View source for HMS Vidette (D48)

{{short description|Destroyer of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Vidette}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
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|Ship image=HMS Vidette (D48).jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Vidette''
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name= HMS ''Vidette''
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|Ship builder= [[Alexander Stephens & Sons Limited]]
|Ship laid down= 1 February 1917
|Ship launched= 28 February 1918
|Ship completed= 27 April 1918
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|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping,  1947
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=<ref>Conway p12</ref>
|Ship class= [[V and W-class destroyer|Admiralty V-class]] [[destroyer]]
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{{Infobox service record
|is_ship=yes
|label= 
|partof=*[[16th Destroyer Flotilla]]
*[[13th Destroyer Flotilla]]
*Mid-Ocean Escort Force group B7
|codes=
|commanders=
|operations=*[[World War II]]
*[[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir]]
*[[Battle of the Atlantic]]
|victories=*{{GS|U-531||2}}
*{{GS|U-274||2}}
*{{GS|U-282||2}}
*{{GS|U-413||2}}
*{{GS|U-630||2}}
|awards=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Vidette'' (D48)''' was an [[V and W-class destroyer|Admiralty V-class]] [[destroyer]] of the  [[Royal Navy]]. Built at the end of the [[First World War]], she served in the final months of that conflict, and saw extensive service in the [[inter war years]] and in [[World War II]]. She was an effective convoy escort and [[U-boat]] killer, being credited with the destruction of five U-boats during the [[Battle of the Atlantic]].
HMS Vidette transported Spike Island Republican Prisoners to Bere Island Internment Camp in 1921. *Refer Spike Island’s Republican Prisoners, 1921 by Tom O’Neill MA.

==Construction==
''Vidette'' was ordered under the 1916–17 War Emergency Programme from [[Alexander Stephens & Sons Limited]] in [[Linthouse]], [[Govan]]. She was laid down on 1 February 1917, was launched on 28 February 1918, and completed on 27 April the same year.

''Vidette'' served with the [[Grand Fleet]] to the end of [[World War I]], and was placed in Reserve in 1923.
She spent most of the 1920s and 1930s in reserve, but was brought back to active service in 1939 for [[World War II]]. In the picture, taken probably in 1939, she is wearing the funnel bands of the [[16th Destroyer Flotilla]] based at [[Portsmouth]]; one red over one white. Early in the war she would have landed the after set of  [[torpedo tube]]s and shipped a [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun]] in lieu.

''Vidette'' received several refits and modifications during her service career. In 1923 she was equipped with submarine detection gear ([[ASDIC]]), one of the first British warships so outfitted. In 1939 she was refitted for convoy escort and anti-submarine warfare duty. In October 1941 during a refit at [[Gibraltar]] she received Type 286M radar.
In September 1942 she was converted to a Long-Range Escort, landing her torpedo equipment and receiving additional anti-submarine weapons. She also had boilers removed and replaced with fuel tanks, reducing her overall speed but enhancing her range and endurance.<ref name=Mason>[http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-09VW-HMS_Vidette.htm G Mason, navalhistory.net]</ref>

==Service history==
At the outbreak of war in September 1939 ''Vidette'' was assigned to Gibraltar, as part of the [[13th Destroyer Flotilla]]. She served there for the first three years, where she carried out convoy escort and general fleet duties.

In July 1940, after the fall of France, ''Vidette'' was with [[Force H]] during [[Operation Catapult]], the neutralization of the French Fleet. On 3 July she was part of the screen for British ships shelling the French squadron at [[Mers-el-Kebir]]. Three days later she returned with Force H for [[Operation Lever]], the sinking of the battleship [[French battleship Dunkerque|''Dunkerque'']].
In early November she took part in [[Operation Collar (convoy)|Operation Collar]], running aircraft reinforcements to the Malta garrison, and on 27 November took part in the [[battle of Spartivento]].

In January 1941 she sailed with convoy WS 5A as far as [[Freetown]], where she joined the [[West Africa station]] local escort.
In October she returned to Gibraltar and refitted; later that month she was detailed to assist [[Convoy HG 75|HG 75]], working to save [[HMS Cossack (F03)|HMS ''Cossack'']], which had been torpedoed. The crew were saved, but the ship foundered under tow back to Gibraltar.

In May 1942 she returned to Gibraltar for [[Operation Bowery]], and later [[Operation LB]], both air reinforcement missions ("[[Club Run]]s") for Malta.
In June she took part In [[Operation Harpoon (1942)|Operation Harpoon]], an ill-fated convoy mission to Malta.
In September she returned to Britain for conversion as a Long-Range Escort, after which she joined the [[Western Approaches Command]] for operations in the North Atlantic.

