limbourne details

H.M.S.Limbourne was very active in her one year of existence. Even while working up in November 1942 she escorted the battleship H.M.S.Howe to the Mediterranean and returned to the UK as escort for H.M.S.Duke of York and H.M.S.Victorious. She then joined the 15th Destroyer Flotilla based at Devonport where she was flotilla leader for most of the remaining part of her career. In January and February 1943 she was to be found escorting convoys to Gibraltar and North Africa. She entered Casablanca with the US Navy when they took the port during the North African landings, working to help clear the scuttled ships left behind. Following repairs in Portsmouth Dockyard to replace a propeller, she escorted the French battleship Le Courbet to the Clyde. The next five months were spent on sweeps off the French coast where she saw action. She was also involved in protecting light forces and anti-submarine patrols in the Bay of Biscay. During one of these patrols north of Morlaix she received slight damage in action with enemy destroyers. She was eventually lost on 23rd October 1943, the eve of the anniversary of her commissioning, off the Sept Isles during Operation Tunnel. She was torpedoed by the German destroyer T22. The torpedo hit the forward magazine; the resulting explosion blew away all the fore-end structure below the waterline, from just forward of the boiler rooms and forecastle deck forward of the bridge. Despite this enormous damage, great efforts were made to save the ship but attempts under her own steam or in tow were unsuccessful. At daylight the remaining structure that was still afloat had to be sunk by torpedoes from our own forces to prevent it falling into enemy hands. From a ships company of 125, a total of 40 lives were lost; sadly none of the bodies were ever recovered.