Navy | The Royal Navy |
Type | ASW Trawler |
Class | [No specific class] |
Pennant | FY 249 |
Built by | Cochrane & Sons Shipbuilders Ltd. (Selby, U.K.) |
Ordered | |
Laid down | |
Launched | 22 Sep 1934 |
Commissioned | Nov 1939 |
End service | |
History | Completed in November 1934. Renamed Sphene in February 1940. |
Commands listed for HMS Avanturine (FY 249)
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. (retired) Francis Beversham Hanson, RN | 6 Nov 1939 | 5 Dec 1939 | |
2 | T/Skr. Edward Gillard, RNR | 5 Dec 1939 | 15 Apr 1940 | |
3 | Skr. Charles Pennington, RNR | 15 Apr 1940 | 9 Aug 1940 | |
4 | Ch.Skr. William Jeffery James Tucker, RNR | 9 Aug 1940 | mid 1941 | |
5 | Skr. Herbert Holden, DSC, RNR | 20 Mar 1942 | 5 Jul 1942 | |
6 | Skr. Richard Blundell Rhimes, RNR | 5 Jul 1942 | 22 May 1944 | |
7 | Lt. Wallace Melville Baird, RNR | 22 May 1944 |
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Notable events involving Avanturine include:
6 Jan 1940
HMS H 50 (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) J.R.G. Harvey, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Portland with HMS St. Modwen (Cdr.(Retd.) V. Searles-Wood, RN) and HMS Avanturine (T/Skr. E. Gillard, RNR). (1)
15 Oct 1940
HMS Sphene (Ch.Skr. W.J.J. Tucker, RNR) picks up 39 survivors from the British merchant Bonheur that was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-138 38 miles northwest of Butt of Lewis in position 57°10'N, 08°36'W.
27 Apr 1941
Convoy OG 60.
This convoy was assembled to the west of the North Channel on 27 April 1941 and was made up of ships from four sections; the Milford Haven, Liverpool, Clyde and Oban sections.
The Milford Haven section (sailed 25 April 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels; British Dominion (British (tanker), 6983 GRT, built 1928), Caledonia (British, 1268 GRT, built 1913), East Wales (British, 4358 GRT, built 1925), Nueva Granada (Norwegian (tanker), 9968 GRT, built 1937), Palacio (British, 1346 GRT, built 1927), Queen Anne (British, 4937 GRT, built 1937) and Selene (Swedish, 1347 GRT, built 1894). They were escorted by the escort destroyer HMS Vanity ( Lt. I.W.T. Beloe, RN) and the A/S trawler HMS Sphene ( Ch.Skr. W.J.J. Tucker, RNR).
The Liverpool section (sailed 26 April 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels; Ardeola (British, 2609 GRT, built 1912), Baltallinn (British, 1303 GRT, built 1920), Cressado (British, 1228 GRT, built 1913), Grelhead (British, 4274 GRT, built 1925), Polo (British, 1950 GRT, built 1919), Spinanger (Norwegian (tanker), 7429 GRT, built 1927), Waldinge (British, 2462 GRT, built 1925) and Zurichmoor (British, 4455 GRT, built 1925). With the Liverpool section the following escorts also sailed; destroyers HMS Vanquisher (Cdr. N.V. Dickinson, DSC, RN), HMS Viscount (Lt.Cdr. M.S. Townsend, OBE, DSC and Bar, RN), HMS Rockingham (Lt. A.H.J. Johns, RN), sloop HMS Deptford (Lt.Cdr. G.A. Thring, DSO, RN) and the corvettes HMS Freesia (Lt.Cdr. T.P.G. Crick, RN), HMS Hibiscus (Lt. H. Roach, RNR) and HMS Pimpernel (Lt. F.H. Thornton, RNR). The corvette HMS Rhododendron (Lt.Cdr. W.N.M. Faichney, DSO, RNR) was also with them but she was only with the convoy briefly as she arrived at Tobermory on the 27th for A/S exercises after a repair period.
On 27 April 1941, HMS Vanity and HMS Sphene arrived at Belfast.