After conversion ''Vidette'' was assigned to [[Escort Group B7|B-7 Escort Group]], led by Cdr. [[Peter Gretton]]. After several uneventful crossings ''Vidette'' and B-7 EG were involved in several crucial battles. March 1943 saw fighting around convoys [[Convoy HX 231|HX 231]] with the loss of six ships sunk and three U-boats destroyed.<ref>Blair p277-9</ref> In late April [[Convoy ONS 5|ONS 5]] saw thirteen ships sunk and six U-boats destroyed; ''Vidette'' was credited with one (i.e. {{GS|U-125|1940|2}}; later revised to two, {{GS|U-630||2}} and {{GS|U-531||2}}) of these:<ref>Blair p290-3</ref> In late May [[Convoy SC 130|SC 130]] saw at least three U-boats destroyed for no losses.<ref>Blair p332-5</ref>

During the autumn of 1943 B-7 served as a Support Group reinforcing several convoys as they came under attack. During this period ''Vidette'' took part in the destruction of two more U-boats, {{GS|U-274||2}}<ref>Blair p436</ref> and {{GS|U-282||2}}.<ref>Blair p438</ref>

In May 1944 ''Vidette'' was operating in the [[English Channel]] as part of [[Operation Neptune]], the naval component of the [[Normandy landings]].
In August she took part in the destruction of {{GS|U-413||2}}.<ref>Blair p614</ref>

With the end of hostilities in Europe ''Vidette'' was paid off in June 1945; she was sold for scrapping in April 1947.<ref name=Mason/>

==Battle honours== 
During her service ''Vidette'' was awarded five battle honours:<ref>Warlow p</ref>
*[[Battle of the Atlantic|Atlantic]] 1940–44
*[[Battle of Cape Spartivento|Spartivento]] 1940
*[[Malta convoys]] 1942
*[[Operation Neptune|Normandy]] 1944
*English Channel 1944

==Successes==
During her service ''Vidette'' was credited with the destruction of five U-boats:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Date
! U-boat
! Type
! Location<ref>Locations per Kemp; other sources may differ</ref>
! Notes
|-
| 6 May 1943 || {{GS|U-630||2}}<ref>Previously thought to have been destroyed on 4 May 1943 by [[PBY Canso|Canso]] W/[[5 Squadron RCAF|5 Sqdn]]; this attack struck {{GS|U-209||2}}</ref> || [[German Type VII submarine|VIIC]] || NE of [[Newfoundland]]<br/> {{coord|52|31|N|44|50|W}} || [[depth charge|depth-charged]] by ''Vidette'' <ref>Neistle p77</ref>
|-
| 6 May 1943 || {{GS|U-531||2}}<br/>(previously credited as {{GS|U-125|1940|2}})<ref>The attack by [[HMS Oribi (G66)|''Oribi'']] and [[HMS Snowflake (K211)|''Snowflake'']], previously credited with ''U-531'', is now believed to have hit ''U-125''</ref> || [[German Type IX submarine|IX/C40]] || NE of [[Newfoundland]]<br/> {{coord|52|48|N|45|18|W}} || [[depth charge|d/c]] by [[HMS Snowflake (K211)|''Snowflake'']], ''Vidette'',<ref>Kemp p114</ref><ref>Neistle p139</ref>
|-
| 23 October 1943 || {{GS|U-274||2}} || [[German Type VII submarine|VIIC]] || SW of [[Iceland]]<br/> {{coord|57|14|N|27|50|W}} || [[depth charge|d/c]] by [[Consolidated Liberator|Lib]] Z/[[No. 224 Squadron RAF|224 Sqdn]], [[HMS Duncan (D99)|''Duncan'']], ''Vidette''<ref>Kemp p152-3</ref><ref name="Neistle p52">Neistle p52</ref>
|-
| 29 October 1943 || {{GS|U-282||2}} || [[German Type VII submarine|VIIC]] || S of [[Greenland]]<br/> {{coord|55|28|N|31|57|W}} || [[depth charge|d/c]] by ''Vidette'', [[HMS Sunflower (K41)|''Sunflower'']]<ref name="Neistle p52"/><ref>Kemp p154</ref>
|-
| 20 August 1944 || {{GS|U-413||2}} || [[German Type VII submarine|VIIC]] ||  [[English Channel]]<br/> {{coord|50|21|N|00|01|W}} || [[depth charge|d/c]] by ''Vidette'', [[HMS Forester (H74)|''Forester'']], [[HMS Wensleydale (L86)|''Wensleydale'']]<ref>Kemp p212-3</ref><ref>Neistle p62</ref>
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last1=Blair |first1=Clay |title=Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942-1945|year=1998 |isbn=0-304-35261-6|author-link=Clay Blair}}
*R Gardiner, R Gray : ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921'' (1985) {{ISBN|0-85177-245-5}}
*Arnold Hague : ''The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945'' (2000). {{ISBN|1-55125-033-0}} (Canada); {{ISBN|1-86176-147-3}} (UK).
* {{Cite book |last=Kemp |first=Paul |title=U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars |publisher=Arms and Armour |year=1997 |isbn=1-85409-515-3 }}
*{{cite book |title=German U-Boat Losses During World War II |first=Axel |last=Niestle |publisher=Greenhill |date=1998 |isbn=1-85367-352-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Preston|first=Antony|title='V & W' Class Destroyers 1917–1945|publisher=Macdonald|location=London|date=1971|oclc=464542895}}
* {{cite book|last=Raven|first=Alan|author2=Roberts, John |title='V' and 'W' Class Destroyers|publisher=Arms & Armour|location=London|date=1979|series=Man o' War|volume=2|isbn=0-85368-233-X }}
*Warlow, B : ''Battle Honours of the Royal Navy'' (2004) {{ISBN|1-904459-05-6}}
* Whitley, MH : ''Destroyers of World War Two'' (1988) {{ISBN|1-85409-521-8}}

==External links==
* [http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-09VW-HMS_Vidette.htm HMS ''Vidette''] at navalhistory.net
* [http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4263.html HMS ''Vidette''] at uboat.net

{{V and W class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidette (D48)}}
[[Category:V and W-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]