Allied Warships
HMS Lark (U 11)
Sloop of the Modified Black Swan class
Photo from Imperial War Museum (IWM), FL-9968
| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Sloop |
| Class | Modified Black Swan |
| Pennant | U 11 |
| Built by | Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Greenock, Scotland) |
| Ordered | 27 Mar 1941 |
| Laid down | 5 May 1942 |
| Launched | 28 Aug 1943 |
| Commissioned | 10 Apr 1944 |
| Lost | 17 Feb 1945 |
| History | At 10.15 hours on 17 February 1945 the German submarine U-968 fired one LUT torpedo at a destroyer of the Groznyj-class and observed a hit after 6 minutes 20 seconds. In fact HMS Lark (Cdr. Hedworth Lambton, RN, (retired)) was hit in the stern north-east of Murmansk in position 69º30'N, 34º33'E, towed into the Kola Inlet and beached near Rosta. The ship was declared a total loss by the Royal Navy and the wreck was handed over to the Soviets. Earlier that day, U-425 had been sunk by depth charges from HMS Lark and the British corvette HMS Alnwick Castle. Hit by U-boat |
| U-boat Attack | See our U-boat attack entry for the HMS Lark |
Commands listed for HMS Lark (U 11)
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. Henry Leslie Pryse, RNR | Mar 1944 | 16 Oct 1944 |
| 2 | Cdr. (retired) Hedworth Lambton, RN | 16 Oct 1944 | Feb/Mar 45 |
| 3 | Lt. Reginald Kersley, RN | Feb/Mar 45 | ??? |
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Notable events involving Lark include:
22 Sep 1944
HMS Malaya (Cdr. D.H. Fuller, RN) departed Plymouth for Rosyth. She was being escorted by HMS Hart (Cdr. (retired) M.B. Sherwood, DSO and Bar, RN), HMS Lark (Cdr. H.L. Pryse, DSC, RNR) and HMS Skate (Lt. J.H. Macalister, RNVR).
At 1145/22 they were joined by HMS Affleck (Cdr.(Retd.) C. Gwinner, DSO and Bar, DSC, RN), HMS Garlies (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Calpe, DSC, RN) and HMS Gore (Lt. J.V. Reeves-Brown, DSC, RN).
At 1325/24, HMS Cassandra (Cdr. P.F. Powlett, DSO and Bar, DSC, RN) and HMS Cambrian (Lt.Cdr. H.T. Harrel, RN) took over from HMS Hart and HMS Lark. [The other escorts apparently had been detached by this time.]
At 1650/24, Verdun (Cdr. D. Parsons, RD, RNR) and HMS Vega (Lt. C.G. Forsberg, RN) took over from HMS Cassandra and HMS Cambrian.
Around 0945/25, HMS Malaya arrived off Rosyth. (1)
17 Feb 1945
German U-boat U-425 was sunk in the Barents Sea near Murmansk, Russia, in position 69°39'N, 35°50'E, by depth charges from the British sloop HMS Lark (Cdr.(Retd.) H. Lambton, RN) and the British corvette HMS Alnwick Castle (A/Lt.Cdr. H.A. Stonehouse, DSC, RNR).
Sources
- ADM 53/119848
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.