.H. Davies, RNVR), HMS Fleur de Lys (Lt.Cdr. L.M. Carter, RNR), A/S trawler HMS Stella Carina (Lt. R. Lockwood, RANVR) and the submarine HrMs O 21 (Lt.Cdr. J.F. van Dulm, RNN).
Around 1130A/4, the motor launches ML 129 (?) and ML 134 (?) joined the convoy escort.
In the afternoon the Indra straggled from the convoy being unable to keep up.
Around 2200A/4, in position 35°20'N, 07°08'W, both motor launches were detached to return to Gibraltar.
Around 1300A/5, in position 37°42'N, 09°08'W, HMS Woodruff and the Thursobank joined the convoy.
Around 0015A/6, the Italian submarine Veniero twice fired a torpedo on ships of the convoy. The Ariosto reported being missed.
Around 0130A/6, in position 34°18'N, 10°47'W, HMS Stella Carina frustrated the attack of an enemy submarine on the convoy. She had sighted the submarine on the surface up moon after the convoy had altered course. This must have been Veniero. HMS Bideford and HMS Coreopsis joined the trawler to hunt this submarine. The escorts resumed their stations in the convoy screen around 0330A/6.
Later that morning, in position 34°18'N, 12°00'W, HMS Woodruff was detached to proceed to Bathurst. Shortly afterwards she was however ordered to remain with the convoy until it reached 15°00'W. She did not rejoin the convoy though.
At 1153A/6, in position 34°17'N, 13°20'W, HMS Stella Carina attacked a contact with depth charges. A good contact could not be established afterwards due to problems with the Asdic. HMS Bideford and HMS Fleur the Lys joined the hunt while HMS Coreopsis remained with the convoy.
By 1405A/6, they all rejoined the convoy after HMS Bideford and HMS Fleur the Lys had established a contact they had identified as 'fish'.
Around 0200Z/10, HrMs O 21 lost contact with the convoy in dense fog. She rejoined around 1115Z/10. During her absence she had sighted the straggler Indra which did not want to rejoin the convoy and preferred to make the passage independently.
Around 2200Z/10, in position 40°22'N, 22°10'W, HMS Stella Carina parted company to return to Gibraltar.
Around 1800Z/11, HMS Coreopsis, HMS Fleur de Lys and HrMs O 21 parted company to join convoy OG 64 coming from the U.K.
Around 1300Z/14, in position 50°30'N, 22°06'W, the armed boarding vessel HMS Malvernian (Cdr. J.W.B. Robertson, RNR) joined the convoy.
Around 0800Z/14, in position 55°40'N, 20°21'W, the destroyer HMS Walker (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO, RN) and corvettes HMS Hydrangea (Lt. J.E. Woolfenden, RNR) and HMS Wallflower (Lt.Cdr. I.J. Tyson, RN) joined the convoy followed at 1300Z/14 by the destroyer HMS Skate (Lt. F.P. Baker, DSC, RN) and the armed boarding vessel HMS Lady Somers (Cdr. G.L. Dunbar, RD, RNR) joined.
Around 2345A/17, in position 55°40'N, 08°37'W, the Oban section of the convoy split off. This section was made up of the following merchant vessels; Kellwyn, Lapland, Leka, Magne, Sheaf Crown and Thursobank. They took HMS Skate with them as escort. These merchant vessels arrived at Oban later on the 18th. Around the same time HMS Walker parted company to proceed to Londonderry to fuel and then rejoin the convoy which she did around 0930A/18.
Around 0630A/18, in position 55°37'N, 06°57'W, HMS Hydrangea parted company to join the Oban section as HMS Skate had been ordered to proceed to the assistance of the of the torpedoed merchant vessel Norfolk. HMS Skate picked up the survivors and arrived at Londonderry on 19 June 1941.
On 18 June 1941, the following merchant vessels arrived at Belfast Lough; Algerian, Baron Kelvin, British Coast and Mount Helikon.
On 18 June 1941, the following merchant vessels arrived in the Clyde; Blairatholl, Leadgate and Leonardia. Also HMS Malverian, HMS Lady Somers and HMS Wallflower arrived in the Clyde.
On 19 June 1941, the following merchant vessels arrived at Workington; Empire Bay and Philipp M..
On 19 June 1941, the following merchant vessels arrived at Barrow in Furness; Caledonia, Cara and Lissa.
On 19 June 1941, the following merchant vessels arrived at Liverpool; Ardeola, Ariosto, Empire Snipe, Polo and Selene. HMS Walker and HMS Bideford also arrived at Liverpool on the 19th. (2)
Sources
- ADM 199/661 + ADM 199/1142
- ADM 199/932
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.