H . M . S
. V E R I T Y ( D 6 3 )
Modified Admiralty W-Class destroyer ordered from John Brown, Clydebank with 13th Order of the
1918 Build Programme in January 1918. The ship was laid down on 17th May 1918
and launched on 19th March 1919 as the 1st RN warship to carry the name. Build
was completed on 17th September 1919. Between the wars she served in the
Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets. In 1938 the ship was part of the Local
Flotilla at Portsmouth. Following a successful WARSHIP WEEK National Savings campaign
in March 1942 she was adopted by the
civil community of Stratford North in
Warwickshire.
with wartime modifications (Mike Pocock)
B a t t l e H o n o u r s
ATLANTIC 1939-45 - DUNKIRK 1940 - NORTH SEA 1940 - NORTH AFRICA 1942-43
H e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge : On a Field Black,
a Roman Lamp Gold
M o t t
o
Prevalebit: ‘Truth shall prevail ‘
.D e t a i l s o f
W a r S e r v i c e
1 9 3 9
August Nominated
for service with 19th Destroyer Flotilla at Harwich.
September Deployed
for convoy defence in SW Approaches.
5th Escorted Convoy GC1 from Milford Haven with HM Destroyers
WITHERINGTON,
WOLVERINE
and VOLUNTEER
October Transferred
to Harwich for East coast convoy defence duty
to
December
1 9 4 0
January Transferred to Plymouth for convoy defence in SW
Approaches and Channel.
to Based
at Plymouth.
March
April
10th Joined outward Convoy OG25 on formation in SW Approaches as
escort during
initial stage of passage to Gibraltar with HM Destroyers BROKE and
WAKEFUL.
11th Detached from OG25 with HMS BROKE and took passage to join
inward Convoy
HG25 as escort
during passage in SW Approaches to Liverpool
12th Joined HM Sloops BIDEFORD and FOWEY as
escort for HG25.
15th Detached from HG25 on arrival at Liverpool and returned to Plymouth.
May Transferred
to Dover Command with ships of Flotilla for support of operations in Belgium
and France.
5th Detached for
escort of minelay In Galloper area in Thames Estuary.
(Operation
CML9. For details of all minelaying operations see Naval Staff History
(MINING)).
12th Took detachment of
Royal Marines to Hook of Holland with HM
Destroyer VENOMOUS.
(Operation
D(C)).
21st Assisted with
evacuation at Boulogne.
22nd Embarked Admiral Somerville for passage to Calais.
On return
nominated for evacuation of troops at Boulogne and took passage.
Found port under
military attack
25th Passage to Calais with HM Destroyer WOLFHOUND
with Royal Marines and ammunition..
Under fire from
6” howitzers which was returned.
26th Under heavy air
attacks at Calais.
Passage to assist in evacuation of troops from beaches at Dunkirk. until
2nd June.
(Operation
DYNAMO - For details see THE NINE DAYS OF DUNKIRK by AD Divine,
NAVAL
STAFF HISTORY (HMSO-2002) and BEF SHIPS by J de Winser,
27th Deployed as escort for mercantiles BIARRITZ and ARCHANGEL during passage to Dunkirk
for evacuation (Operation DYNAMO)
Came under fire
from shore batteries near Calais and sustained casualties.
Returned to Dover
29th Landed 315 troops at Dover from beaches.
30th Landed 52 troops from beaches
(Note : Total number of troops evacuated by this ship during
DYNAMO was 367.)
June On
release from DYNAMO resumed Flotilla duties.
19th Carried out first
sea trial with RAF ASV Mark 1 Radar
at Spithead.
(Note : This equipment was later introduced into naval
service as Radar 286/M.
For
details of development and use of radar by RN see RADAR AT SEA by D Howse).
July Transferred
to 18th Destroyer Flotilla based at Liverpool for convoy defence in Atlantic
August Convoy defence in continuation.
September Transferred
to 6th Escort Group based at Liverpool.
October Atlantic escort duty with Group in continuation.
to
December
1 9 4 1
January Atlantic
convoy defence with Group in continuation.
to
February
March Deployed with HM Corvettes
CAMELLIA and ARBUTUS as escort for outward Convoy OB239.
