HMS Leamington, (Pennant No. G19) was built in 1918 by New York Ship Builders and formerly served in the United States Navy as a Wickes class destroyer. During this period she was named USS Twiggs, (Pennant No. DD-127).
On September 2nd 1940, in response to requests from Winston Churchill the American Congress agreed to transfer 50 old US Navy Destroyers to bolster the severely depleted convoy escort forces of the Royal Navy. In exchange for these old Destroyers the United States were granted the use of Naval Bases throughout the British controlled sector of the America's.
On 23rd October 1940 she was transferred to the Royal Navy in Newfoundland and on November 4th joined the 4th Town Flotilla bound for Plymouyh via Belfast. On the 5th the flotilla passed through the scene of action fought by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay which was defending Convoy HX-84 against the attack of the German Pocket Battleship- Admiral Scheer. HMS Jervis Bay was sunk.
From Plymouth she was allocated to the 2nd Escort Group, Western Approaches Command, based in Londonderry, from there she carried out Atlantic convoy escort duties.
In September, off the coast of Greenland, whilst Convoy SC-48 was under attack by U-Boats for more than a week she teamed up with the destroyer HMS Veteran and sank U-Boat, U-207.
On March27th 1942 on Convoy WS-27 she added another kill to her record, teaming up with 3 other destroyers to sink the U-Boat, U-587.
In the Summer of 1942 during the ill fated Russian Convoy PQ-17 the powerful German Battleship Tirpitz was reported in the area. Since the massed convoy would present too easy a target against such an adversary the escort abandoned the convoy and the ships were scattered, but these tactics exposed the Allied Merchant ships to attacks by German U-Boats and aircraft. Of the 34 ships on the convoy 23 were sunk. No other Russian convoy during the entire war suffered so severely.
In October 1942 HMS Leamington was transferred to the Canadian Navy and remained as escort to North Atlantic convoys.
In December 1943 she was returned to the Royal Navy, based at Rosyth in Scotland and later placed in reserve on the Tyne.
In June 1944 she was loaned to the Russian Navy and was renamed Zhguchi, she served the Russian flag until 1949 and was then returned to Great Britain in 1950.
She appeared in the film "The Gifthorse " but was eventually scrapped at Newport in 1951. |
