HMS Mashona (F59)

HMS Mashona ( F59/L59/G59 ) was a destroyer of the Tribal class of the Royal Navy.

The ship was on August 5, 1936 at the River Tyne laid at the shipyard of Vickers Armstrong in Newcastle upon Tyne on Kiel, launched on September 3, 1937, and entered service on 30 March 1939.

She started her career as an escort for a journey of King George VI. and Queen Elizabeth on the steamer RMS Empress of Australia. Then the Mashona 6th Destroyer Flotilla was assigned in Scapa Flow. Her first war effort in September 1939 served, together with HMS Matabele and HMS Somali, the successful salvage of the submarine HMS Spearfish, which had been badly damaged during a mission in the German Bight. On 6 June 1940 the HMS Mashona from Scapa Flow ran out to protect the evacuation of Allied troops from Narvik as part of Operation Alphabet. She was involved in the sinking of the Bismarck on 27 May 1941. The following day she was hit with heavy attacks by the Luftwaffe and sank off the coast of Galway on the position 52 ° 58 'N, 11 ° 36' W52.966666666667 - 11.6. 46 sailors lost their lives. The survivors of the sinking were rescued by HMS Tartar and taken to Greenock.