View source for HMS Loyalty (J217)

{{short description|Minesweeper of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Loyalty|HMS Rattler}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Loyalty.jpg
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=*HMS ''Rattler'' (until June 1943)<ref name="Colledge1969" />
*HMS ''Loyalty'' (from June 1943)
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Harland and Wolff]], [[Belfast]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=1142<ref name=Tom>{{cite book|last1=McCluskie|first1=Tom|title=The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff|date=2013|publisher=The History Press|location=Stroud|isbn=9780752488615|page=151}}</ref>
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=14 April 1941
|Ship launched=9 December 1942<ref name="Colledge1969" />
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=22 April 1943<ref name=Tom/>
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=22 April 1943
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship refit=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]] J217
|Ship motto="Fight for the King"
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=Normandy 1944
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Sunk on 22 August 1944 by {{GS|U-480||2}}<ref name="Colledge1969" />
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=On a Field barry wavy of six White and Blue, a sprig of three oak leaves, Gold
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class={{sclass|Algerine|minesweeper}}
|Ship displacement=850 tons
|Ship length={{convert|225|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|35|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship propulsion=*Geared turbines
*two shafts
*{{convert|2,000|ihp|MW|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed=
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship complement=85 men
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
*1 × [[QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun|QF {{Convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} Mk V anti-aircraft gun]]
*4 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm]] guns (4x1)
|Ship armour=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Loyalty''''' was a [[Steam turbine#Marine propulsion|turbine-powered]] {{sclass|Algerine|minesweeper}} of the [[Royal Navy]], formerly '''HMS ''Rattler''''' . She served during the [[World War II|Second World War]]. Commissioned in 1943, ''Loyalty'' saw action off the coast of Normandy during the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] assault there in 1944. While performing duties off the coast, the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank.

==Design and description==
The turbine-powered ships displaced {{convert|850|LT|t}} at [[Displacement (ship)|standard]] load and {{convert|1125|LT|t}} at [[deep load]].
The ship measured {{convert|225|ft|m|1}} [[length overall|long overall]] with a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|35|ft|6|in|m|1}}. The turbine group had a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|11|ft|m|1}}. The ships' complement consisted of 85 officers and [[naval rating|ratings]].<ref name=l3>Lenton, p. 261</ref>

The ships had two [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two [[Admiralty three-drum boiler]]s. The engines produced a total of {{convert|2000|shp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|16.5|kn|lk=in}}. The ships carried a maximum of {{convert|660|LT|t|0}} of [[fuel oil]] that gave them a range of {{convert|5000|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.<ref name=l3/>

The ''Algerine'' class was armed with a [[QF 4 inch Mk V naval gun|QF {{Convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on|0}} Mk V]] [[anti-aircraft gun]]<ref name=c1>Chesneau, p. 65</ref> and four twin-gun mounts for [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]. The latter guns were in short supply when the first ships were being completed and they often got a proportion of single mounts. By 1944, single-barrel [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm]] mounts began replacing the twin 20&nbsp;mm mounts on a one for one basis. All of the ships were fitted for four throwers and two rails for [[depth charge]]s.<ref name=l3/>

==Service==
''Rattler'' was laid down on 14 April 1941 at [[Harland and Wolff]], [[Belfast]], launched on 9 December 1942 and commissioned on 22 April 1943.<ref name="Colledge1969">{{cite book |last1=Colledge |first1=J J |title=Ships of the Royal Navy: An Historical Index, Vol.1 |date=1969 |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot |page=453}}</ref><ref name="MossHume">{{cite book |last1=Moss |first1=Michael |last2=Hume |first2=John R |title=Shipbuilders to the World |date=1986 |publisher=Blackstaff Press |location=Belfast |isbn=0856403431 |page=542}}</ref> She was adopted by the community of [[Ripley, North Yorkshire|Ripley]], [[North Yorkshire]] after a [[Warship Week]] national savings campaign in March 1942.<ref name="Ripley1">{{cite news |title=Ripley Urban District Council - HMS "Rattler" |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002037/19420424/102/0004 |access-date=23 June 2020 |work=Ripley and Heanor News |volume=52|issue=2769 |publisher=The British Newspaper Archive (subscription) |date=24 April 1942 |page=4}}</ref><ref name="Ripley2">{{cite news |title=Ripley and HMS "Rattler" |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002037/19430423/117/0004 |access-date=23 June 2020 |work=Ripley and Heanor News |volume=53|issue=2830 |publisher=The British Newspaper Archive (subscription) |date=23 April 1943 |page=4}}</ref>

