HMS Lady Shirley facts for kids
HMS Lady Shirley (ASW trawler)
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 United Kingdom |
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| Name | HMS Lady Shirley |
| Operator | Royal Navy |
| Builder |
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| Yard number | 615 |
| Launched | 25 February 1937 |
| Completed | 19 April 1937 |
| Acquired | 1940 |
| Commissioned | February 1941 |
| Fate | Sunk on 11 December 1941 by torpedo from U374 during World War II (Straits of Gibraltar 35.59N, 05.17W) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Anti-submarine trawler |
| Displacement | 472 tonnes |
| Length | 163.5 ft (49.8 m) |
| Beam | 27.2 ft (8.3 m) |
| Propulsion | 120 hp (89 kW) |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Complement | 33 |
| Sensors and processing systems |
ASDIC anti-submarine dome |
| Armament |
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HMS Lady Shirley (T464) was a fishing boat that became a warship during World War II. The Royal Navy took over the ship in 1940 and changed it to hunt submarines. On October 4, 1941, Lady Shirley sank a German submarine called U-111 and captured 44 of its crew. Sadly, on December 11, 1941, Lady Shirley was also sunk by a torpedo from another German submarine, U-374.
Contents
What Was the Lady Shirley?
The Lady Shirley started as a fishing boat, or "trawler," weighing 472 tons. It was built in Beverley, UK, by a company called Cook, Welton & Gemmell. The ship was launched in 1937, which means it first touched water that year.
This ship was about 164 feet (50 meters) long and 27 feet (8.2 meters) wide. It had a 120 horsepower engine. This engine allowed it to travel at a top speed of 12 knots, which is about 14 miles per hour (22 kilometers per hour).
Lady Shirley's War Service
In 1940, during World War II, the Royal Navy needed more ships. So, they took over the Lady Shirley and turned it into an anti-submarine trawler. This meant it was specially equipped to find and destroy enemy submarines.
To do this, the ship was fitted with special equipment. It received an ASDIC dome, which was an early type of sonar used to detect submarines underwater. It also got a powerful 4-inch naval gun and depth charges. Depth charges were barrel-shaped bombs that could be rolled off the ship and would explode underwater to damage submarines. The Lady Shirley had a crew of 33 people.
The Lady Shirley began its war service in January 1941. It was part of the 31st Anti-Submarine Group. This group was based in Gibraltar, a very important location for controlling ships moving between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Lieutenant-Commander Arthur Henry Callaway was the ship's commander.
Sinking of German Submarine U-111
On October 4, 1941, the Lady Shirley was on a mission. It was looking for a damaged ship called Silverbelle. While searching, it came across a German submarine, German submarine U-111, which was also on a similar mission. This happened southwest of Tenerife, an island in the Atlantic Ocean.
The U-boat's captain thought the Lady Shirley was the damaged freighter they were looking for. Even though Lady Shirley was a small trawler, the U-boat captain thought it was far away. This mistake allowed Lady Shirley to get very close to the U-boat, which was just below the surface.
When Lady Shirley got close, it dropped depth charges. These explosions forced the U-111 to come to the surface. Once the U-boat was on the surface, Lady Shirley attacked it with its naval gun. The crew of U-111 had to abandon their submarine, and it soon sank.
Out of the 52 crew members on U-111, eight were killed, including their commander, Wilhelm Kleinschmidt. But 44 German sailors survived. The Lady Shirley also had one crew member killed and several injured during the battle. This event was important because it was the first time that prisoners of war (POWs) were captured from a German U-boat operating in the South Atlantic. The German survivors later said that U-111 was the first U-boat to be lost in that area.
Loss of the Lady Shirley
On December 11, 1941, the Lady Shirley's luck ran out. A German submarine, U-374, fired a torpedo that hit the Lady Shirley. The ship sank in the Strait of Gibraltar at a location known as 35.59N, 5.17W. Sadly, all 33 crew members were lost with their ship.
