| Navy | The Royal Indian Navy |
| Type | Minesweeper |
| Class | Bathurst |
| Pennant | J 243 |
| Built by | Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co. Ltd. (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) |
| Ordered | 24 Sep 1940 |
| Laid down | 3 Dec 1941 |
| Launched | 28 May 1942 |
| Commissioned | 8 Aug 1942 |
| End service | 1960 |
| History | Decommissioned in 1960. |
Commands listed for HMIS Bengal (J 243)
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 | T/A/Lt.Cdr. William Joseph Wilson, RINR | < 8 Aug 42 | 1 Dec 1942 | |
| 2 | Lt. George Meredith Hart, RINR | 2 Feb 1943 | 11 Sep 1943 | |
| 3 | T/Lt. Upkar Jummy Singh Chopra, RINR | 11 Sep 1943 | 24 Jun 1944 | |
| 4 | T/A/Lt.Cdr. Legh Russell Moore, RNR | 24 Jun 1944 | 11 Sep 1944 | |
| 5 | T/A/Lt.Cdr. Wilfred Langley Scurr, RINVR | 11 Sep 1944 | ca.early46 | |
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Notable events involving Bengal include:
11 Nov 1942
HMIS Bengal (T/A/Lt.Cdr. W.J. Wilson, RINR) took part in a battle between her and a Dutch tanker versus two Japanese raiders. Read more about this battle on this website (offsite link).
10 Nov 1943
Combined convoys AB 20(F) / AB 20(S) / AP 52.
They departed Aden on 10 November 1943.
Convoy AP 52.
This convoy was made up of the following tankers / transports;
Aedanus Burke (American, 7191 GRT, built 1943),
American Press (American, 6778 GRT, built 1941),
Corilla (Dutch (tanker), 8096 GRT, built 1939),
Diplodon (British (tanker), 8149 GRT, built 1041),
Empire Envoy (British, 7046 GRT, built 1942),
Empire Miranda (British, 7054 GRT, built 1943),
Empire Symbol (British, 7027 GRT, built 1943),
Ena (Dutch (tanker), 6229 GRT, built 1936),
Convoy AP 52 was escorted by the minesweepers HMAS Geraldton (Cdr.(Retd.) H.M. Harris, RNR) and HMIS Bengal (T/Lt. U.J.S. Chopra, RINR).
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Convoy AB 20F (fast).
This convoy was made up of the following (troop) transports; Bergensfjord (Norwegian, 11015 GRT, built 1913), City of Agra (British, 6361 GRT, built 1936), City of Dieppe (British, 7958 GRT, built 1929), Mooltan (British, 20952 GRT, built 1923), Sobieski (Polish, 11030 GRT, built 1939) and Volendam (Dutch, 15434 GRT, built 1922).
The landing ship HMS Glengyle (A/Capt. E.C.L. Turner, RN) was also part of this convoy.
Convoy AB 20F was escorted by the destroyer HMS Rapid (Lt.Cdr. M.W. Tomkinson, DSC and Bar, RN).
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Convoy AB 20S (slow).
This convoy was made up of the following transports; Historian (British, 5074 GRT, built 1924), Lafonataine Park (British, 7131 GRT, built 1943), Markhor (British, 7917 GRT, built 1928) and Samarkand (British, 7219 GRT, built 1943).
The USS LST 73 (Lt. H.M. Crossan, USNR) and HMS LST 239 (T/Lt. F. Dyer, RNR) were also part of the convoy as was the landing craft repair ships (former LST) USS Achelous (Lt. W. Ringies, USNR).
Convoy AB 20S was escorted by the frigate HMS Trent (T/A/Lt.Cdr. J.G. Rankin, DSC, RNR), corvette HMS Nigella (T/Lt. C.L.L. Davies, RNVR) and minesweeper HMAS Ipswich (T/Lt.Cdr. J.S. McBryde, RANR(S)).
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These convoys remained in company with each other until around 0630DE/14 when convoy AP 52 parted company to proceed to the Persian Gulf where it arrived on 17 November.
Around 0930DE/14, the escort carrier HMS Battler (A/Capt. F.M.R. Stephenson, RN) and the destroyers HMS Rotherham (Capt. F.S.W. de Winton, RN), HMAS Norman (Cdr. H.J. Buchanan DSO, RAN) and HMAS Nepal (Cdr. F.B. Morris, RAN) joined in position 16°44'N, 57°04'E and parted company half an hour later taking convoy AB 20F with them to proceed to Bombay where it arrived on 17 November.
Convoy AB 20S arrived at Bombay on 19 November 1943.