| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Ocean boarding vessel |
| Class | [No specific class] |
| Pennant | F 87 |
| Built by | Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd. (Dundee, Scotland) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | |
| Launched | 17 Dec 1929 |
| Commissioned | 11 Nov 1940 |
| End service | 7 Apr 1942 |
| History | Passenger/cargo vessel completed in May 1930. Requisitioned by the Admiralty on 7 August 1940. Displacement: 6487 GRT. Dimensions: 132 x 17.2. Armament: 2 6" guns (2x1), 1 12pdr AA gun, 4 .303" MG AA (4x1). Speed: 14.5 knots. Decommissioned on 7 April 1942 and returned to her owner. At 1555 hours on 13 November 1942, the German submarine U-81 fired two torpedoes at a convoy of four freighters and five escorts returning from Operation Torch northwest of Oran, Algeria. They heard two detonations after about three minutes and claimed one ship sunk and another damaged. The Maron (Master David Hey) was probably hit by both torpedoes and sank. The master, 67 crew members and 13 gunners were picked up by HMS Marigold (Lt. J.A.S. Halcrow, RNR) and landed at Gibraltar. |
Commands listed for HMS Maron (F 87)
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.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Cdr. (retired) John Hamilton Blair, DSC, RD, RNR | 17 Sep 1940 | 7 Apr 1942 |
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Notable events involving Maron include:
30 Jan 1941
Convoy SLS 64.
This convoy departed Freetown on 30 January 1941 for the U.K.
The convoy was made up of the following merchant vessels; Anna Mazaraki (Greek, 5411 GRT, built 1913), Blairatholl (British, 3319 GRT, built 1925), Borgestad (Norwegian, 3924 GRT, built 1924), Bur (Norwegian, 4343 GRT, built 1917), Clunepark (British, 3491 GRT, built 1928), Derrynane (British, 4896 GRT, built 1938), Empire Energy (British, 6589 GRT, built 1923), Kalliopi (British, 4965 GRT, built 1910), Lornaston (British, 4934 GRT, built 1925), Margot (British, 4545 GRT, built 1926), Nailsea Lass (British, 4289 GRT, built 1917), Oswestry Grange (British, 4684 GRT, built 1935), Perseus (Greek, 5172 GRT, built 1919), Polyktor (Greek, 4077 GRT, built 1914), Shrewsbury (British, 4542 GRT, built 1924), Varangberg (Norwegian, 2842 GRT, built 1915), Volturno (British, 3420 GRT, built 1914), Warlaby (British, 4875 GRT, built 1927) and Westbury (British, 4712 GRT, built 1928).
The convoy was not escorted.
On 12 February 1941, the convoy was intercepted east of the Azores in approximate position 37°10'N, 21°20'W by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, which managed to sink the following merchant vessels; Borgestad, Derrynane, Oswestry Grange, Shrewsbury, Warlaby, Westbury, and Perseus. The Lornaston sustained heavy damage and Kalliopi sustained light damage. The Lornaston went to Ponta Delgada where she arrived on the 18th. The Kalliopi arrived at Gibraltar on the 18th.
The convoy scattered on being attacked.
The Ocean Boarding Vessels HMS Camito (Lt.Cdr. A.A. Barnet, RNR), HMS Cavina (Cdr. C.B. Osborne, RD, RNR), HMS Corinthian (A/Cdr. E.J.R. Pollitt, RNR) and HMS Maron (Cdr. (Retd.) J.H. Blair, DSC, RD, RNR) were ordered to the area to search for survivors.
Also the light cruiser HMS Sheffield (Capt. C.A.A. Larcom, RN) was ordered to the area to provide cover for the remaining ships.
On 24 February, the Nailsea Lass was torpedoed and sunk south-south-west of Ireland by the German submarine U-48.
30 May 1941
Convoy SL 76.
This convoy departed Freetown on 30 May 1941 for the U.K.
