Allied Warships

HMS Northern Chief (4.34)

ASW Trawler

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeASW Trawler
Class[No specific class] 
Pennant4.34 
Built byDeschimag (Bremerhaven, Germany) 
Ordered 
Laid down 
Launched 
CommissionedSep 1939 
End service17 Jul 1945 
History

Completed in November 1936.
Taken over by the Admiralty on 31 August 1939.
Displacement: 655 tons.
Armament: 1 4" gun.

Lent to the United States Navy in February 1942 with Bitish crew.
Returned to RN opertional command in October 1942.
Paid of 17 July 1945 and Returned to her owner.
Renamed Gylfi in 1947.
Renamed Island in 1950.
Scrapped at Hamburg, Germany on 15 July 1957.

 

Commands listed for HMS Northern Chief (4.34)

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
1Cdr. (retired) John Gilbert Sutton, RN10 Sep 19394 Feb 1940
2Lt. Henry Kirkwood, RN4 Feb 194029 Aug 1940
3Lt. Norman Leslie Knight, RNR29 Aug 194014 Feb 1942
4T/Lt. George William Osborne Howe, RNR14 Feb 1942Oct 1942
5Lt. John Dudley Edward Lewis, RNROct 1942Dec 1942
6T/Lt. George Arthur Hartnell, RNRDec 1942Ca. mid 43
7Lt. Donald Stewart Watson, RNRCa. mid 43Dec 1943
8T/Lt. Leonard Griffin Gillham, SANF(V)Dec 194325 Aug 1944
9T/Lt. Alfred Kenneth Scholes, RNVR25 Aug 19449 May 1945
10T/Lt. Charles Alfred Power, SANF(V)10 May 194517 Jul 1945
11T/Lt. Charles Alfred Power, SANF(V)10 May 194517 Jul 1945

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Notable events involving Northern Chief include:


10 Apr 1940
HMS Northern Chief (Lt. H. Kirkwood, RN) picks up 29 survivors from the Swedish tanker Sveaborg and 32 survivors from the Norwegian merchant Tosca that were both sunk by the German U-boat U-37 north-west of the Faroe Islands and landed them in Kirkwall on 11 April.


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