HMS Exmoor (L61) facts for kids

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HMS Exmoor was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was a type of warship called a destroyer, built for the British navy. She played a part in World War II, but sadly, she was sunk in 1941.

Building and Joining the Navy

HMS Exmoor was ordered in 1939. She was built by a company called Vickers-Armstrongs in Tyneside, England. Her construction started on June 8, 1939.

The ship was launched into the water on January 25, 1940. This is when the ship first touches the water. She officially joined the Royal Navy on October 18, 1940. After some training, she was sent to join the 16th Destroyer Flotilla at Scapa Flow.

Exmoor's Time at Sea

Exmoor arrived at Scapa Flow in November 1940. On November 6, she helped escort a merchant ship named SS Adda to the Faroe Islands. She returned a few days later and continued her training.

In December, she escorted two armed merchant cruisers, Chitral and Salopian. These were passenger ships that had been fitted with guns for wartime patrols. Exmoor then sailed to Plymouth.

In January 1941, Exmoor helped escort the large battleship Queen Elizabeth. After this, Exmoor moved to Harwich. Her job there was to protect convoys of ships traveling through the North Sea. These convoys were groups of merchant ships traveling together for safety.

The Final Voyage

Exmoor continued her escort duties into February 1941. On February 23, she was protecting a convoy traveling from the Thames Estuary to Methil. As the convoy passed Lowestoft on February 25, it was attacked by German E-boats. E-boats were small, fast attack boats used by the German navy.

During the attack, Exmoor was hit by an explosion at the back of the ship. This caused a lot of damage and started a fire. The fire spread very quickly. Sadly, Exmoor turned over and sank in just ten minutes.

The sailors who survived were rescued by another ship, Shearwater, and a fishing trawler named Commander Evans. They were taken to Great Yarmouth. It's believed that Exmoor was either hit by a torpedo from a German E-boat or struck a naval mine in the water.

Today, the wreck of HMS Exmoor is a protected place under a special law. This means it's illegal to disturb the wreck. Between 2008 and 2011, a research ship found the wreck during a survey of the area.

Later, another ship of the same class was named Exmoor to honor the first one.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Exmoor
Ordered	1939
Builder	Vickers-Armstrongs, Tyneside
Laid down	8 June 1939
Launched	25 January 1940
Commissioned	18 October 1940
Honours and awards	North Sea, 1941
Fate	Sunk on 25 February 1941
Badge	On a Field Red, two foxes brushes in Saltire between two mullets Gold.
General characteristics
Class and type	Hunt-class destroyer
Displacement	1,000 t standard 1,340 t full load
Length	280 ft (85 m)
Beam	29 ft (8.8 m)
Draught	10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Propulsion	Two x Admiralty 3 drum boilers Two shaft Parsons geared turbines 19,000 shp
Speed	27.5 kn (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph) (26 kn (48 km/h; 30 mph) full)
Range	3,500 nmi (6,480 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) / 1,000 nmi (2,000 km) at 26 knots (48 km/h)
Complement	146
Armament	4 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mark XVI guns on twin mounts Mk. XIX 4 × QF 2-pounder (40 mm) Mk VIII AA guns on quad mount MK.VII 2 × 20-mm Oerlikon AA guns on single mounts P Mk. III 40 depth charges, 2 throwers, 1 rack