The convoy was made up of the following merchant vessels; Albion Star (British, 7946 GRT, built 1919), Anadyr (British, 5321 GRT, built 1930), Asphalion (British, 6274 GRT, built 1924), Bactria (British, 2407 GRT, built 1928), Bennevis (British, 5356 GRT, built 1918), Bothnia (British, 2407 GRT, built 1928), Calabria (British, 1277 GRT, built 1916), Cape of Good Hope (British, 4963 GRT, built 1925), Capo Olmo (British, 4712 GRT, built 1923), Cathrine (British, 2727 GRT, built 1919), Clan MacPherson (British, 6940 GRT, built 1929), Clan Murray (British, 5953 GRT, built 1918), Dahomian (British, 5277 GRT, built 1929), Diomed (British, 10374 GRT, built 1922), Djurdjura (British, 3460 GRT, built 1922), Eirini Kyriaidgou (Greek, 3781 GRT, built 1922), Elswick Park (British, 4138 GRT, built 1920), English Trader (British, 3953 GRT, built 1934), Glenapp (British, 9503 GRT, built 1920), Gudrun Maersk (British, 2294 GRT, built 1937), Hamla (British, 4416 GRT, built 1929), Hampton Lodge (British, 3645 GRT, built 1911), Harbury (British, 5081 GRT, built 1933), Hatasu (British, 3198 GRT, built 1921), Kana (British, 2783 GRT, built 1929), Kerma (British, 4333 GRT, built 1928), Kiruna (Swedish, 5484 GRT, built 1921), Lackenby (British, 5112 GRT, built 1928), Lafian (British, 4876 GRT, built 1937), Lerwick (British, 5626 GRT, built 1938), Leto (Dutch, 4712 GRT, built 1929), Macgregor (British, 2498 GRT, built 1919), Magdala (Dutch (tanker), 8248 GRT, built 1931), Marylyn (British, 4555 GRT, built 1930), Miguel de Larrinaga (British, 5231 GRT, built 1924), Montferland (Dutch, 5790 GRT, built 1921), New Brunswick (British, 6529 GRT, built 1919), Observer (British, 5881 GRT, built 1928), Ogmore Castle (British, 2481 GRT, built 1919), Orfor (British, 6578 GRT, built 1921), Peebles (British, 4982 GRT, built 1936), Rinos (Greek, 4649 GRT, built 1919), River Afton (British, 5479 GRT, built 1935), Rothley (British, 4996 GRT, built 1936), Sheridan (British, 4665 GRT, built 1918), Silverlaurel (British, 6142 GRT, built 1939), Sitoebondo (Dutch, 7049 GRT, built 1916), St. Clair II (British, 3753 GRT, built 1929), Steaua Romana (British (tanker), 5311 GRT, built 1914), Sutherland (British, 5170 GRT, built 1940), Tantalus (British, 7724 GRT, built 1923), Teucer (British, 9079 GRT, built 1906), Thode Fagelund (Norwegian, 5757 GRT, built 1920), Ella (British, 1575 GRT, built 1930), Umvuma (British, 4419 GRT, built 1914) and Weirbank (British, 5150 GRT, built 1925).
On departure from Freetown the convoy was escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Moreton Bay (Capt.(Retd.) C.C. Bell, RN) and the corvettes HMS Amaranthus (Lt. N.B.J. Stapleton, RNR), HMS Asphodel (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) K.W. Stewart, RN), HMS Clematis (Cdr. Y.M. Cleeves, DSC, RD, RNR) and HMS Columbine (T/Lt. S.J. Lavis, RNR).
At 1410N/1, HMS Amaranthus parted company with the convoy.
At 2320N/1, HMS Clematis parted company with the convoy.
At 2010N/4, the destroyer HMS Velox (Lt.Cdr. E.G. Roper, DSC, RN) joined the escort of the convoy.
At 1800N/6, HMS Velox parted company with the convoy.
At 0600N/7, HMS Asphodel and HMS Columbine parted company with the convoy.
Around 1200Z/10, the heavy cruiser HMS Cumberland (Capt. G.H.E. Russell, RN) joined the convoy escort.
In the early hours of 13 June the convoy was attacked by the Italian submarine Benedetto Brin which managed to sink two merchant vessels; the Djurdjura and the Eirini Kyriakides
At 1855/13, the convoy was joined by the corvettes HMS Coreopsis (Lt.Cdr. A.H. Davies, RNVR) and HMS Fleur de Lys (Lt.Cdr. L.M. Carter, RNR).
During the morning of the 14th, HMS Coreopsis and HMS Fleur de Lys fuelled from HMS Fleur de Lys.
During the fuelling of the corvettes the light cruiser HMS Sheffield (Capt. C.A.A. Larcom, RN) joined around 1130Z/14.
At 1030Z/16, the armed boarding vessel HMS Corinthian (A/Cdr. E.J.R. Pollitt, RNR) joined.
At 1600Z/16, the armed boarding vessel Maron (Cdr. (Retd.) J.H. Blair, DSC, RD, RNR) joined.
At 1630Z/16, the destroyers HMS Roxborough (Lt. V.A. Wight-Boycott, OBE, RN) and ORP Piorun (Cdr. S. Hryniewiecki) joined.
At 2200Z/16, HMS Cumberland and HMS Sheffield parted company with the convoy.
In the early hours of the 17th the merchant vessel Cathrine, which had straggled from the convoy, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-43.
At 1730Z/18, the destroyer HMS Westcott (Cdr. I.H. Bockett-Pugh, RN) and the corvettes HMS Auricula (T/Lt. W.W. White, RNR), HMS Marigold (T/Lt. J. Renwick, RNR) and HMS Periwinkle (Lt.Cdr. P.G. MacIver, RNR) joined.
At 1740Z/18, HMS Coreopsis and HMS Fleur de Lys parted company.
At 0620A/19, the destroyer HMS Wanderer (Cdr. A.F.St.G. Orpen, RN) and the corvettes HMS Freesia (Lt.Cdr. T.P.G. Crick, RN) and HMS Hibiscus (Lt. H. Roach, RNR) joined.
At 2000A/19, HMS Roxborough parted company.
On 21 June 1941 the convoy arrived in British waters.
In the early hours of 22 June the Swedish merchant vessel Calabria, a straggler of convoy SL 76, was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-141.