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HMS Thanet (H29)

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History
RN EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Thanet
OrderedJuly 1917
BuilderHawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn
Laid down13 December 1917
Launched5 November 1918
Commissioned3 August 1919
IdentificationPennant number: H29
MottoIn hoc signo: 'By this sign you will conquer'
FateSunk on 27 January 1942
BadgeOn a field Blue a Cross fitched Gold
General characteristics
Class and typeS-class destroyer
Displacement1,075 tons
Length276 ft (84 m) o/a
Beam26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
PropulsionBrown-Curtis, steam turbines, 2 shafts, 27,000 shp
Speed36 knots
Range250-300 tons of oil
Complement90
Armament

HMS Thanet was an S-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. Built during, and commissioned shortly after the First World War, she went on to see service in the Second World War, being sunk early in 1942.

Thanet had been one of the ships on the China Station on the outbreak of war. After briefly being converted to a minelayer she spent the early years of the war patrolling off Hong Kong. With the Japanese entry to the war Thanet evacuated Hong Kong with another destroyer, just hours after the Japanese began their attack on the city. She made her way to Singapore and briefly deployed there until being sent to intercept an enemy troop convoy, in company with the Australian destroyer Vampire. The allied ships ran into a heavy Japanese force, and after a short battle Thanet was sunk and Vampire was forced to withdraw.

Discover more about HMS Thanet (H29) related topics

S-class destroyer (1917)

S-class destroyer (1917)

The S class was a class of 67 destroyers ordered for the Royal Navy in 1917 under the 11th and 12th Emergency War Programmes. They saw active service in the last months of the First World War and in the Russian and Irish Civil Wars during the early 1920s. Most were relegated to the reserve by the mid-1920s and subsequently scrapped under the terms of the London Naval Treaty. Eleven survivors saw much action during the Second World War.

Destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or battle group and defend them against powerful short-range attackers. They were originally developed in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta in South China. With 7.5 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Hong Kong is also a major global financial centre and one of the most developed cities in the world.

Singapore

Singapore

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor to the north. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third highest population density in the world. With a multicultural population and recognising the need to respect cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca and numerous public services are available only in English. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

HMAS Vampire (D68)

HMAS Vampire (D68)

HMAS Vampire was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Launched in 1917 as HMS Wallace, the ship was renamed and commissioned into the RN later that year. Vampire was loaned to the RAN in 1933, and operated as a depot tender until just before World War II. Reactivated for war service, the destroyer served in the Mediterranean as part of the Scrap Iron Flotilla, and was escorting the British warships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse during their loss to Japanese aircraft in the South China Sea in December 1941. Vampire was sunk on 9 April 1942 by Japanese aircraft while sailing with the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes from Trincomalee.

Battle off Endau

Battle off Endau

The Battle of Endau was a Second World War battle that took place off Endau town on 26–27 January 1942. Part of the Battle of Malaya, it was the first notable naval engagement since the sinking of the battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser Repulse on 10 December 1941, and the last effort by the Royal Navy to intercept Japanese convoy shipping around the Malay Peninsula.

Construction and commissioning

Thanet was ordered from the yards of Hawthorn Leslie & Company, Hebburn in July 1917, part of the 1917–18 Programme.[1] She was laid down there on 13 December 1917 and launched on 5 November 1918, six days before the Armistice with Germany.[1][2] She was commissioned on 3 August 1919, and was initially used to trial a 'flying off platform' for aircraft.[1]

Second World War

Thanet was on the China Station, deployed with the Local Destroyer Flotilla at Hong Kong on the outbreak of the Second World War on 3 September 1939.[1] Her initial duties involved carrying out patrols and intercepting German shipping, and in October she was nominated to be converted for use as a minelayer. Work began at the naval dockyard in Hong Kong on 18 October, and she was able to participate in the laying of a defensive minefield in Lantau Channel between 21 and 27 October, the following day reverting to her anti-submarine role.[1]

The rest of the year and all of 1940 was spent carrying out similar duties, deploying out of Hong Kong to protect trade and patrol in search of enemy vessels.[1] The threat of the Japanese entry to the war in December 1941 led to negotiations on 6 December between the British commander in the area, Admiral Tom Phillips, and his American counterpart Admiral Thomas C. Hart. Hart agreed to send four destroyers to Singapore, USS Whipple, Alden, John D. Edwards and Edsall, while Phillips would move Thanet and her sister-ship HMS Scout to Singapore.[3]

Events were overtaken by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the following day, and the Japanese assault on Hong Kong which began on 8 December, which was effectively the same day as the Pearl Harbour assault for the International Dateline placed Hong Kong twenty-four hours ahead of the USA. Thanet and Scout hurriedly evacuated the port on 8 December, just hours after the Imperial Japanese Army attack on Mainland positions began, and made their way to Singapore to join the Eastern Fleet.[4][5] A small force consisting of the destroyer HMS Thracian, the gunboat HMS Cicala and eight motor torpedo boats remained behind to gallantly fight the Japanese.[6] On their arrival at Singapore on 13 December, Thanet and Scout carried out various escort duties.[1]

