Destroyer of the Royal Navy
HMS
Mendip
HMS
Mendip
in 1948
|
History
|
United Kingdom
|
Ordered
| 11 April 1939
|
Builder
| Swan Hunter
,
Wallsend
|
Laid down
| 10 August 1939
|
Launched
| 9 April 1940
|
Commissioned
| 12 October 1940
|
Out of service
| 20 May 1946
|
Recommissioned
| June 1949 following repossession from ROC
|
Identification
| Pennant number
: L60
|
Honours and
awards
| |
Fate
| Sold to Egypt
|
Badge
| On a field Red, on a White roundel, a bugle horn stringed Black within the strings a blue rose.
|
China
|
Name
| Lin Fu
|
Commissioned
| 21 January 1948
|
Out of service
| 29 May 1949
|
Fate
| Returned to RN control after the Nationalist Government fell.
|
Egypt
|
Name
| Mohammed Ali el-Kebir
|
Acquired
| 9 November 1949
|
Renamed
| Ibrahim el-Awal
|
Fate
| Captured by Israel on 31 October 1956 and commissioned as INS
Haifa
(K-38)
|
Israel
|
Name
| INS
Haifa
|
Acquired
| 31 October 1956 (captured)
|
Decommissioned
| 1968
|
Homeport
| Haifa
|
Identification
| K-38
|
Fate
| Used as target ship, sank by missile in 1970
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Type I Hunt-class
destroyer
|
Displacement
|
- 1,050 long tons (1,070 t) standard
- 1,430 long tons (1,450 t) full load
|
Length
| 85.3 m (279 ft 10 in)
o/a
|
Beam
| 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in)
|
Draught
| 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in)
|
Propulsion
| |
Speed
|
- 27.5
knots
(31.6 mph; 50.9 km/h)
- 26 kn (29.9 mph; 48.2 km/h) full
|
Range
|
- 3,500
nmi
(6,500 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h)
- 1,000 nmi (1,850 km) at 26 kn (48 km/h)
|
Complement
| 164
|
Armament
| |
HMS
Mendip
(L60)
was a
Hunt-class
destroyer of the
Royal Navy
. She was a member of the first subgroup of the class. The ship is notable for seeing service in the navies of three other nations after her use by the Royal Navy.
[1]
She saw service in the
Second World War
and later as an
Egyptian Navy
ship in the
Suez Crisis
. She was captured in battle on 31 October 1956 by the
Israeli Navy
and re-commissioned as
INS
Haifa
(K-38)
.
Construction and commissioning
[
edit
]
Mendip
was ordered under the 1939 Naval Building Programme from
Swan Hunter
at
Wallsend
on 17 April 1939. She was laid down as Job No. J4111 on 10 August 1939 and launched on 9 April 1940. She was the first Royal Navy ship to carry the name of the
fox hunt
in
Somerset
. Construction of the ship was completed on 16 October 1940, and following a successful
Warship Week
National Savings campaign in March 1942 she was adopted by the civil community of
Shepton Mallet
, Somerset.
[1]
Career in World War II
[
edit
]
On commissioning
Mendip
was assigned to the
Home Fleet
's base at
Scapa Flow
for working-up in October, but sustained damage when one of her own
depth charges
exploded during work up exercises. She was repaired and resumed work up on 18 February 1941. On 30 March she was assigned to the 21st Destroyer Flotilla at
Sheerness
where she spent the next two years on convoy escort and patrol duties in the
North Sea
and
English Channel
.
[1]
During this time
Mendip
protected coastal traffic against attack by German aircraft and
E-boats
, rescued survivors, took part in minelaying and offensive operations against enemy installations. In September 1942 she became senior ship in 21 Flotilla with the appointment of Captain CR Parry, 21 Flotilla's
Captain (D)
, as her commander.
[1]
In June 1943, after a refit,
Mendip
was assigned to escort convoy WS31, part of the invasion force for
Operation Husky
, and in July took part in the invasion of
Sicily
itself. In September
Mendip
was part of
Operation Avalanche
, the landings at
Salerno
, part of the Allied invasion of
Italy
. For the remainder of the year she took part in convoy escort and patrol duties, assisting in the Mediterranean.
[1]
in May 1944
Mendip
returned to Britain to take part in
Operation Neptune
, the naval component of the
Normandy landings
. Following this she returned to 21 Flotilla and local escort duties in the English Channel and North Sea, until
VE Day
in May 1945.
[1]
Post-war career
[
edit
]
Mendip's
last assignment was with
Operation Deadlight
, the disposal of the German U-boat fleet, and in January 1946 she was
paid off
and placed in
Reserve
.
Chinese Navy service
[
edit
]
In May 1948
Mendip
was lent to the
Chinese Navy
, together with
HMS
Aurora
, and was renamed
Lin Fu
, after major general
Zhang Lingfu
, commander of the 74th division, who fell during the
Chinese Civil War
. After
Aurora
(renamed
Chung King
) defected to the communists in February 1949, she was repossessed by the Royal Navy in June 1949 and re-commissioned with the ship's company of
HMS
Consort
.
Egyptian Navy service
[
edit
]
In November 1949
Mendip
was sold to the
Egyptian navy
, becoming
Mohammed Ali el-Kebir
on 15 November. She was renamed
Ibrahim el-Awal
later in 1951.
[1]
In 1956,
Ibrahim el-Awal
took part in the naval operations during the
Suez crisis
, and on 30 October 1956, she was dispatched to
Haifa
with the aim of shelling that city's coastal oil installations. On 31 October she reached Haifa and began bombarding the city with her four
102 mm (4-inch) guns
. The French destroyer
Kersaint
, which was deployed in Haifa harbour to guard the port as part of
Operation Musketeer
, opened fire on
Ibrahim el-Awal
but scored no hits.
[2]
Soon after, Israeli warships challenged
Ibrahim el-Awal
and the Egyptian warship immediately retreated. The Israeli warships gave chase and together with the
Israeli Air Force
, succeeded in damaging the vessel's turbo generator and rudder. Left without power and unable to steer,
Ibrahim el-Awal
surrendered to the Israeli Navy.
[3]
Israeli Navy service
[
edit
]
The Egyptian destroyer was subsequently incorporated into the Israeli Navy and renamed
Haifa
.
[4]
She served with the Israeli navy through the late 1960s, when she was decommissioned, she was relegated to duty as a
target ship
in 1968 and sunk in 1970 after being hit by a
Gabriel missile
.
[5]
One of her twin 4-inch gun turrets and a depth charge thrower are preserved at the
Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum
,
Haifa
.
References
[
edit
]
Publications
[
edit
]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1956
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Shipwrecks
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Other incidents
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