After commissioning she was assigned to the 18th Minesweeping Flotilla, joining them in June 1943, when she was renamed ''Loyalty''.<ref name="Colledge1969"/><ref name="Ripley3">{{cite news |title="Wings for Victory" - HMS Rattler |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002037/19430625/064/0003 |access-date=23 June 2020 |work=Ripley and Heanor News |volume=53|issue=2821|publisher=The British Newspaper Archive (subscription) |date=25 June 1943 |page=3}}</ref> She and the other ships of the flotilla carried out sweeping operations in [[Lyme Bay]] and the [[English Channel]]. She and other ships of the flotilla were transferred to [[Harwich]] in August to sweep areas of the [[North Sea]], but was soon transferred to the 9th Flotilla, at [[Dover]]. On 25 August ''Loyalty'' was part of [[Operation Starkey]], an attempt to attract German aircraft to unusual minesweeping operations near the French coast. The ships of the flotilla came under fire from shore batteries, and {{HMS|Hydra|J275|2}} was damaged. They returned to Dover, but were mistakenly fired on by British shore batteries, causing further damage. ''Loyalty'' did not return to minesweeping duties until October.

In November ''Loyalty'' transferred to [[Scapa Flow]] to join the 15th Minesweeping Flotilla with the [[Home Fleet]]. She transferred again in December to the Orkney and Shetland Command, operating out of [[Seidisfjord]] on anti-submarine patrols and local convoy escort duties. She remained here until being nominated to return to the UK in March 1944 and in April underwent a refit at [[Portsmouth]], after which she was assigned to Force G to give minesweeping support to the [[Operation Neptune|Allied landings in Normandy]].  ''Loyalty'' spent May carrying out exercises and rehearsals, and also escorted [[sister ship]] {{HMS|Stormcloud|J367|2}} into Portsmouth after she had been damaged by a [[naval mine|mine]]. ''Loyalty'' then took part in the assault operations of 6 June, clearing Channel 6, and then remaining deployed off [[Gold Beach]] to cover operations. She remained off Normandy after the landings and throughout July, carrying out sweeps of the anchorages.

==Sinking==
''Loyalty'' was still off Normandy on 22 August. She was returning to Portsmouth with the minesweepers {{HMS|Ready|J223|2}}, {{HMS|Hound|J307|2}}, ''Hydra'' and {{HMS|Rattlesnake|J297|2}} when the sweep wires parted. ''Loyalty'' and the minesweeping trawler ''Doon'' were dispatched to recover the sweep. As they were doing this ''Loyalty'' was attacked and sunk by the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[U-boat]] {{GS|U-480||2}} at position {{coord|50|09|N|00|41|W|display=inline,title}} in the [[English Channel]].<ref name="Colledge1969" />  She capsized in less than seven minutes, with the loss of her captain and 18 ratings. There were 30 survivors. ''Loyalty'' was replaced in the flotilla by sister ship {{HMS|Tanganyika|J383|2}}. The wrecksite is designated as a ''protected place'' under the [[Protection of Military Remains Act 1986]].

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7}}

==External links==
* [http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-22MS-Algerine-Loyalty.htm HMS ''Loyalty'' at naval.history.net]
* [https://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3772.html HMS ''Loyalty'' (as ''Rattler'') at uboat.net]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080612163044/http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/HistoryAndHonour/TenMilitaryShipwrecksProtectedAsFinalRestingPlaces.htm MoD announcement of designation as a war grave]
* [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080950_en_1 SI 2008/950] Designation under Protection of Military Remains Act

{{Algerine class minesweepers}}
{{August 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loyalty (J217)}}
[[Category:Algerine-class minesweepers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Belfast]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]
[[Category:World War II minesweepers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the English Channel]]
[[Category:Protected wrecks of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1944]]
[[Category:Ships built by Harland and Wolff]]