| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | ASW Trawler |
| Class | [No specific class] |
| Pennant | FY 165 |
| Built by | Smiths Dock Co., Ltd. (South Bank-on-Tees, U.K.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | |
| Launched | 15 Dec 1936 |
| Commissioned | Oct 1939 |
| Lost | 5 Dec 1942 |
| History | Completed in January 1937. Sunk by an accidental fire at Lagos, Nigeria on 5 December 1942. The cause of the disaster was a spillage from the oil tanker Athelvictor. She had been berthed about 400 yards from the trawlers at the oil storage berth and had been discharging her cargo. However, it was soon realised that something was not ok, as the fuel could be seen to be escaping from the tanker into the sea. It was found that valves used to admit water ballast and to flush pipelines for cleaning, had not been closed after her last discharge. In consequence about sixty tons of benzene had spilled into the harbour. The petrol vapour exploded soon after and caused a huge fire. |
Commands listed for HMS Bengali (FY 165)
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 | Skr. Francis Charles Butler, RNR | 11 Oct 1939 | Jan 1940 |
| 2 | T/Lt. Eric Edward Barnes, RNVR | 27 Jan 1940 | May 1941 |
| 3 | Lt. Francis Rodney Pike, RCNVR | May 1941 | ca late 41 |
| 4 | T/Lt. Reginald Llewellyn Petty-Major, RNVR | ca late 41 | 10 Feb 1942 |
| 5 | T/Lt. Vivian Walton Hixson, RNVR | 10 Feb 1942 | 5 Dec 1942 |
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Notable events involving Bengali include:
28 May 1941
HMS Bengali (Skipper F.C. Butler, RNR) picks up survivors from the British merchant Tabaristan that was torpedoed and sunk the previous day by German U-boat U-38 southwest of Freetown in position 06°32'N, 15°23'W.
11 Nov 1941
HMS Severn (Lt.Cdr. A.N.G. Campbell, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Freetown together with HMS Bengali (Lt. F.R. Pike, RCNVR) and three ML's. (1)
14 Nov 1941
HMS Severn (Lt.Cdr. A.N.G. Campbell, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Freetown together with HMS Brilliant (Lt.Cdr. A.G. Poe, RN), HMS Bergamot (Lt. R.T. Horan, RNR), HMS Bengali (Lt. F.R. Pike, RCNVR) and Walrus and Sunderland aircraft. (1)
Sources
- ADM 173/16988
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.