ROYAL NAVY SOUTH ATLANTIC COMMAND - ROYAL NAVY V W 16 SHIPS
10)WILD SWAN (DESTROYER)
Photo. www.warshipsww2.eu
Completed: 1917
Displacement: 1,316 -1,339 tons
Length: 300 ft
Beam: 26, 9 ft
Draught: 9 ft standard, 11 ft 3 in deep
Propulsion: 3 Yarrow-type Water-tube boilers (White-Forster type in Valentine), Brown-Curtis steam turbines (Parsons in Valentine, Valhalla), 2 shafts, 27,500 shp
Armament: 4 x QF 4 in Mk.V (102mm L/45) guns, mount P Mk.I , 2 x QF 2 pdr Mk.II "pom-pom" (40 mm L/39) anti-aircraft guns, 4 (2x2) tubes for 21-inch (530 mm) torpedoes
Speed: 34 Kts
Complement: 115
HMS Wild Swan served at south Atlantic Station base Freetown from June 1941 to June 1942 in several convoy Escort duties.
1 9 4 2
Monday, 23rd March
Convoy S.L. 104 (27 ships) saile d from Freetown, escorted by H.M.S. WILD SWAN, H.M.S. VIOLET, H.M.S. SNOWDROP, H.M.S. BERGAMOT, and F.N.F.L. COMMANDANT DETROYAT.
Monday, 6th April
Convoy W.S. 17 United Kingdom to Middle East to India ("Winston's Specials") (29 ships), including ADAMANT, arrived at Freetown escorted by SHROPSHIRE, ALCANTARA, GROVE, WILD SWAN, ALDENHAM, LOOKOUT, KEREN, KARANJA, HYDRANGEA, and COMMANDANT DETROYAT. Also, MALAYA and HERMIONE, escorted by Captain (D) 19th Destroyer Flotilla in LAFOREY, DUNCAN, LIGHTNING, ACTIVE, and ANTHONY.
Saturday, 11th April 42
Convoy W.S. 17 B United Kingdom to Middle East to India ("Winston's Specials") (18 ships), including ADAMANT sailed, escorted by SHROPSHIRE, WILD SWAN, CROOME, HYDRANGEA, EXMOOR, COMMANDANT DROGOU and COMMANDANT DETROYANT.
Tuesday, 14th April
WILD SWAN was detached from convoy W.S. 18 B United Kingdom to Middle East to India ("Winston's Specials") to return to Freetown, and HYDRANGEA and COMMANDANT DROGOU to pick up 68 survivors from Cape Palmas and landed them at Freetown.
Fate: Sunk 16 Jun 1942 when ship came under attack by Uboats in Biscay Bay.123 Survivors rescued by HM Destroyer VANSITTART landed at Milford Haven.
By Don Kindell at www.naval-history.net
