Allied Warships

HMS Newmarket (G 47)

Destroyer of the Town class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeDestroyer
ClassTown 
PennantG 47 
Built byUnion Iron Works (San Francisco, California, U.S.A.) 
Ordered 
Laid down31 Oct 1917 
Launched28 Mar 1918 
Commissioned26 Nov 1940 
End serviceSep 1945 
History

USS Robinson was recommissioned on 23 August 1940 for transfer to the British Government under terms of the destroyers-in exchange for-bases agreement. The transfer was effected at Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 26 November 1940 when Robinson was renamed HMS Newmarket and taken over by a care and maintenance party of the Royal Canadian Navy. She was commissioned in the British Navy by a Royal Navy crew on 5 December 1940.

Newmarket departed Halifax on 15 January for the United Kingdom, calling at St. John's and arriving at Belfast on the 26th and at Plymouth, England, on the 30th.

After a short refit on the Humber, she began convoy escort work in the Western Approaches Command and on 2 June 1941, was unsuccessfully attacked by an aircraft in the northwestern approaches. Later that month she proceeded to Sheerness, and was in dockyard hands until November when she joined the 8th Escort Group, at Londonderry.

On 3 January 1942, Newmarket had to leave Convoy H.X. 166 because of boiler trouble, and proceeded to Lough Foyle. On the 30th she arrived at Liverpool, and was under refit until the end of March.

In April 1942, she escorted the Russian convoy P.Q. 14, but, a month later, was allocated for duty as an aircraft target ship in the Firth of Forth. She refitted at Leith between December 1942 and February 1943, and later in the year, refitted again at Rosyth, Scotland. In September 1943, Newmarket was reduced to care and maintenance status at Rosyth but resumed duty as an aircraft target ship from the spring of 1944, until after the end of the war in Europe. She was scrapped at Llanelly in September 1945.

 
Former nameUSS Robinson (DD 88)

Commands listed for HMS Newmarket (G 47)

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.

CommanderFromTo
1Lt.Cdr. Geoffrey Bransby O Brien Harding, RN5 Dec 1940mid 1941

2Lt.Cdr. Cyril William North, RN8 Oct 1941Jun 1942
3Lt.Cdr. (retired) Rodney Charles Vesey Thomson, RNJun 19424 Feb 1943
4Lt. Eric Ian Pilditch, RN4 Feb 1943mid 1943

5Lt. Chistopher Godfrey de Lisle Bush, RN7 Jun 1944early 1945

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Notable events involving Newmarket include:


1 May 1941
HrMs O 10 (Lt. J.H. Geijs, RNN) participated in A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Newmarket (Lt.Cdr. G.B. O'Brien Harding, RN) and HMS Clarkia (Lt.Cdr. F.J.G. Jones, RNR). (1)

9 Jun 1941
HMS H 44 (Lt. A.C.G. Mars, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HNoMS St. Albans (Capt. G. Hovdenak, RNorN) and HMS Newmarket (Lt.Cdr. G.B. O'Brien Harding, RN). (2)

10 Jun 1941
HMS H 44 (Lt. A.C.G. Mars, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HNoMS St. Albans (Capt. G. Hovdenak, RNorN) and HMS Newmarket (Lt.Cdr. G.B. O'Brien Harding, RN). (2)

2 Dec 1941
HMS H 34 (Lt. W.A. Phillimore, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Newmarket (Lt.Cdr. C.W. North, RN) and HMS Camellia (Lt.Cdr. A.E. Willmott, RNR). (3)

5 Dec 1941
HMS H 34 (Lt. W.A. Phillimore, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Wanderer (Cdr. A.F.St.G. Orpen, DSC, RN) and HMS Newmarket (Lt.Cdr. C.W. North, RN). (3)

4 May 1942
The battleship HMS Rodney (Capt. J.W. Rivett-Carnac, DSC, RN) ran over the degaussing (DG) range at Liverpool following which she departed around 1640B/4 for Scapa Flow. She was escorted by the destroyer HMS Newmarket (Lt.Cdr. C.W. North, RN) and the escort destroyer HMS Bleasdale (Lt. P.B.N. Lewis, RN). (4)

5 May 1942
Around 2215B/5, the battleship HMS Rodney (Capt. J.W. Rivett-Carnac, DSC, RN), destroyer HMS Newmarket (Lt.Cdr. C.W. North, RN) and the escort destroyer HMS Bleasdale (Lt. P.B.N. Lewis, RN) arrived at Scapa Flow. (4)

Media links


British destroyers & frigates

Norman Friedman


Destroyers of World War Two

Whitley, M. J.

Sources

  1. File 2.12.03.6376 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
  2. ADM 173/16782
  3. ADM 173/16767
  4. ADM 53/116592

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


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