6th Under threat of attack by U37, U47, U99 and ex Turkish
submarine design
7th Came under sustained torpedo attacks from the four
submarines and carried out effective
anti-submarine operations during which U70 was sunk by the
two corvettes.
(Note : U47 commanded by the renowned Gunther
Prien was not sunk in this series of attacks as
presumed until after the end of WW2.
For details see
U-BOATS DESTROYED by P Kemp an HITLER'S U-BOAT WAR
by C Blair).
April Atlantic escort duty with Group in
continuation.
to
September
October
1st Joined military convoy US12 in Clyde with HM Cruiser CAIRO, HM Destroyers WITCH and
WHITEHALL as Local
Escort for passage in NW Approaches.
4th Detached from WS12 with Local Escort
and returned to Clyde.
Later part of escort for Convoy ONS29 with Group.
November Atlantic convoy escort in continuation.
to
December
1 9 4 2
January Atlantic convoy escort in continuation.
February
17th Joined military convoy WS16 from Clyde at Oversay
with H M Destroyers WALKER and
WITHERINGTON as Local Escort for passage in NW Approaches.
22nd Detached from WS16 with Local Escort and
returned to Clyde.
March Western
Approaches deployment in continuation.
to Nominated
for escort of military convoys to Gibraltar for planned allied landings.
September in North Africa (Operation
TORCH).
October Deployed
for Atlantic escort of military convoys to North Africa.
November Deployed for defence of military
convoys on passage to Gibraltar prior to planned allied landings
in North Africa (Operation TORCH).
4th Sailed from Gibraltar to supplement escort for military convoy KMF1 during
passage to Algiers .
6th Detached from KMF1 and returned to Gibraltar.
7th Nominated for support of landings on
YANKEE Beach Head at Oran.
8th Deployed at Oran
December Support of TORCH operations and
convoy defence in continuation at Gibraltar.
1 9 4 3
January Convoy
defence based at Gibraltar in continuation
February Nominated
for conversion to Long Range Escort.
March Passage
to UK for refit and conversion.
April Taken
in hand for conversion by HM Dockyard, Portsmouth
May Under conversion.
to
September
October Post
refit trials and work-up for operational service.
November Resumed
Atlantic convoy defence deployment.
to (For
details of development of new weapons and tactics for convoy defence and the
December introduction
of counter measures by German submarines see SEEK AND STRIKE by
Hackmann)
1 9 4 4
January Atlantic
convoy defence duty in continuation.
to
December
1 9 4 5
January Atlantic convoy defence in continuation.
to (Note:
During this period Atlantic convoys were re-routed through English Channel and German
March ‘Schnorkel’ fitted U-Boats were concentrating attacks in
focal points of convoys that
altered the deployment patterns of Western Approaches
Escorts)
April After
VE Day nominated for reduced to Reserve status and paid off.
to
May
P o s t W a r N o t e s
HMS VERITY remained in Reserve until 1946 when she was
placed on the Disposal List. She was sold to BISCO in 1946 for demolition by J Cashmore and arrived
in tow at the breaker's in Newport on 14th September 1947
S p e c i a l N o
t e s
This ship in common with many
other Atlantic escorts was one of the 'unsung' veterans of the sea war in the Atlantic. It should be
remembered that 70% of all convoys had an unscathed passage but this was possible due to vastness of
the ocean and the constant vigilance of ships companies.
Details of escorts for WS Series
military convoys ware provided by Donald Kindell of Ohio, USA from an unpublished source. This
is gratefully acknowledged.
Addendum
CONVOY ESCORT MOVEMENTS of
HMS VERITY
by Don Kindell
Date convoy
Joined
convoy
Convoy
No.
