HMS Ledbury was an escort destroyer of the Hunt class Type II. The Royal Navy ordered Ledburys construction two days after the outbreak of the Second World War and J. I. Thornycroft Ltd laid down her keel at their Southampton yard on 24 January 1940. Air raid damage to the yard delayed her construction and she did not launch until 27 September 1941. Her initial assignment was to perform escort duties between Scapa Flow and Iceland. She remained in this theatre for the first part of the war, during which time she served with the ill-fated Arctic convoy PQ 17 in June 1942, from which twenty-four ships were lost.Roger Hill, Destroyer Captain (Periscope Publishing 2004)
Only two months later she took up the role of close escort in the Pedestal convoy to Malta. During the fierce attacks that dogged the convoy, Ledbury claimed three enemy aircraft destroyed and five damaged, and was one of three destroyers that helped the crippled oil tanker Ohio into the Grand Harbour. She added to her battle honours with the Allied landings in Sicily, Salerno, and operations in the Adriatic and Aegean. The Royal Navy finally scrapped Ledbury in 1958.
Early service record
The Arctic convoy PQ 17
Ledbury was engaged in escorting major warships and Fleet auxiliaries in the North Sea until late June 1942, when she was attached to the ocean escort of the convoy PQ 17. Mariners that took part in convoys delivering supplies to Russia remember vividly the biting cold and the continual fear of attack by air or sea. The supplies were vital in that they were needed to keep Russia in the war following her invasion by German forces in 1941. The PQ 17 convoy, which left Iceland at the end of June 1942, is known particularly for the tremendous losses among the merchant ships.
The problems for convoy PQ 17 started early on the morning of 4 July 1942, with the appearance of a copper-yellow warhead of a torpedo, clearly visible just below the surface of the sea. The freighter sounded her siren to warn the leading ships in column eight, but it was too late: the weapon was heading straight for the midship section of the Liberty ship , at the head of that column.La Malouines signal log
The ship's Armed Guard ordered the machine guns to be turned on the torpedo racing towards them. Newports merchant seamen loading the guns lost their nerve and scrambled to the ship's port side. One gunner remained at his post, directing bullets at the torpedo; but these were deflected by the water. The torpedo slammed into the ship's engine-room, tearing a gaping hole and knocking the steering gear out of action with an enormous explosion. The helpless ship was yawing out of control across the sixth and seventh columns of the convoy, narrowly missing collisions with other ships, before she lurched round in the opposite direction to that of the convoy and slowed to a standstill.Interviews with Commander J. Rankin (Dianella) and Commander P. L. Newstead, January 1963 The surviving ships rolled past her, and the convoy sped on in the fog. Christopher Newport (code-number in the convoy, 'Penway' ) wirelessed the leading ship : 'Hit by aerial torpedo.' The Convoy Commander, Jack Broome, ordered Ledbury, and to '... take all possible action to keep U-boats down.'Irving, p. 86 Ledbury was one of the ships chosen to stay behind to tend to, and if necessary scuttle, the torpedoed ship and they themselves could have been an easy target to any submarines; however, none of the U-boats had maintained contact with the convoy.
The next front action for Ledbury came later on that day, at 08:20, when the destroyer began signalling, 'Eight air torpedo-bombers 210 degrees, five miles', and then two minutes later, 'for eight read ten'.Irving, p. 102 Suddenly after Ledburys signals, all the escorts seemed to be blinking morse-signals at once. The loudspeakers were booming, 'Bombers approaching ... there's six of them ... there's twelve ... there's eighteen ... good God, there's twenty-five!' The anti-aircraft ship lurched forward and altered course to head off the attack. Commodore Dowding signalled Keppel to ask if the convoy should make an 'emergency turn'; but it was deemed too late for such a manoeuvre, since half the ships would most likely miss the signal altogether and Broome flashed back, 'I do not think it worth it.'Commodore Dowding's Report. The developing air attack spotted by Ledbury turned into a blitz of the convoy, with Luftwaffe aircraft being shot down over the formation, and one plane crashed into the sea about four thousand yards from the destroyer , on the convoy's starboard bow. The crash occurred not far from Ledbury and seamen on board saw four German airmen climbing out into a rubber dinghy with the bomber sinking soon after. The pilot, Lieutenant Kaumeyr, and his three crewmen were picked out of their dinghy by Ledbury.Irving, p. 105 The attack however, continued and throughout the fierce fighting the escorts distinguished themselves by screening the merchantmen from many attacks, especially U-boat sorties; Ledbury alone had sighted seven.