The Clyde section (sailed 27 April 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels; Aldergrove (British, 1974 GRT, built 1918), Fano (British (former Danish), 1889 GRT, built 1922), Fendris (British, 1018 GRT, built 1925), Inga I (Norwegian, 1304 GRT, built 1921), Leonardia (Swedish, 1583 GRT, built 1906), Marit (Norwegian (tanker), 5563 GRT, built 1918), Nava (Swedish, 1456 GRT, buil 1928), Norwegian (British, 6366 GRT, built 1921), Procris (British, 1033 GRT, built 1924), Snar (Norwegian, 3176 GRT, built 1920) and Wallonia (Swedish, 1435 GRT, built 1919).
The Oban section (sailed 27 April 1941) was made up of the following merchant vessels; Blairatholl (British, 3319 GRT, built 1925), Cara (British, 1760 GRT, built 1929), Empire Snipe (British, 2497 GRT, built 1919), Fanefjeld (Norwegian, 1354 GRT, built 1920), Hampton Lodge (British, 3645 GRT, built 1911), Henrik Ibsen (Norwegian, 4671 GRT, built 1906), Lily (Greek, 5735 GRT, built 1920), Magne (Swedish, 3103 GRT, built 1912), Sheaf Crown (British, 4868 GRT, built 1929) and Varangberg (Norwegian, 2842 GRT, built 1915).
Two further escorts joined coming from Londonderry on its final assembly, these were the sloop HMS Londonderry (Cdr. J.S. Dalison, RN) and the armed yacht HMS Philante (Capt.(Retd.) H.S. Bowlby, RN).
All escorts, except HMS Deptford parted company with the convoy on 30 April.
At 1845Z/1, in position 49°48'N, 19°50'W, the Lily left the convoy without orders to do so. She ignored signals to clarify her movements. She arrived at Halifax on 11 May 1941.
The ships with destinations in North America / Carribean parted company with the convoy at an unknown date, time and position [this is not listed in the convoy report]. The ships in question were the following; British Dominion (arrived at Trinidad on 17 May), Fano (arrived at Sydney, Cape Brenton Island on 14 May), Grelhead (arrived in a Cuban port on 19 May), Marit (arrived at Curacao on 16 May), Norwegian (arrived at Quebec on 11 May), Nueva Granada (arrived at Curacao on 18 May), Snar (arrived at Tampa on 22 May), Spinager (arrived at New York on 15 May) and Zurichmoor (arrived at Halifax on 11 May).
The ships with destinations in the South Atlantic area parted company with the convoy at an unknown date, time and position [this is not listed in the convoy report]. The ships in question were the following; East Wales (arrived at Durban on 7 June), Hampton Lodge (arrived at Freetown on 19 May) and Queen Anne (arrived at Capetown on 2 June).
Around 1607Z/3, in position 45°25'N, 20°44'W, the submarine HrMs O 23 (Lt.Cdr. G.B.M. van Erkel, RNN) sighted the convoy which she then joined shortly afterwards.
The ships with destinations in Portugal and south-west Spain parted company with the convoy at an unknown date [most likely on 10 May], time and position [this is not listed in the convoy report]. The ships in question were the following; Aldergrove (arrived at Leixoes on 13 May), Baltallinn (arrived at Lisbon on 11 May), Caledonia (arrived at Leixoes on 12 May), Cara (arrived at Huelva on 11 May), Cressado (arrived at Oporto on 12 May), Empire Snipe (arrived at Lisbon on 11 May), Fanefjeld (arrived at Seville on 11 May), Fendris (arrived at Oporto on 12 May), Inga I (arrived at Seville on 11 May), Leonardia (arrived at Seville on 11 May), Magne (arrived at Lisbon on 11 May), Procris (arrived at Oporto on 12 May), Selene (arrived at Lisbon on 11 May), Sheaf Crown (arrived at Huelva on 11 May), Varangberg (arrived at Huelva on 11 May) and Wallonia (arrived at Seville on 11 May).
The remainder of the convoy continued on to Gibraltar where they arrived on 10 May escorted by HMS Deptford and HrMs O 23.
The Henrik Ibsen continued on past Gibraltar to Melilla where she arrived on 11 May. (2)
Sources
- ADM 173/16327
- ADM 199/1142
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.