Left convoy Date
convoy
sailed as
escort
arrived
05/09/39 05/09/39 RED 1 08/09/39 27/09/39
04/10/39 24/10/39 KJ 003 28/10/39 28/10/39
02/11/39 02/11/39 OA 029 07/11/39 07/11/39
16/11/39 18/11/39 OA 036G 19/11/39 24/11/39
24/11/39 24/11/39 OA 040G 26/11/39 26/11/39
01/12/39 02/12/39 OA 044 03/12/39 03/12/39
25/11/39 04/12/39 HXF 010 09/12/39 09/12/39
28/12/39 30/12/39 OA 062 31/12/39 31/12/39
20/12/39 02/01/40 HX 013 04/01/40 04/01/40
05/01/40 05/01/40 OB 067 09/01/40 09/01/40
12/01/40 14/01/40 OA 071 16/01/40 16/01/40
01/01/40 16/01/40 SL 015 19/01/40 19/01/40
20/01/40 20/01/40 OA 076 23/01/40 23/01/40
25/01/40 26/01/40 OA 079 28/01/40 28/01/40
20/01/40 29/01/40 HXF 017 01/02/40 01/02/40
02/02/40 02/02/40 OA 084 04/02/40 05/02/40
13/02/40 13/02/40 OA 091 16/02/40 16/02/40
05/02/40 17/02/40 SL 019F 20/02/40 20/02/40
21/02/40 21/02/40 OA 096 23/02/40 unknown
08/04/40 08/04/40 OA 125G 10/04/40 10/04/40
08/04/40 08/04/40 OB 125 10/04/40 10/04/40
10/04/40 10/04/40 OG 025 11/04/40 16/04/40
05/04/40 12/04/40 HG 025 15/04/40 15/04/40
04/10/40 14/10/40 HX 078 19/10/40 20/10/40
20/10/40 20/10/40 HX 082 04/11/40 06/11/40
27/10/40 27/10/40 OB 235 31/10/40 31/10/40
09/11/40 11/11/40 OB 241 14/11/40 14/11/40
31/10/40 15/11/40 HG 046 17/11/40 19/11/40
23/11/40 23/11/40 OB 248 26/11/40 26/11/40
13/11/40 27/11/40 SC 012 29/11/40 29/11/40
06/12/40 08/12/40 OB 255 10/12/40 10/12/40
01/01/41 18/01/41 SL 061 24/01/41 24/01/41
02/03/41 02/03/41 OB 293 07/03/41 08/03/41
23/02/41 10/03/41 HX 111 12/03/41 12/03/41
16/03/41 16/03/41 OB 298 20/03/41 20/03/41
01/03/41 21/03/41 SL 067 24/03/41 26/03/41
31/03/41 01/04/41 OB 304 03/04/41 04/04/41
20/03/41 04/04/41 SC 026 05/04/41 08/04/41
12/04/41 12/04/41 OB 309 15/04/41 19/04/41
03/04/41 16/04/41 HG 058 20/04/41 21/04/41
26/04/41 27/04/41 OB 315 01/05/41 04/05/41
25/04/41 08/05/41 HX 123 09/05/41 13/05/41
08/05/41 13/05/41 OB 320 14/05/41 14/05/41
06/05/41 16/05/41 HX 125A 18/05/41 22/05/41
18/05/41 24/05/41 OB 324 27/05/41 27/05/41
27/05/41 06/06/41 HX 129 12/06/41 12/06/41
20/06/41 21/06/41 OB 337 24/06/41 28/06/41
14/06/41 25/06/41 HG 065 29/06/41 29/06/41
04/07/41 04/07/41 OG 067 09/07/41 20/07/41
18/06/41 09/07/41 SL 078 12/07/41 12/07/41
03/07/41 23/07/41 SL 080 26/07/41 29/07/41
17/10/41 17/10/41 CT 004 20/10/41 23/10/41
22/10/41 23/10/41 ON 029 26/10/41 05/11/41
22/10/41 31/10/41 HX 156 04/11/41 05/11/41
03/12/41 05/12/41 ON 043 07/12/41 15/12/41
13/12/41 13/12/41 DS 018 16/12/41 16/12/41
20/12/41 20/12/41 SD 018 23/12/41 23/12/41
02/02/42 02/02/42 ON 063 07/02/42 13/02/42
14/02/42 28/02/42 ON 067 01/03/42 01/03/42