Last battle and sinking

Main article: Battle off Endau

On 26 January 1942 Malaya Command received intelligence that a Japanese troop convoy was approaching Endau, and attempted to attack it with nine Lockheed Hudsons of No. 1 and No. 8 Squadrons, and 12 Vickers Vildebeests.[7] The attack went badly, losing five Vildebeests, and being unable to inflict significant damage. The Japanese commander, Vice-Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa had received intelligence reports that two cruisers were at Singapore, and so concentrated his forces off Endau.[7] The two cruisers were in fact Thanet, and the destroyer HMAS Vampire, and following the failure of the air attacks, Malaya Command ordered them to sea to intercept the convoy. They steamed from Singapore at 4:30 pm on 26 January, carrying only three torpedoes each.[7][8] Early in the morning of 27 January they ran into the covering force of Japanese warships, consisting of three destroyers, and later being joined by the Japanese cruiser Sendai. Thanet was hit in the engine room and disabled, and began to sink.[7] Vampire attempted to lay down a smoke screen but was driven off under heavy fire, and managed to escape.[7] Thanet sank with the loss of 12 men afterwards.[9] Sixty-five crewmen managed to get to the coast and arrived at Singapore, but 31 were picked up by Shirayuki and handed over to Japanese troops the next day. It is believed they were executed in retaliation for heavy Japanese losses sustained in an ambush by the Australian 2/18th Battalion which occurred at the same time as the naval battle off Endau.[10]

Discover more about Second World War related topics

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta in South China. With 7.5 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Hong Kong is also a major global financial centre and one of the most developed cities in the world.

Minelayer

Minelayer

A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controlled mines at predetermined positions in connection with coastal fortifications or harbor approaches that would be detonated by shore control when a ship was fixed as being within the mine's effective range.

Lantau Channel

Lantau Channel

Lantau Channel is a channel south of Fan Lau Kok of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The channel is also on the water boundary between Hong Kong and mainland China. Across the border is the islands of Guishan Dao (桂山島), Niutou Dao (牛頭島) and Zhongxin Dao (中心島) of Wanshan Archipelago.

Tom Phillips (Royal Navy officer)

Tom Phillips (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir Tom Spencer Vaughan Phillips, was a Royal Navy officer who served during the First and Second World Wars. He was nicknamed "Tom Thumb", due to his short stature. He is best known for his command of Force Z during the Japanese invasion of Malaya, where he went down with his flagship, the battleship HMS Prince of Wales. Phillips was one of the highest ranking Allied officers killed in battle during the Second World War.

Thomas C. Hart

Thomas C. Hart

Thomas Charles Hart was an admiral in the United States Navy, whose service extended from the Spanish–American War through World War II. Following his retirement from the navy, he served briefly as a United States Senator from Connecticut.

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941. The United States was a neutral country at the time; the attack led to its formal entry into World War II the next day. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI, and as Operation Z during its planning.

Battle of Hong Kong

Battle of Hong Kong

The Battle of Hong Kong, also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the British Crown colony of Hong Kong, without declaring war against the British Empire. The Hong Kong garrison consisted of British, Indian and Canadian units, also the Auxiliary Defence Units and Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps (HKVDC).

Singapore

Singapore

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor to the north. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet; the combined area of these has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third highest population density in the world. With a multicultural population and recognising the need to respect cultural identities of the major ethnic groups within the nation, Singapore has four official languages: English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca and numerous public services are available only in English. Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

HMS Thracian (1920)

HMS Thracian (1920)

HMS Thracian was an S-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the First World War.

Gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.

Battle off Endau

Battle off Endau

The Battle of Endau was a Second World War battle that took place off Endau town on 26–27 January 1942. Part of the Battle of Malaya, it was the first notable naval engagement since the sinking of the battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser Repulse on 10 December 1941, and the last effort by the Royal Navy to intercept Japanese convoy shipping around the Malay Peninsula.

Malaya Command

Malaya Command

The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. It consisted mainly of small garrison forces in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Taiping, Seremban and Singapore.

Source: "HMS Thanet (H29)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, January 4th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Thanet_(H29).

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Further Reading

HMS Indomitable (92)

HMS Kenya

Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse

HMS Euryalus (42)

HMAS Vampire (D68)

Japanese destroyer Asagiri (1929)

Japanese destroyer Fubuki (1927)

HMS Electra (H27)

HMS Tenedos (H04)

Japanese cruiser Sendai

Japanese destroyer Shirayuki (1928)

Japanese destroyer Yūgiri (1930)

S-class destroyer (1917)

Battle off Endau

HMS Thracian (1920)

East Indies Fleet

HMS Grimsby (U16)

HMS Falmouth (L34)
See also
Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Mason. "HMS THANET - Old S-class Destroyer". Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  2. ^ Colledge. Ships of the Royal Navy. p. 349.
  3. ^ Field. Royal Navy Strategy in the Far East. p. 225.
  4. ^ Banham. We Shall Suffer There. p. 4.
  5. ^ Stanford. Roses in December. pp. 103–4.
  6. ^ Jackson. The British Empire and the Second World War. p. 456.
  7. ^ a b c d e Swain. A Chronology of Australian Armed Forces at War 1939-45. p. 125.
  8. ^ Warren. Britain's Greatest Defeat: Singapore 1942. p. 189.
  9. ^ Cannon, p. 79
  10. ^ Action off Endau, Naval Historical Society of Australia, March 2006, retrieved 4 October 2020
General references
  • Banham, Tony (2009). We Shall Suffer There: Hong Kong's Defenders Imprisoned, 1942-45. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-209-960-2.
  • Cannon, Peter (2014). "Night Action, Malaya 1942". In Jordan, John (ed.). Warship 2015. London: Conway. pp. 62–80. ISBN 978-1-84486-276-4.
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Field, Andrew (2004). Royal Navy Strategy in the Far East, 1919–1939: Preparing for War Against Japan. Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-5321-7.
  • Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
  • Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
  • Jackson, Ashley (2006). The British Empire and the Second World War. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 1-85285-417-0.
  • March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission from Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
  • Stanford, David (2006). Roses in December. Lulu.com. ISBN 1-84753-966-1.
  • Swain, Bruce T. (2001). A Chronology of Australian Armed Forces at War 1939–45. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-352-6.
  • Warren, Allen (2007). Britain's Greatest Defeat: Singapore 1942. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 1-85285-597-5.
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