HMS Grove (L77)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Grove
Builder	Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear
Laid down	28 August 1940
Launched	29 May 1941
Commissioned	5 February 1942
Honours and awards	ATLANTIC 1942 LIBYA 1942 ARCTIC 1942
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by U-77 on 12 June 1942
Badge	On a Field per fess wavy Red and Blue within a spur rowel upwards White, an escallop Gold
General characteristics
Class and type	Type II Hunt-class destroyer
Displacement	1,050 long tons (1,070 t) standard 1,430 long tons (1,450 t) full load
Length	279 ft 10 in (85.29 m) o/a
Beam	31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
Draught	8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)
Propulsion	Two Admiralty 3-drum boilers Two shaft Parsons geared turbines, 19,000 shp
Speed	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph) full
Range	3,600 nmi (6,700 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h)
Complement	164
Armament	6 × QF 4 in Mark XVI on twin mounts Mk. XIX 4 × QF 2 pdr Mk. VIII on quad mount MK.VII 2 × 20 mm Oerlikons on single mounts P Mk. III 110 depth charges, two throwers, three racks

HMS Grove (L77) was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She had been completed in early 1942 at the Swan Hunter yard at Wallsend-on-Tyne.

Service history

Initial success

Grove, along with other ships of the 2nd Escort Group, namely Aldenham, Volunteer and Leamington, had sunk the German submarine U-587. This followed a 'Huff Duff' (High frequency Direction finding) interception.

Loss

While escorting convoy MW-11, Grove was hit by two torpedoes fired by U-77 on 12 June 1942. The ship sank with the loss of 110 men.^[1] The destroyer Tetcott rescued 79 survivors. She had been returning to Alexandria from Tobruk, having run aground at Tobruk, damaging the port propeller shaft and the screw itself; her speed had been reduced to 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph).^[2]

References

1. Guðmundur Helgason. "HMS Grove (L 77)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 May 2009.
2. Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason. "HMS GROVE - Type II, Hunt-class Escort Destroyer". Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2. Retrieved 16 May 2009.

32°5′N 25°30′E