HMS Gladiolus (K34)
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Name: | HMS Gladiolus |
| Ordered: | 25 July 1939 |
| Builder: | Smiths Dock Company, River Tees |
| Laid down: | 19 October 1939 |
| Launched: | 24 January 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 6 April 1940 |
| Identification: | Pennant number:K34 |
| Fate: | Sunk with all hands off Iceland on 16 October 1941,cause unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Flower-class corvette |
| Displacement: | 940 tons |
| Length: | 205 ft (62 m) |
| Beam: | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Draught: | 11.5 ft (3.5 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 16 kn (30 km/h) at 2,750 hp |
| Range: | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 85 men |
| Armament: |
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HMS Gladiolus was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy, the first ship of her class.
She was laid down at Smiths Dock Company on the River Tees on 19 October 1939, launched on 24 January 1940, and commissioned on 6 April 1940.Gladiolus was active in the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II and spent most of her service career on convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic. She was lost in action on 16 October 1941.
After commissioning and working up, Gladiolus was assigned to the Western Approaches Escort Force. In her 18 months of service she escorted over 40 convoys, of which over a dozen were attacked; Gladiolus was involved in 4 major convoy battles, and participated destroying 3 U-boats.
She was engaged in all the duties performed by corvettes; escorting convoys, searching for and attacking U-boats which attacked ships in convoy, and rescuing survivors.
On 28 June 1940 she picked up 35 survivors from the SS Llanarth, that had been torpedoed and sunk by Fritz-Julius Lemp's U-30.
Gladiolus was involved in the sinking of the Type I U-boat U-26 on 1 July 1940. This was the first U-boat kill by a corvette.U-26 had been heavily damaged by eight depth charges from Gladiolus, as well as bombs from a Short Sunderland aircraft, and subsequently scuttled herself.
As one of the early Flowers Gladiolus suffered from the drawbacks of her type; a short forecastle, merchant type bridge, and poor habitability. In October 1940 she went into dock for remedial work and was re-fitted with a longer foc’s’le to improve her habitability. This necessitated ballasting, to avoid pitch problems, and a tilt test, to check stability. These were satisfactory, and she returned to action in January 1941, assigned to one of the new escort groups, 2 EG, led by Douglas.
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