HMS Lady Shirley

HMS Lady Shirley (ASW trawler)
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Lady Shirley
OperatorRoyal Navy
BuilderCook, Welton & Gemmell Beverley
Yard number615
Launched25 February 1937
Completed19 April 1937
Acquired1940
CommissionedFebruary 1941
FateSunk on 11 December 1941 by torpedo from U-374 (Straits of Gibraltar 35.59N, 05.17W)
General characteristics
Class and typeAnti-submarine trawler
Displacement472 tonnes
Length163.5 ft (49.8 m)
Beam27.2 ft (8.3 m)
Propulsion120 hp (89 kW)
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement33
Sensors and
processing systems		ASDIC anti-submarine dome[1]
Armament

HMS Lady Shirley (T464), also known as HMT Lady Shirley,[1] was a fishing trawler requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1940 and converted for anti-submarine warfare duties.[2] She sank U-111 on 4 October 1941, capturing 44 of her crew. Lady Shirley was sunk herself on 11 December 1941, by a single torpedo from U-374.

Description

Lady Shirley was a fishing trawler of 472 tons displacement based at Hull. She was built at Beverley in the UK by Cook, Welton & Gemmell and launched in 1937. She was 164 feet (50.0 m) long and 27 feet (8.2 m) in the beam. She had a 120 horsepower (89 kW) engine giving a top speed of 12 knots (22 km/h).[1]

Service record

She was pressed into service by the Royal Navy in 1940 and converted into an anti-submarine trawler. Conversion included fitting an ASDIC anti-submarine dome, a 4-inch naval gun and depth charges. She had a complement of 33. Lady Shirley went into service in January 1941 and served with the 31st Anti-Submarine Group based at Gibraltar. She was under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Arthur Henry Callaway.[1]

Sinking of U-111

On 4 October 1941, while searching for the damaged Silverbelle, Lady Shirley encountered German submarine U-111 engaged in a similar mission south-west of Tenerife, at position 27°15′N 20°27′W / 27.250°N 20.450°W / 27.250; -20.450.[2] Mistaking the trawler for the damaged freighter (though Lady Shirley was small, the U-boat skipper thought she was far away) the U-boat was caught at periscope depth when Lady Shirley closed, and was depth charged. Forced to the surface, U-111 was engaged with gunfire until she was abandoned and sunk.[3] Of the U-boat crew of 52, eight were killed, including her commander, Wilhelm Kleinschmidt; 44 survived. Lady Shirley had one crew member killed and several injured in the battle.[1] This was the first time that prisoners of war (POWs) were captured from a U-boat operating in the South Atlantic. German survivors claimed that U-111 was the first U-boat to be lost of those operating in that area.[4]

Loss

On 11 December 1941, a torpedo from U-374 hit Lady Shirley, sinking her in the Straits of Gibraltar at position 35°59′N 5°17′W / 35.983°N 5.283°W / 35.983; -5.283. All 33 crew were lost with their ship.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Lady Shirley H464". Hull Trawler. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Lady Shirley". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  3. ^ Clay Blair, Hitler's U-Boat War Vol I (1996) ISBN 0-304-35260-8 pp. 385-6
  4. ^ "U-111 – Interrogation of Survivors". U-boat Archive. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 26 June 2013.

External links

  • U 111 versus Lady Shirley (in Spanish)

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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1941
Shipwrecks
  • 2 Dec: Virsaitis
  • 6 Dec: HMS Perseus
  • 7 Dec: USS Arizona, USS California, USS Cassin, Cynthia Olson, USS Downes, Ha-19, M-16, M-18, M-20, M-22, USS Nevada, USS Oglala, USS Oklahoma, Sauternes, USS Shaw, U-208, USS Utah, USS West Virginia, HMCS Windflower
  • 8 Dec: SS Capillo, Nisqually, USS Penguin, HMS Peterel, Ravnaas
  • 10 Dec: HMS Banka, USS Bittern, I-70, HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Repulse, Takao Maru, No. 10, USS YP-16
  • 11 Dec: Hayate, Kisaragi, HMS Lady Shirley
  • 12 Dec: Awazisan Maru, HMS Moth, HMS Tamar
  • 13 Dec: Alberico da Barbiano, Alberto di Giussano
  • 14 Dec: HMS Galatea
  • 15 Dec: Empire Barracuda, HNLMS O 16, U-127
  • 16 Dec: U-557
  • 17 Dec: Corregidor, Ro-66, Shinonome, U-131
  • 18 Dec: U-434
  • 19 Dec: HMS Neptune, HNLMS O 20, HMS Stanley, U-574
  • 20 Dec: Emidio, HMS Kandahar
  • 21 Dec: HMS Audacity, HMS Cicala, HNLMS K XVII, U-451, U-567
  • 23 Dec: Hayataka Maru, Montebello, Patrol Boat No. 32, Patrol Boat No. 33, Shuntien, U-79
  • 24 Dec: Absaroka, HNLMS K XVI, USS Rochester, Sagiri, HMS Salvia
  • 25 Dec: Empire Dragon, USS Sealion, HMS Thracian
  • 26 Dec: Unyo Maru No. 2
  • 27 Dec: Arayat, Canlaon
  • 28 Dec: Banahao, DCH-1, U-75, Volo, SS Connecticut
  • 29 Dec: BRP Banahaw, Ro-60
  • Unknown date: HMS H31, USS Nereus, HMS Triumph, Vizcaya
Other incidents
  • 7 Dec: USS Gamble, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee, USS Thresher, USS Vestal
  • 8 Dec: Awazisan Maru, USS Thresher
  • 9 Dec: I-10
  • 10 Dec: Oigawa Maru, USS Sealion
  • 11 Dec: HMS Jackal
  • 16 Dec: HMS Thracian
  • 17 Dec: Ro-62
  • 20 Dec: USS Pompano
  • 24 Dec: Absaroka
  • 31 Dec: Ruth Alexander