09/03/42 09/03/42 HX 179 13/03/42 22/03/42
27/03/42 27/03/42 HX 182 30/03/42 09/04/42
11/04/42 11/04/42 SC 079 15/04/42 27/04/42
14/04/42 14/04/42 HX 185 18/04/42 27/04/42
08/04/42 22/04/42 ON 084 25/04/42 25/04/42
07/05/42 07/05/42 SC 083 12/05/42 23/05/42
06/05/42 14/05/42 ON 092 17/05/42 21/05/42
21/05/42 21/05/42 BX 019 23/05/42 23/05/42
22/05/42 02/06/42 ON 097 06/06/42 05/06/42
08/06/42 08/06/42 BX 023B 10/06/42 10/06/42
21/06/42 21/06/42 XB 026 23/06/42 23/06/42
24/06/42 24/06/42 BX 026 26/06/42 26/06/42
06/07/42 06/07/42 HX 197 09/07/42 17/07/42
30/06/42 12/07/42 ON 108 18/07/42 18/07/42
20/07/42 20/07/42 BX 029C 22/07/42 22/07/42
27/07/42 27/07/42 HX 200 30/07/42 07/08/42
24/07/42 03/08/42 ON 115 08/08/42 08/08/42
09/08/42 09/08/42 BX 032C unknown 11/08/42
16/08/42 16/08/42 HX 203 19/08/42 28/08/42
09/08/42 21/08/42 ON 120 27/08/42 27/08/42
26/10/42 04/11/42 KMF 001 06/11/42 08/11/42
01/11/42 11/11/42 KMF 002 12/11/42 12/11/42
14/11/42 14/11/42 MKS 001O 15/11/42 15/11/42
08/11/42 22/11/42 KMS 003G 26/11/42 26/11/42
20/12/42 20/12/42 KMF 005A 22/12/42 22/12/42
22/12/42 26/12/42 MKS 004 27/12/42 06/01/43
12/12/42 31/12/42 UGS 003 01/01/43 01/01/43
24/12/42 04/01/43 KMS 006G 09/01/43 09/01/43
05/01/43 08/01/43 MKS 005 11/01/43 22/01/43
07/01/43 18/01/43 KMS 007G 23/01/43 21/01/43
19/01/43 21/01/43 MKS 006 22/01/43 01/02/43
23/01/43 23/01/43 ET 009X 27/01/43 27/01/43
24/01/43 31/01/43 KMF 008 31/01/43 01/02/43
31/01/42 31/01/43 GUF 004 02/02/43 13/02/43
07/02/43 08/02/43 MKS 007 10/02/43 17/02/43
08/02/43 14/02/43 KMF 009 16/02/43 16/02/43
07/02/43 25/02/43 UGS 005 26/02/43 26/02/43
25/02/43 27/02/43 ET 012 02/03/43 02/03/43
18/02/43 06/03/43 UGS 005A 08/03/43 06/03/43
26/02/43 08/03/43 KMS 010G 11/03/43 11/03/43
23/03/43 23/03/43 GUS 005A 26/03/43 15/04/43
03/01/44 03/01/44 OS 064KM 05/01/44 15/01/44
14/01/44 14/01/44 OS 065KM 16/01/44 26/01/44
15/01/44 17/01/44 KMF 028 22/01/44 29/01/44
25/01/44 25/01/44 RS 014 01/02/44 01/02/44
19/02/44 19/02/44 SR 010 27/02/44 27/02/44
01/03/44 01/03/44 RS 015 08/03/44 14/03/44
26/03/44 29/03/44 SR 012 03/04/44 03/04/44
06/04/44 06/04/44 RS 016 14/04/44 14/04/44
15/04/44 15/04/44 STL 019 19/04/44 19/04/44
27/04/44 27/04/44 LTS 018 01/05/44 01/05/44
04/05/44 04/05/44 SR 013 11/05/44 11/05/44
14/05/44 14/05/44 RS 017 21/05/44 21/05/44
22/05/44 22/05/44 STL 023 26/05/44 27/05/44
21/06/44 25/06/44 RS 018 27/06/44 27/06/44
29/06/44 29/06/44 STL 026 03/07/44 03/07/44
10/07/44 10/07/44 LTS 027 14/07/44 14/07/44
17/07/44 17/07/44 SR 015 24/07/44 24/07/44
25/03/45 25/03/45 MKF 041 26/03/45 30/03/45
12/04/45 12/04/45 MKF 042 15/04/45 17/04/45
