HMS Martin (G44)

HMS Martin was an M-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, launched at the Tyneside yard of Vickers-Armstrongs on 12 December 1940. She had a busy but brief wartime career, being sunk by U-431 on 10 November 1942 off Algiers.

Convoy PQ17
Martin was an escort for the Home Fleet during the ill-fated Convoy PQ 17, sailing from Scapa on 30 June and cruising off Bear Island, arriving back at Scapa on 11 July. Martin left Scapa on 15 July for Seidisfjord and left there on 20 July in company with Marne, Middleton  and Blankney for Archangel loaded with replenishments for the escorts and merchant ships. They arrived at Kola Inlet on 24 July and Archangel some days later. Martin sailed from Archangel on 14 August and joined the USS Tuscaloosa. After calling at Kola Inlet, whence she sailed on 24 August in company with Marne and Onslaught, Martin sank the German Minelayer Ulm and took 54 prisoners-of-war. She arrived at Scapa on 30 August, having survived a minor collision with HMS Vidette on that day.

Convoy PQ18
Martin sailed from Scapa on 4 September to join the escorts of PQ 18. In the convoy she was part of Force “B”, and joined the convoy with the cruiser HMS Scylla, and the Escort Aircraft Carrier HMS Avenger (D14) southwest of Jan Meyen Island on 9 September. PQ 18 was heavily attacked by aircraft and lost ten ships, which were sunk, by torpedo bomber attacks and two others by U-boat, out of an original convoy of 40 ships. On 16 September, Martin with Scylla and the rest of the destroyers transferred to the westbound convoy, PQ 14. This convoy escaped air attack, but lost three ships out of fifteen to U-boats, which in addition sank two of the escort and a fleet oiler. Martin arrived back at Scapa on 27 September with survivors from four merchant ships.

Loss
Martin was the allocated to the escort group for Force “H” in Operation “Torch”, the landings in North Africa. She sailed from Scapa on 30 October as part of the escort for Force “H”, and after fuelling at Gibraltar on 5 November re-joined Force “H”- the covering force to the landings at Algiers and Oran, on 8 November. The task of Force “H” was to guard against action by the Italian Fleet, during the landings. Martin was torpedoed by GS U-431 on the morning of 10 November as a result of which she blew up and sank in position 37.88333°N, 3.95°W. The only survivors were four officers and 59 ratings picked up by HMS Quentin.