hms pennant number escort destroyer type iii hunt class royal_navy ordered construction july completion february deployed convoy escort duty ships credited sinking march africa joined mediterranean_fleet escorting convoys alexandria malta took allied invasion sicily landings operation assigned december sunk naval adriatic_sea led royal_navy force bombardment mission targets island near town support yugoslav partisans rest force came pick survivors cold weather severe damage permitted rescue crew wreck broken explosion discovered war grave crew members yugoslav partisans aboard time mining died royal_navy destroyer lost world war design construction class destroyer overall length metres feet beam metres feet maximum draught metres feet standard displacement tonnes long tons short tons load tonnes long tons short tons parsons geared steam turbines drove propeller shaft steam supplied admiralty drum water tube boilers turbines rated kilowatts shp gave speed knots mph sea trials achieved knots kilometres hour miles hour deployments armed quick firing inch naval guns twin mounts anti aircraft millimetre pounder naval guns cannons inch torpedo tubes depth charges deployed throwers ship ordered july laid shipyard august construction project launched august completed february service crew completed brief training scapa_flow deploying time march assigned convoy sailing cape good hope march grove volunteer sank north_atlantic west france commanded lieutenant africa suez_canal accompanied grove joined 5th destroyer flotilla battle mediterranean escorted convoys protecting shipping alexandria malta august assigned coastal bombardment duties including area sources disagree ships took bombardment according ships involved places scene supported fellow destroyers towed alexandria ship disabled italian motor torpedo boat bombardment allied blockade escorted landing craft allied invasion sicily july landings september year assisted removing wounded attacked hit luftwaffe july took failed sustained minor damage aircraft attack repairs alexandria saw action operation italy escorted convoys algeria naples based taranto transferred june supporting operation protecting landing craft southern france sailed adriatic_sea joining royal_navy flotilla fighting flotilla consisted late november flotilla led commander intercepted captured german hospital ship yugoslav steamship bombarded german units deployed island december bombardment support yugoslav partisans advance north eastern coast adriatic capturing coast islands retreating german forces final deployment began december sortied royal_navy base anchored western coast north bombard artillery battery near military targets poor visibility artillery observers directed destroyers strike objectives destroyer fired inch shells barracks island town targeted destroyers hour engaged battery approximately visibility improved firing shells target destroyers started return lead following knots kilometres hour miles hour sinking making turn position north sail islands hit exploded engine room ship broke bow sank quickly followed stern little later cold weather hampered rescue efforts accompanying motor launches seamen officers including pulled sea crewmen died wounded transported medical treatment yugoslav partisan liaison officer colonel royal_navy destroyer lost world war portion surviving crew revisited site december located years later italian wreck divers located metre long bow section nautical mile kilometres lies port depth metres feet normally obscured stirred north aft section ship discovered testimony fisherman found closer approximately metres feet away bow section boilers propellers operating ship sank section struck depth metres feet keel rudder depth metres feet wreck declared british war grave forms ghost fleet kriegsmarine destroyer italian italian sunk action november world war austro hungarian remembrance annual memorial services held john baptist december church contains stained glass window dedicated book remembrance displayed stained glass window white ensign stained glass window memorial unveiled occasion 50th anniversary sinking surviving martin
HMS Aldenham (L22)