H.M.S. Rhododendron (1917)
| H.M.S. Rhododendron (1917) | |
|---|---|
| Pendant Number: | T.95 (Jan, 1918)[1] |
| Builder: | Irvine's Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company[2] |
| Ordered: | Feb, 1917[3] |
| Launched: | 15 Oct, 1917[4] |
| Sunk: | 5 May, 1918[5] |
| Fate: | by U.70 |
H.M.S. Rhododendron was one of twenty-eight Anchusa Class convoy sloops completed for the Royal Navy.
Service
Rhododendron was lost on 5 May 1918 in action with U 70 less than a month after she entered service. The sloop was immediately hit and heavily damaged by a torpedo, prompting the crew to abandon the ship with an embarrassing rapidity. Worse, when the ship did not sink immediately, those men who re-boarded her neglected to engage the surfaced U-boat.
Lieutenant-Commander R.N.R. Charles A. Peal's performance in this action was sufficiently poor that he was tried by Court Martial on 31 May for "not using utmost endeavours to engage [the] enemy", "desertion of post" and having "negligently or by default suffered his ship to be lost." Peal was deprived of all accrued seniority as a Lt. Cdr., dismissed the ship, and severely reprimanded.[6]
Captains
- Lieutenant-Commander R.N.R. Charles A. Peal, 25 April, 1918[7] – 5 May, 1918[8] (vessel lost under his command)
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 96.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 96.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 96.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 96.
- ↑ Dittmar; Colledge. British Warships 1914–1919. p. 96.
- ↑ Peal Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 240/54/57. f. 57.
- ↑ Peal Service Record. The National Archives. ADM 240/54/57. f. 57.
- ↑ Hepper. British Warship Losses in the Ironclad Era: 1860-1919. p. 129.
Bibliography
