Allied Warships

HMS Gladiolus (K 34)

Corvette of the Flower class

HMS Gladiolus shortly after being commissioned

Navy	The Royal Navy
Type	Corvette
Class	Flower
Pennant	K 34
Built by	Smiths Dock Co., Ltd. (South Bank-on-Tees, U.K.)
Ordered	25 Jul 1939
Laid down	19 Oct 1939
Launched	24 Jan 1940
Commissioned	6 Apr 1940
Lost	17 Oct 1941
Loss position	57° 00'N, 25° 00'W

History	HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. Harry Marcus Crews Sanders, DSO, DSC, RD, RNR) was torpedoed and sunk (most likely) by the German submarine U-553 south of Iceland in position 57º00'N, 25º00'W while escorting convoy SC-48. There were no survivors. More details about her loss can be read in the following article: U-boat attacks on the convoy SC-48 and the mysterious loss of HMS GLADIOLUS during the night of 16/17 October 1941. Hit by U-boat Sunk on 17 Oct 1941 by U-553 (Thurmann).
U-boat Attack	See our U-boat attack entry for the HMS Gladiolus

Commands listed for HMS Gladiolus (K 34)

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	Commander	From	To
1	Lt.Cdr. Harry Marcus Crews Sanders, RNR	16 Mar 1940	17 Oct 1941 (+)

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Notable events involving Gladiolus include:

30 Jun 1940
HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. H.M.C. Sanders, RNR) picks up 16 survivors from a lifeboat of the British merchant Llanarth that was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-30 on 28 June about 220 nautical miles west by south of Ushant in position 47°30'N, 10°30'W.

1 Jul 1940
German U-boat U-26 was scuttled south-west of Ireland, in position 48°03'N, 11°30'W after being heavily damaged by depth charges from the British corvette HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. H.M.C. Sanders, RNR) and bombs from an Australian Sunderland aircraft (10 Sqn RAAF/H).

31 Jan 1941
HMS H 43 (Lt. I.L.M. McGeogh, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMS Sabre (Lt. P.W. Gretton, DSC, RN), HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. H.M.C. Sanders, DSC, RNR) and HMS Wellard (Lt.Cdr. A. Johnson, RNVR). (1)

3 Mar 1941
At 0045 hours (zone +1), HMS Taku (Lt. J.F.B. Brown, RN), is joined by the British sloop HMS Enchantress (Lt.Cdr. A.E.T. Christie, RN). At 1130 hours the British corvette HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. H.M.C. Sanders, DSC, RNR) and the British rescue tug HMRT Salvonia also joined. Attempts were now undertaken to take Taku in tow but these failed. A connection between Salvonia and Taku was established only at 0808 hours the following morning. Taku was now towed to Londonderry. During passage the tow parted once. (2)

16 Mar 1941
HrMs O 10 (Lt. J.H. Geijs, RNN) participated in A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Salisbury (Lt.Cdr. H.M.R. Crichton, RN) and HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. H.M.C. Sanders, DSC, RNR). (3)

23 Apr 1941
HrMs O 10 (Lt. J.H. Geijs, RNN) participated in A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Keppel (Cdr. A.M. Sheffield, RN), HMS Douglas (Cdr. W.E. Banks, DSC, RN), HMS Roxborough (Lt. V.A. Wight-Boycott, OBE, RN), HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. H.M.C. Sanders, DSC, RNR), HMS Veronica (Lt.Cdr. (retired) D.F. White, RNR), HMS St. Elstan (T/Lt. G. Butcher, RNVR) and HMS Vizalma (T/Lt. M.M. Firth, RNVR). (4)

8 May 1941
HrMs O 10 (Lt. J.H. Geijs, RNN) participated in A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Burnham (Cdr. J. Bostock, DSC, RN), HMS Salisbury (Lt.Cdr. H.M.R. Crichton, RN), HMS Eridge (Lt.Cdr. W.F.N. Gregory-Smith, RN), HMS St. Elstan (T/Lt. G. Butcher, RNVR), HMS Vizalma (T/Lt. M.M. Firth, RNVR), HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. H.M.C. Sanders, DSC, RNR) and HMS Veronica (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) D.F. White, RNR). (4)

27 Jun 1941
German U-boat U-556 was sunk in the North Atlantic south-west of Iceland, in position 60°24'N, 29°00'W, by depth charges from the British corvettes HMS Nasturtium (Lt.Cdr. R.C. Freaker, RNR), HMS Celandine (Lt.Cdr. A. Harrison, RNR) and HMS Gladiolus (Lt.Cdr. H.M.C. Sanders, DSO, DSC, RNR).