The Admiralty believed that the convoy faced an imminent attack from elements of the German Kriegsmarine, possibly a combined attack of the commerce raiding capital ships , , and the . A series of signals were issued to the convoy, culminating in an order to 'scatter' to Soviet ports. In order to protect the convoy the destroyers and cruisers, believing that they were steaming to intercept a larger force, headed west thereby abandoning the merchantmen. Broome led his six destroyers round at twenty knots, and headed off in line ahead to join a number of cruisers and destroyers racing off to the south-west into a wall of fog. By 11:00, his destroyers were drawing very close to the cruisers. The destroyer signalled Ledbury, 'How fast are you going?' Ledbury replied, 'Full ahead.'Notes by Lieutenant Commander Higgens (Wilton), 4 July. However the threat posed by the capital ships failed to materialise and the scattered merchant ships came under U-boat and Luftwaffe attack, resulting in the sinking of twenty three ships. As well as the loss of precious lives and supplies, there was widespread bitterness and the recriminations reverberated for many months, as stated by the commander of Ledbury, Roger P. Hill:
Pedestal and Ledbury
Background and preliminary movements
In 1942, Great Britain was waging war against Italian forces in North Africa and their allies, the Afrika Korps. Malta was critical to this campaign 'The Mediterranean campaign revolved around the island of Malta, where the British based surface ships, submarines and aircraft to attack the supplies for Italian and German armies in North Africa. Major convoy operations were mounted to sustain Malta and the island narrowly survived.' During this stage of the war, Malta was critically short on munitions, food and aviation fuel. Attempts to run the blockade and resupply Malta proved to be a failure; previous convoys such as Harpoon (from Gibraltar) and Vigorous (from Alexandria, Egypt) had lost most of their merchantmen and their escorts had been damaged.Bradford, p. 187 A new convoy was hence planned for mid-August, and named Pedestal.
On 9 August 1942, Ledbury sailed from Gibraltar, sighted the convoy in the afternoon, and took its convoy screening station. An hour before midnight on 10 August she left the convoy and proceeded to refuel from the tanker Dingledale, an operation that took place early in the morning of 11 August. Ledbury took aboard 101 tons of fuel. Just before ten o'clock in the morning, the destroyer took station as starboard wing ship of screen. In the afternoon, was hit by torpedoes, with Derwent ordering Ledbury to stand by the stricken aircraft carrier. As Eagle sank, one destroyer and the tug Jaunty stopped, picking up survivors in the oil patches in the water. As Ledbury reached survivors, she was ordered to rejoin the convoy. The convoy now suffered a series of aerial attacks with the gunner of Ledburys port Oerlikon thought to have shot down one plane, although many other ships were firing at this machine. At 21:00, Ledbury was ordered to Anti-Aircraft station, with one cable on the starboard beam of No. 43. Early on the morning of 12 August, the destroyer was ordered by to investigate a periscope reported on the starboard quarter of No.43. Nelson reported a submarine periscope bearing north of her, and Ledbury deployed single scare charges to cover from this submarine, and destroyers astern of her appeared to follow up this contact. At nine o'clock in the morning, an air attack by Junkers 88s developed on the convoy, with one Junkers Ju 88 crashing at bearing 058 degrees. Four small bombs were seen to go by the bridge, landing on the starboard side, and a large bomb came near the port quarter.Eldworth, pp. 75–76 In the ensuing mayhem, Ledbury was ordered to fill in gaps in the screen caused by ships falling back on contact. On the way to this position three airmen were seen coming down by parachute. One was picked up and found to be German, the others were abandoned. The captured airman stated that the last raid consisted of Luftwaffe airmen flying Junkers 88s from Sicily; and that he had been shot down by close range weapons from the convoy. Ledburys crew noted that the most interesting thing about the pilot was that the nails of his boots were made of wood. Yet another aerial attack ensued, this time by dive-bombers. Two groups approached from ahead, but neither got over the convoy. Two of these planes were shot down by gunfire. After this attack, the destroyer resumed station on the starboard side of the convoy. An attack by Junkers 88s soon started whilst escort fighters were still refuelling. Ledbury suffered another near miss off her port quarter. One ship in the convoy was damaged, and stood by her.
The convoy now continued on its route, harassed and attacked at each step of its journey; it soon encountered submarines. One was forced to surface astern and it was sunk by a destroyer.Shankland and Hunter p. 117–118 A Junkers Ju 87 dropped parachute mines, all of which fell clear. Twelve torpedo bombers approached from the starboard side but these were turned away by gunfire. At the same time, Junkers Ju 87s carried out dive-bombing attacks, and HMS Indomitable was hit. At 19:00, Force "Z", (the battleships, the aircraft carriers, and three cruisers), retired from the convoy. Fifty minutesEldworth, pp. 78–80 after Force Z turned back, the convoy was in the process of forming two lines with the three T.S.D.S.TSDS gear (two speed destroyer sweep) consisted of paravanes attached to steel cables which were streamed out aft on either side of the stern destroyers ahead, and the remaining ships in their Anti-Aircraft stations in the column of the convoy. A signal, "Form two columns" was still flying, but most ships were anticipating the movement and moving to their new positions. Four minutes before 20:00, and and the tanker were torpedoed. The convoy carried out an emergency turn to starboard, and most destroyers turned back to stand by the damaged cruisers. Ledbury was in station on the starboard side of the convoy – about half way up two columns roughly formed with , and ahead.