HMS Basilisk ( H11 ) HMS " Basilisk " was a built for the Royal Navy around 1930 . Initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet , she was transferred to the Home Fleet in 1936 . The ship escorted convoys and conducted anti - submarine patrols early in World War II before participating in the Norwegian Campaign . " Basilisk " was sunk by German aircraft during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 . Description . " Basilisk " 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 Brown - Curtis 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 . " Basilisk " carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 134 officers and enlisted men , although it increased to 142 during wartime . The ship mounted four 45 - calibre QF 4 . 7 - inch Mk IX guns in single mounts . For anti - aircraft ( AA ) defence , " Basilisk " had two QF 2 - pounder Mk II AA guns mounted on a platform between her funnels . 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 . The ship was fitted with a Type 119 ASDIC set to detect submarine s by reflections from sound waves beamed into the water . Career . The ship was ordered on 4 March 1929 from John Brown & Company at Clydebank , Glasgow , under the 1928 Naval Programme . She was laid down on 19 August 1929 , and launched on 6 August 1930 , as the eighth RN ship to carry this name . " Basilisk " was completed on 4 March 1931 at a cost of £220 , 342 , excluding items supplied by the Admiralty such as guns , ammunition and communications equipment . After her commissioning , she was assigned to the 4th Destroyer Flotilla with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1936 . The flotilla was reassigned to the Home Fleet in September 1936 . In February 1937 the Basilisk arrived at the post of Malaga , Spain , captured a few days before by the Franco ' s forces in the Spanish Civil War . The Basilisk ' s captain gained the release of Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell , a British zoologist resident in Malaga , who was arrested by Franco ' s troops due to his support of the Spanish Republic . The ship became the emergency destroyer at Devonport in March 1939 and was assigned to the 19th Destroyer Flotilla when World War II began . " Basilisk " spent the next two months escorting convoys and patrolling in the English Channel and the North Sea . The ship and her sister were escorting the minelayer on the morning of 13 November in the Thames Estuary when they entered a minefield laid the night before by several German destroyers . " Adventure " and " Blanche " both struck mines ; the latter lost all power and later capsized whilst under tow . " Basilisk " continued to escort convoys and patrol until April 1940 when the Norwegian Campaign began . On 24 April , the ship , together with the destroyers and , escorted the battleship to Narvik on 24 April . In early May , she escorted the troopship to Norway . " Basilisk " supported the Allied landings on 12 – 13 May at Bjerkvik during the Battle of Narvik . The ship was transferred from the Western Approaches Command on 30 May to support the evacuation from Dunkirk . She made two trips to Dover during the following day and evacuated a total of 695 men . " Basilisk " returned to La Panne to load more troops on the morning of 1 June and was attacked three times by German bombers . One bomb from the first wave detonated inside the No . 3 boiler room , killed all of her boiler and engine room personnel , fractured her steam lines and knocked out all her machinery . Near misses from the same attack buckled the sides of her hull and her upper deck . The ship ' s torpedoes and depth charges were jettisoned to reduce topweight and the French fishing trawler " Jolie Mascotte " attempted to tow " Basilisk " . A second attack caused no further damage , but caused the French ship to drop the tow . The third attack around noon sank " Basilisk " in shallow water at . " Jolie Mascotte " and the destroyer rescued eight officers and 123 crewmen from the ship . " Whitehall " then destroyed the wreck with gunfire and torpedoes .