Allied Warships
HMS Penzance (L 28)
Sloop of the Folkestone class
Photo taken during a visit at New Bedford MA in July 1939. Photo courtesy of Marianne Donovan
| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Sloop |
| Class | Folkestone |
| Pennant | L 28 |
| Built by | Devonport Dockyard (Plymouth, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 4 Apr 1929 |
| Laid down | 29 Jul 1929 |
| Launched | 10 Apr 1930 |
| Commissioned | 15 Jan 1931 |
| Lost | 24 Aug 1940 |
| Loss position | 56° 16'N, 27° 19'W |
| History | HMS Penzance (Cdr. Allan John Wavish, RN) was torpedoed and sunk on 24 August 1940 in the North Atlantic, south-west of Iceland in position 56º16'N, 27º19'W by U-37. 90 men went down with the ship, there were only 13 survivors which were picked up by the British merchants Fylingdale and Blairmore, the latter being torpedoed later that night by the same U-boat. Seven of the survivors had to abandon ship once again and this time they were picked up after some 17 hours by the Swedish merchant Eknaren and taken to Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. Hit by U-boat |
| U-boat Attack | See our U-boat attack entry for the HMS Penzance |
Commands listed for HMS Penzance (L 28)
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. Allan John Wavish, RN | 16 May 1938 | 24 Aug 1940 (+) |
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Notable events involving Penzance include:
8 Feb 1940
HMAS Perth (Capt. H.B. Farncomb, RAN) and HMS Dundee (Capt. C.C.A. Allen, RN) are order to remain on patrol near Curacao as information had been received that the German merchant vessels Seattle (7369 GRT, built 1928) and Vancouver (8269 GRT, built 1930) were expected to leave within the next week.
HMS Penzance (Cdr. A.J. Wavish, RN) was also ordered to the Curacao area as was the French armed merchant cruiser Barfleur. The RFA tanker War Brahmin (5545 GRT, built 1921) was ordered to proceed to the Bonaire area so as to be in position to fuel the ships on patrol if needed. (1)
24 Jun 1940
Convoy BHX 53
This convoy departed Bermuda on 24 June 1940. It was made up of the following merchant vessels; Arthur F. Corwin (British (tanker), 10516 GRT, built 1938) Athelempress (British (tanker), 8941 GRT, built 1930), Empire Gannet (British, 5630 GRT, built 1919), Katy (Norwegian (tanker), 6825 GRT, built 1931), Maria Stathatos (Greek, 6303 GRT, built 1922), Mataroa (British, 12390 GRT, built 1922), Severn Leigh (British, 5242 GRT, built 1919), Sommerstad (Norwegian (tanker), 5923 GRT, built 1926), Taranaki (British, 10534 GRT, built 1928), Thistlegarth (British, 4747 GRT, built 1929), Thorshavn (Norwegian (tanker), 6869 GRT, built 1930) and Whitford Point (British, 5026 GRT, built 1928).
On departure from Bermuda the convoy was escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Comorin (Capt.(Retd.) J.I. Hallett, DSO, RN) and the sloop HMS Penzance (Cdr. A.J. Wavish, RN).
Around 1430Q/24, HMS Penzance returned to Bermuda after having been detached from the convoy earlier in the day.
The Arthur F. Corwin arrived at Halifax on 29 June 1940 after having been detached from the convoy [detachement date unknown.]
Around 0800P/30, in position 41°30'N, 44°35'W, convoy BHX 53 merged with convoy HX 53. HMS Comorin did not join convoy HX 53 but set course to proceed to Halifax where she arrived on 2 July 1940.
22 Jul 1940
Convoy BHX 60.
This convoy departed Bermuda on 22 July 1940.
It was made up of the following merchant vessels; Amastra (British (tanker), 8031 GRT, built 1935), Anglo Peruvian (British, 5457 GRT, built 1926), Athelviscount (British (tanker), 8882 GRT, built 1929), Boka (Panamanian, 5399 GRT, built 1920), Catrine (British, 5218 GRT, built 1940), Clea (British (tanker), 8028 GRT, built 1938), Custodian (British, 5881 GRT, built 1928), Dalfonn (British (tanker), 9860 GRT, built 1928), Davila (British (tanker), 8053 GRT, built 1938), El Mirlo (British (tanker), 8092 GRT, built 1930), Explorer (British, 6235 GRT, built 1935), Indora (British, 6622 GRT, built 1938), Rosewood (British (tanker), 5989 GRT, built 1931), Scottish Heather (British (tanker), 7087 GRT, built 1928) and Solfonn (Norwegian (tanker), 9925 GRT, built 1939).
On departure from Bermuda the convoy was escorted by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Alaunia (Capt.(Retd.) H.J. Woodward, DSO and Bar, RN) and the sloop HMS Penzance (Cdr. A.J. Wavish, RN).
HMS Penzance was only with the convoy briefly and soon returned to Bermuda presumably arriving on 23 July.
Around 1000P/27, in position 40°53'N, 46°17'W, the convoy merged with convoy HX 60 coming from Halifax. HMS Alaunia then parted company to return to Bermuda where she arrived around 0900Q/30. (2)
Media links
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Sources
- Report of proceedings of HMAS Perth from September 1939 to March 1940
- ADM 53/111338 + ADM 199/54
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.
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