Allied Warships

HMS Lapwing (U 62)

Sloop of the Modified Black Swan class


Photo from Imperial War Museum (IWM), FL-9971

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeSloop
ClassModified Black Swan 
PennantU 62 
Built byScotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Greenock, Scotland) 
Ordered27 Mar 1941 
Laid down17 Dec 1941 
Launched16 Jul 1943 
Commissioned21 Mar 1944 
Lost20 Mar 1945 
Loss position69° 26'N, 33° 44'E

The British sloop HMS Lapwing (U 62) lost on 20 Mar 1945 in position 69° 26'N, 33° 44'E.

History

HMS Lapwing (Cdr.(retired) Edward Campbell Hulton, RN,) was torpedoed and sunk off Northern Russia north of Murmansk in position 69º26'N, 33º44'E.
61 survivors, 158 men died.

In the afternoon on 20 March 1945, U-968 attacked the convoy JW-65 and reported a destroyer and a Liberty sunk and another Liberty ship torpedoed. In fact, the sloop HMS Lapwing of the 7th Escort Group and the Liberty ship Thomas Donaldson were sunk. HMS Lapwing was hit amidships at 13:25 and sank 20 minutes later.

 

Hit by U-boat
Sunk on 20 Mar 1945 by U-968 (Westphalen).

U-boat AttackSee our U-boat attack entry for the HMS Lapwing

Commands listed for HMS Lapwing (U 62)

Please note that we're still working on this section.

CommanderFromTo
1Cdr. (retired) Edward Campbell Hulton, RN25 Feb 194420 Mar 1945

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Notable events involving Lapwing include:


19 Apr 1944
HMS United (Lt. N.R. Wood, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory together with HMS Lapwing (Cdr.(Retd.) E.C. Hulton, RN), HMS Monnow (Cdr. E.G. Skinner, DSC, RD, RCNR) and HMS Knaresborough Castle (Lt. J.R. Freeman, RNR). (1)

20 Apr 1944
HMS United (Lt. N.R. Wood, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory together with HMS Knaresborough Castle (Lt. J.R. Freeman, RNR), HMS Monnow (Cdr. E.G. Skinner, DSC, RD, RCNR), HMCS Teme (T/Lt.Cdr. D.G. Jeffrey, DSO, RCNR) and HMS Lapwing (Cdr.(Retd.) E.C. Hulton, RN). (1)

24 Nov 1944
HMS H 50 (Lt. W.T.J. Fox, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Campbeltown with HMS Lapwing (Cdr.(Retd.) E.C. Hulton, RN) and HMS Rhododendron (T/A/Lt.Cdr. H. Vernon, RNR). (2)

Media links


U-Boat Attack Logs
Daniel Morgan and Bruce Taylor


amazon.co.uk
(£ 45.00)

amazon.de
(EUR 38.52)

Sources

  1. ADM 173/19218
  2. ADM 173/18534

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


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