HMS Antelope: Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыстағы британдық эсминеці

A class destroyer

HMS Antelope was a British destroyer, which was completed for the Royal Navy in 1930. Antelope served throughout the Second World War, taking part in the sinking of three enemy submarines and in Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa.

Antelope was ordered on 6 March 1928, and was laid down at Hawthorn Leslie on Tyneside on 11 July 1928. The ship was launched on 27 July 1929 and commissioned on 20 March 1930. She had a main gun armament of four guns on low angle (30 degree) mounts that were only suitable for anti ship use, and an anti aircraft armament of two 2 pounder (40 mm) "pom poms". Eight torpedo tubes were fitted on two quadruple mounts, with Mark V torpedoes carried. The initial anti submarine equipment was limited, with no sonar carried and only six depth charges.#tag:ref|Sonar had been fitted by 1939, as Antelope used it when sinking U 41.

On the outbreak of the Second World War, the destroyer was assigned to the 18th Destroyer Flotilla, Channel Force, based at Portsmouth. For the rest of 1939 and the early months of 1940, Antelope carried out patrol and convoy escort duties in the English Channel and Western Approaches. On 5 February 1940, Antelope was the sole escort of the outward bound convoy OA 84 south of Ireland when the German submarine U 41 was launched in 1939. attacked the convoy, sinking the freighter Beaverburn and damaging the tanker Ceronia. Antelope retaliated, depth charging and sinking the U boat. White was commander of Antelope from 24 September 1938 until 26 February 1941.

In April 1940, Antelope was attached to the Home Fleet for operations as part of the Norwegian Campaign, and when the French cruiser Emile Bertin, flagship of the French forces off Norway, was damaged by German bombers off Namsos, Antelope escorted the French cruiser to Scapa Flow. Antelope then returned to operations off Norway, but on 13 June 1940, Antelope collided with the destroyer off Trondheim, Norway, and had to return to the Tyne for repair which continued until August that year, when she joined the 16th Destroyer Flotilla based at Harwich. Lt. Cdr. White was awarded his first bar to his D. S. O. following this sinking. Antelope joined the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, with the job of escorting the capital ships of the Home Fleet. In May 1941, Antelope formed part of the destroyer escort for the battlecruiser and battleship in the chase for the German battleship Bismarck. Separated from the battleships during the battle of the Denmark Strait, Antelope searched for survivors from the sinking of Hood, and later was escort to the aircraft carrier
On 11 June, only a day after returning to Gibraltar following Operation Salient, Antelope formed part of the escort for Operation Harpoon, a heavily escorted attempt to resupply Malta. After the cruiser was damaged by Italian torpedo bombers, Antelope was dispatched from the convoy to tow Liverpool back to Gibraltar, with the destroyer as escort. In July, Antelope took part in two further Spitfire resupply runs with Eagle, Operations Pinpoint and Insect. In August 1942 Antelope formed part of the main escort force for Operation Pedestal, another Malta convoy. On 30 January 1943, Antelope, together with the Canadian corvette , sank the Italian submarine Tritone. In July 1943, Antelope took part in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily.

In August 1944, Antelope returned to the United Kingdom. By this time she was in poor physical condition, and was paid off into reserve on the Tyne in October to free her crew to help ease a manpower shortage in the Royal Navy. In 1946, she was sold and broken up by Hughes Bolckow shipbreakers.