HMS Esk (H15)

Casualty List

Navy: Royal Navy
Type: Destroyer
Class:
Pennant: H 15 
Built by: Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (Wallsend-on-Tyne, U.K.): Wallsend 
Laid down: 23 Mar, 1933 
Launched: 19 Mar, 1934 
Commissioned: 26 Sep, 1934 
Complement: 145
Lost: 31 Aug, 1940 (Lt. Cdr. R. J. H. Couch, RN. DSC)53°26.550' N-003°47.920' E was mined and sunk northwest of Texel. off

Dutch coast

 
History: 13 March, 1940
The German submarine U-44 was hit by a mine around 13 March 1940, in minefield Field No 7. laid on 3 March 1940 by the British destroyers HMS Express, HMS Esk, HMS Icarus and HMS Impulsive.

9 May, 1940
The minelaying destroyers HMS Express (Capt. J .G. Bickford), HMS Esk (Lt. Cdr. R. J. H. Couch) and HMS Intrepid (Cdr. R.G. Gordon) lay 180 mines in known German swept channels in oparation  XMG.

31 Aug, 1940
On 31 August 1940 a group of destroyers sailed from Immingham on a minelaying mission off the Dutch coast. The minelayers were from the 20th Destroyer Flotilla and consisted of the destroyers HMS Express, HMS Esk, HMS Icarus, HMS Intrepid and HMS Ivanhoe. The minelayers were escorted by members of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla consisted of the destroyers HMS Kelvin, HMS Jupiter and HMS Vortigern. Arial reconnaissance detected a German force and the ships of the 20th and 5th DF were ordered to intercept, beliving wrongly that the German ships were part of an invasion force. HMS Express struck a mine and was badly damaged, HMS Esk went to her assistance and hit mine and sank immediately, HMS Ivanhoe also went to her assistance and hit a mine and was badly damaged, so much so she she had to be sunk by HMS Kelvin. The following day they were joined by the light cruisers HMS Aurora and HMS Galatea and while returning to base HMS Galatea struck another mine and was slightly damaged off Cleaner Shoal Buoy near the Humber light vessel.

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