HMS Hydra (J275)
Encyclopedia
HMS Hydra (J275) was an of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
Hydra was laid down at the yard of Lobnitz
Lobnitz
Lobnitz Marine Holdings is a Scottish shipbuilding company located at Renfrew on the River Clyde, west of the Renfrew Ferry crossing and east of the confluence with the River Cart...
, Renfrew
Renfrew
-Local government:The town of Renfrew gave its name to a number of local government areas used at various times:*Renfrew a town to the west of Glasgow*Renfrewshire, the present unitary local council area in which Renfrew is situatated....
. As a result of savings raised during "Warship Week
Warship Week
Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the adoption of a Royal Navy warship by a civil community. A level of savings would be set to raise enough money to provide the cost of building a particular naval ship...
", she was adopted by Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...
Urban District Council in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
on 14 March 1942. She was launched on 29 September 1942.
Service
HMS Hydra joined the 18th Minesweeping FlotillaFlotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
in the Rosyth Command on 20 February 1943 and was transferred in May 1943 to the Nore
Nore
The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary, England. It marks the point where the River Thames meets the North Sea, roughly halfway between Havengore Creek in Essex and Warden Point in Kent....
Command. She was variously employed on minesweeping in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
in 1943 and on escort duty with Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
s from 1943-1944, including the Russian Convoy JW-57 to Kola
Kola
Kola can refer to:*Kola nut, a genus of about 125 species of trees**Inca Kola, a cola soft drink made in Peru**Kola Real, a Peruvian soft drink**Kola Inglesa , a Peruvian soft drink...
in February 1944.
She was part of Operation Neptune
Operation Neptune
The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...
, the naval part of the D-Day landings at Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
on 6 June 1944. She was mined in the approaches to Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
on 10 November 1944. She was towed to Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
but declared a constructive total loss and not repaired. She was sold for scrap and arrived at the yard of T W Ward in Grays
Grays
Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex and one of the Thurrock's traditional parishes...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
on 28 October 1944 to be broken up in 1947.
HMS Hydra was 850 tons armed with a single 4-inch and smaller guns and with a complement of 85 men.