| HMS Bideford (L43) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Career |  |
| Class and type: | Shoreham-class sloop |
| Name: | HMS Bideford |
| Builder: | Devonport Dockyard |
| Laid down: | 10 June 1930 |
| Launched: | 1 April 1931 |
| Completed: | 27 November 1931 |
| Commissioned: | 23 February 1932 |
| Motto: | 'Bide your time' |
| Honours and awards: |
Atlantic 1939-45 Dunkirk 1940 North Africa 1942 Biscay 1943 English Channel 1945 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping on 14 July 1949 |
| Badge: | On a Field Blue, a Bridge silver, beneath it a ship silver upon 2 wavelets gold and green. |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,150 tons |
| Length: | 281 ft (86 m) |
| Beam: | 35 ft (11 m) |
| Draught: | 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Geared turbines two shafts 2,000 shp (1,500 kW) |
| Speed: | 16 knots (30 km/h) |
| Complement: | 95 |
| Armament: |
|
| Notes: | Pennant number: L43 (later U43) |
HMS Bideford was a Royal Navy Shoreham-class sloop. She was named after the town of Bideford in Devon and was launched on 1 April 1931.
Bideford served in the Second World War. In May 1940 she helped in the Dunkirk evacuation, in which her stern was badly damaged. The River-class gunboat HMS Locust towed her back to Dover, which took 30 hours and ended on 31 May.
Bideford was used in anti-submarine sweeps and as a convoy escort in the North Atlantic. She rescued 63 survivors of the torpedoed MV Edward Blyden on 3 September 1941 and 31 from MV Abosso on 31 October 1942. In August 1943 while serving with the 40th Escort Group in the Bay of Biscay, Bideford was damaged by a Henschel Hs 293 guided missile.
Bideford survived the war and was scrapped in 1949.
External links[]
The original article can be found at HMS Bideford (L43) and the edit history here.