HMS Grafton ( H89 ) HMS " Grafton " ( H89 ) was a G - class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the mid - 1930s . During the Spanish Civil War of 1936 – 1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters , enforcing the non - intervention measures agreed by Britain and France . After the beginning of World War II she was transferred from the Mediterranean Fleet to Great Britain for escort and contraband inspection duties . " Grafton " was refitting when the Norwegian Campaign began in April 1940 , but the ship escorted convoys to Norway once her refit was completed . She evacuated British troops from the Dunkirk bridgehead in May , but was sunk by a German submarine after she stopped to rescue survivors from another British destroyer . Description . " Grafton " displaced at standard load and at deep load . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines , driving two shafts , which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3 - drum water - tube boilers . " Grafton " carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime , but in increased to 146 in wartime . The ship mounted four 45 - calibre 4 . 7 - inch ( 120 mm ) Mark IX guns in single mounts . For anti - aircraft defence " Hostile " had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0 . 5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun . She was fitted with two above - water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes . One depth charge rail and two throwers were fitted ; 20 depth charges were originally carried , but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began . Service . " Grafton " was laid down by John I . Thornycroft & Company , at Woolston , Hampshire on 30 August 1934 , launched on 18 September 1935 and completed on 20 March 1936 . Excluding government - furnished equipment like the armament , the ship cost £248 , 485 . Aside from a brief period when she was assigned to the 20th Destroyer Flotilla after her commissioning , " Grafton " spent the prewar period assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla with the Mediterranean Fleet . Between 10 August and 9 September 1936 , she escorted the yacht " Nahlin " as King Edward VIII cruised the eastern Mediterranean . Afterwards " Grafton " patrolled Spanish waters during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the policies of the Non - Intervention Committee . The ship was refitting in Malta when World War II began in September 1939 . " Grafton " and three of her sisters were transferred to the Western Approaches Command at Plymouth in October . The following month , however , the ship was reassigned at the end of the month to the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla in Harwich of the Nore Command for patrol and escort duties . On 10 January 1940 , she was transferred to the reconstituted 1st Destroyer Flotilla , also based at Harwich , where " Grafton " inspected ships travelling between German and Dutch ports for contraband . Between 26 March and 14 April the ship was given a brief overhaul in Hull in the shipyard of Brigham and Cowan . As the Norwegian Campaign had begun while " Grafton " was refitting , she was reassigned to the Home Fleet where she escorted convoys to Norway until 11 May . Operation Dynamo . During the Siege of Calais , " Grafton " escorted the light cruiser s and as they provided naval gunfire support for the 30th Motor Brigade on 26 May . The following day she evacuated over 1 , 600 troops from the beaches of La Panne and Bray , northeast of Dunkirk . On the morning of 29 May , she stopped to rescue survivors from the destroyer , which had been torpedo ed and sunk earlier that morning by the German E - boat " S - 30 " . While rescuing survivors from " Wakeful " off Nieuwpoort , Belgium , " Grafton " was struck in the stern by a torpedo from the . This seriously damaged the ship , and also triggered a secondary explosion which damaged the bridge , killing the captain and another officer . 13 ratings and the Canteen Manager were also killed . The ship ' s back was broken , but she remained afloat long enough for all survivors to be rescued by the destroyer and the transport " Malines " . " Ivanhoe " sank " Grafton " with naval gunfire , as she was too badly damaged to be towed to safety .