Allied Warships

HMS Skipjack (J 38)

Minesweeper of the Halcyon class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeMinesweeper
ClassHalcyon 
PennantJ 38 
ModFirst group 
Built byJohn Brown Shipbuilding & Engineering Company Ltd. (Clydebank, Scotland) 
Ordered3 Nov 1932 
Laid down4 Apr 1933 
Launched18 Jan 1934 
Commissioned3 May 1934 
Lost1 Jun 1940 
Loss position51° 03'N, 2° 24'E
History

HMS Skipjack (Lt.Cdr. Francis Babington Proudfoot, RN (retired)) was bombed and sunk off Dunkirk, France in position 51º03'N, 02º24'E by German aircraft.

 

Commands listed for HMS Skipjack (J 38)

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and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Lt.Cdr. (retired) Francis Babington Proudfoot, RN15 Jun 19391 Jun 1940

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Notable events involving Skipjack include:


1 Jun 1940
HMS Skipjack (Lt.Cdr. F.B. Proudfoot, RN (retired)) was subjected to intensive bombing by a force of German bombers off La Panne (Belgium). HMS Skipjack was assisting in the evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk. On board HMS Skipjack were between 250 and 300 soldiers just rescued from the beach. (1)

2 Jul 1940
HMS H 49 (Lt. M.A. Langley, RN) shifted from Harwich to Dover. According to the log of HMS H 49 she was escorted by HMS Skipjack. But HMS Skipjack was lost on 1 June 1940 so this can't be correct.

Also according to the log of HMS H 49, HMS Spurs (T/Lt. R.S. Connell, RNR) took over the escort at 1800 hours. (2)

Sources

  1. Personal communication
  2. ADM 173/16325

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


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