HMS Whimbrel (U29)

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HMS Whimbrel (U29) - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 31°11′30″N 29°51′40″E / 31.1917661°N 29.8611456°E

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

31°11′30″N 29°51′40″E / 31.1917661°N 29.8611456°E / 31.1917661; 29.8611456

History
Whimbrel during World War II
United Kingdom
Name	Whimbrel
Builder	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down	31 October 1941
Launched	25 August 1942
Commissioned	13 January 1943
Identification	Pennant number U29
Honours and awards	Sicily, 1943 Atlantic 1943–44 Normandy 1944 English Channel 1944 Arctic 1944 Okinawa 1945
Fate	Sold to Egypt, November 1949
Egypt
Name	El Malek Farouq
Acquired	November 1949
Renamed	Tariq 1954
Status	Laid up as training ship
General characteristics
Class and type	Black Swan-class sloop
Displacement	1,250 tons original 1,350 tons modified
Length	299 ft 6 in (91.29 m)
Beam	37 ft 6 in (11.43 m) original 38 ft 6 in (11.73 m) modified
Draught	11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion	Geared turbines, 2 shafts: 3,600 hp (2.68 MW) (original) 4,300 hp (3.21 MW) (modified)
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h) (original) 20 knots (37 km/h) (modified)
Range	7,500 nmi (13,900 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h)
Complement	180 (original) 192 (modified)
Armament	6 × QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk XVI AA guns (3 × 2) 4 × 2-pounder AA pom-pom 4 × 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) AA machine guns (original) 12 × 20 mm Oerlikon AA (6 × 2) (modified) Depth charges 40 (110 modified)

HMS Whimbrel is the last surviving Royal Navy warship to have been present at the Surrender of Japan in World War II. She was a sloop of the Black Swan-class, laid down on 31 October 1941 to the pennant number of U29 at the famed yards of Yarrow Shipbuilders, Scotstoun, Glasgow.

Second World War Service

Launched on 25 August 1942 almost nine months after laying down which was about average for this class of vessel. She was commissioned on 13 January 1943 and was to primarily serve in the Atlantic as part of several escort groups. In 1945 she was sent to the Pacific for the last few months in war being part of the large exodus of ships there. She was present at the Japanese surrender.^[1]

Post war

In November 1949 she was sold to Egypt and renamed El Malek Farouq. In 1954 she was renamed Tariq.^[2]

A preservation attempt launched in 2006^[3] aimed to bring her to Canning Dock Liverpool as a memorial to those who died on the Atlantic Convoys. On 26 March 2008 a plaque celebrating the ship was presented to the Mayor of Sefton. John Livingston, president of the Liverpool branch of the Whimbrel Project, said: "She’d be a marvellous addition to our waterfront and a reminder of the sacrifice of our seamen". The Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Richard Hands, said: "HMS Whimbrel forms a unique part of both our social and maritime history and I fully support the campaign to bring her back to Liverpool".^[4] The attempt stalled when it was not possible to agree a price with the Egyptian Government. Then, in 2016, it was reported in Parliament that the Egyptian Navy had offered her for sale to the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth for £725,000, and that the museum had shown an interest in housing HMS Whimbrel and is investigating the possibility of bringing it back to the UK.^[5]

She currently is laid up at Alexandria as a training ship.^[6]

Notes

^ "HMS Whimbrel (U29)". uboat.net. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
^ Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963–4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p. 71
^ "HMS Whimbrel (1942–49) Battle of the Atlantic Memorial Project". Archived from the original on 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2008.
^ HMS Whimbrel honoured with special plaque - Liverpool Echo.co.uk
^ "House of Commons Debate 15/12/16: HMS President and Historic Warships". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
^ "ex-HMS WHIMBREL". Ships Nostalgia. Retrieved 5 September 2021.

Publications

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.
Hague, Arnold (1993). Sloops: A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-67-3.

External links

HMS Whimbrel in Liverpool, 2003
navynews article
Battle of the Atlantic Memorial Project Archived 24 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine

v t e Black Swan-class sloops
Royal Navy	Actaeon Alacrity Amethyst Black Swan Chanticleer Crane Cygnet Erne Flamingo Hart Hind Ibis Kite Lapwing Lark Magpie Mermaid Modeste Nereide Nonsuch^X Nymphe^X Opossum Partridge^X Peacock Pheasant Redpole Snipe Sparrow Starling Waterhen^X Weyneck^X Whimbrel Wild Goose Woodcock Woodpecker Wren
Royal Indian Navy	Cauvery Godavari Jumna Kistna Narbada Sutlej
German Navy	Hipper Graf Spee Scharnhorst Scheer
Egyptian Navy	El Malek Farouq Tariq
Soviet Navy	Neptun
X Cancelled
Preceded by: Egret class
List of sloops of the Royal Navy

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