HMS Blean (L47)

Blean in dazzle camouflage
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Blean
Ordered	28 July 1940
Builder	Hawthorn Leslie, Hebburn-on-Tyne
Laid down	22 February 1941
Launched	15 January 1942
Commissioned	23 August 1942
Identification	Pennant number: L47
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by U-443 on 11 December 1942 11 miles north-west of Oran.
General characteristics
Type	Type III Hunt-class destroyer
Displacement	1,050 long tons (1,070 t) standard 1,435 long tons (1,458 t) full load
Length	85.3 m (279 ft 10 in) o/a
Beam	10.16 m (33 ft 4 in)
Draught	3.51 m (11 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers 2 shaft Parsons geared turbines, 19,000 shp (14,000 kW)
Speed	27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph) 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph) full
Range	2,350 nmi (4,350 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement	168
Armament	4 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mark XVI on twin mounts Mk. XIX 4 × QF 2-pounder Mk. VIII on quad mount MK.VII 2 × 20 mm Oerlikons on single mounts P Mk. III 2 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 110 depth charges, 4 throwers, 3 racks

HMS Blean was a Type III Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was named after the Blean Beagles Hunt at the village of Blean just north of Canterbury. She had the shortest career of any of the Hunt-class destroyers.

Built at Hebburn-on-Tyne by Hawthorn Leslie, she was laid down on 22 February 1941, launched on 15 January 1942 and commissioned on 23 August 1942.^[1]

After working up at Scapa Flow followed by some repairs on the Thames she escorted a convoy to Gibraltar arriving on 2 November 1942. She then joined the 58th Destroyer Division escorting Operation Torch convoys. While escorting the British convoy MKF-4 off the Algerian coast, Blean was torpedoed by U-443 on 11 December 1942 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Oran. The U-boat aimed one torpedo against her and then one against the convoy, but both hit Blean and she sank within four minutes with the loss of 89 men.^[2]

A memorial to her was unveiled in the church of St. Cosmus and St. Damian in the village of Blean on 10 December 2006.

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• English, John (1987). The Hunts: A history of the design, development and careers of the 86 destroyers of this class built for the Royal and Allied Navies during World War II. World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-44-4.

• HMS Cavalier site
• Casualty list
• U-boat.net

35°55′N 1°50′W / 35.917°N 1.833°W / 35.917; -1.833

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Hunt-class destroyers

Type I
Royal Navy	Atherstone Berkeley Blencathra Brocklesby Cattistock Cleveland Cotswold Cottesmore Eglinton Exmoor (L61) Fernie Garth Hambledon Holderness Liddesdale Mendip Meynell Pytchley Quantock Quorn Southdown Tynedale Whaddon
Republic of China Navy	Lin Fu (ex-Mendip)
Ecuadorian Navy	Presidente Alfaro (ex-Quantock) Presidente Velasco Ibarra (ex-Meynell)
Egyptian Navy	Mohamed Ali el-Kebir (1949) / Ibrahim el-Awal (1951) (ex-Mendip) Ibrahim el-Awal (1950) / Mohamed Ali el-Kebir (1951)/ Port Said (ex-Cottesmore)
Israeli Navy	Haifa (ex-Ibrahim el-Awal (1951))

Type II
Royal Navy	Avon Vale Badsworth Beaufort Bedale Bicester Blackmore Blankney Bramham Burton / Exmoor (L08) Calpe Chiddingfold Cowdray Croome Dulverton Eridge Farndale Grove Heythrop Hursley Hurworth Lamerton Lauderdale Ledbury Middleton Oakley (L72) Puckeridge Southwold Silverton Tetcott Tickham / Oakley (L98) Wheatland Wilton Zetland
Royal Danish Navy	Esbern Snare (ex-Blackmore) Rolf Krake (ex-Calpe) Valdemar Sejr (ex-Exmoor (L08))
German Navy	Gneisenau (ex-Oakley (L98))
Royal Hellenic Navy	Aigaion (ex-Lauderdale) Admiral Hastings (L52) (ex-Cowdray) Themistoklis (ex-Bramham) Kriti (ex-Hursley)
Indian Navy	Godavari (ex-Bedale) Gomati (ex-Lamerton) Ganga (ex-Chiddingfold)
Royal Norwegian Navy	Arendal (ex-Badsworth) Haugesund (ex-Beaufort) Tromsø (ex-Zetland)
Free Polish Navy	Krakowiak (ex-Silverton) Kujawiak (ex-Oakley (L72)) Ślązak (ex-Bedale)

Type III
Royal Navy	Airedale Albrighton Aldenham Belvoir Blean Bleasdale Bolebroke Border Catterick Derwent Easton Eggesford Eskdale Glaisdale Goathland Haldon Hatherleigh Haydon Holcombe Limbourne Melbreak Modbury Penylan Rockwood Stevenstone Talybont Tanatside Wensleydale
Free French Naval Forces	La Combattante (ex-Haldon)
German Navy	Raule (ex-Albrighton) Brommy (ex-Eggesford)
Royal Hellenic Navy	Adrias (L67) (ex-Border) Adrias (D06) (ex-Tanatside) Hastings (L81) (ex-Catterick) Kanaris (ex-Hatherleigh) Miaoulis (ex-Modbury) Pindos (ex-Bolebroke)
Royal Norwegian Navy	Eskdale Narvik (ex-Glaisdale)

Type IV
Royal Navy	Brecon Brissenden

• Preceded by: N class
• Followed by: L class

• List of destroyer classes of the Royal Navy