HMS Aylmer
HMS "Aylmer" was a of the Royal Navy that served during World War II. The ship was named after Matthew Aylmer, commander of at the Battle of Barfleur in 1692 during the War of the Grand Alliance. Originally destined for the US Navy as a turbo-electric (TE) type destroyer escort, HMS "Aylmer" was provisionally given the name USS "Harmon" (later this name was reassigned to , though the delivery was diverted to the Royal Navy before the launch. Its commanding officers were Lt Cdr A.D.P. Campbell RN and Cdr B.W. Taylor RN (Senior Officer 5th Escort Group) on  30 August 1944 and Lt Cdr W.L. Smith RNR in February 1945. HMS "Aylmer" was adopted by the Boy's Own Paper. The May 1945 issue had pictures of HMS "Aylmer" in the graving dock in Liverpool after she had rammed and sunk off Anglesey. In the May 1946 issue, C.J. Olivant (the author of the article) described the war service of HMS "Aylmer". She was stationed in Belfast for the duration of her wartime service with the 5th Escort Group. Actions. HMS "Aylmer" served exclusively with the 5th Escort Group, taking part in operations in the North Atlantic in  May 1944, off Normandy (Operation Neptune) in June 1944, and in the Barents Sea in Operation Goodwood in August 1944. It also served in the Mediterranean, escorting a convoy to Naples in September 1944. On 6 May 1944 the submarine was sunk in the North Atlantic, at position , by depth charges from HMS "Aylmer", operating alongside two Swordfish aircraft (Sqdn. 825) of the British escort carrier and the British frigates and . As a result of this action, 37 of "U-765"s crew died and 11 were rescued and taken prisoner by . During Operation Goodwood, on 22 August 1944, the escort carriers  and sailed to the Barents Sea to attack the . During this operation HMS "Nabob" was torpedoed and ten minutes later the destroyer escort (commanded by Cdr Donald MacIntyre, senior officer of the 5th Escort Group) was also hit by an acoustic torpedo (Gnat); both attacks were by the submarine . HMS "Nabob" was able to raise steam and was escorted back (at an average ) to Rosyth where she was considered a constructive total loss and used as spare parts. HMS "Bickerton" was sunk by as any salvage was considered too risky. had to fire three torpedoes to sink "Bickerton". As a  result of this action, Cdr Donald MacIntyre transferred his command to HMS "Aylmer". On 26 January 1945, the submarine was sunk in the Irish Sea south of the Isle of Man, at position by the frigates HMS "Aylmer", , and . "U-1051" was forced to the surface by the use of depth charges, then a gun battle ensued with "U-1051" finally sinking after it had been rammed by HMS "Aylmer". This action resulted in the loss of all hands (47) from the crew of "U-1051". It is entirely clear that the ramming of "U-1051" by HMS "Aylmer" was intentional and that Cdr  B.W.Taylor was not removed from command, as has been suggested, shortly after this incident. A reading of the after-action report makes it clear that the "U-1051" was still a belligerent submarine (during the attack by the escorts, "U-1051" fired another torpedo at HMS "Aylmer"). When she surfaced, "U-1051" was fired on by HMS "Aylmer", HMS "Calder", HMS "Bligh" and HMS "Bentinck". It is known that the 3-inch/50 caliber main gun of the Captain class had trouble penetrating the hull plating of German submarines (their shells would bounce off the submarines they fired on), so it is possible Commander  Taylor thought that discretion was the better option and rammed the submarine as the ship's "Elephant Guns" had little effect; however in doing this he would have been acting against Admiralty orders that ships were not to ram submarines except in dire circumstances. The 46-page report in ADM 217/752 held in The National Archives completely vindicates Commander Taylor. At paragraph 8 of the Staff minute written by Captain J.T. Borrett, Captain (D) Belfast and attached to the proceedings of HMS "Grindall" says: The Staff Minute is initialled J.T.B. and dated 16/2 (1945) and it was approved by a  more senior officer as App Excellent on 17/2. After the action, Commander Taylor went to Holyhead with the damaged HMS "Aylmer". and were her escorts. On arrival at 11:30 that evening, HMS "Tyler" was sent back to sea to continue operations and Commander Taylor transferred his flag to HMS "Bligh" before also going back into the Irish Sea to continue operations with the 5EG. On 27 January 1945, was sunk by . In the space of three days, the 5th Escort Group had sunk two U-boats. Commander Taylor was subsequently Gazetted with the award of the Distinguished Service Cross on  29 May 1945, as was Commander Playne from HMS "Calder". Another theory that has been put forward is that in the noise and confusion of the gun battle the coxswain misheard orders and put the helm over the wrong way. However, published in "The Battle of the Irish Sea", Sir David Gibson has included a picture of HMS "Aylmer" steaming in to ram the U-boat. She still has plenty of sea room and it looks as if the U-boat is underway. The photo was taken by one of "Aylmer"'s officers, Sub Lieutenant G.I. Davis R.N.V.R. As Holyhead  was too small to repair the damage to "Aylmer"s bows, she made her way to Liverpool where she was repaired. In early April 1945, HMS "Aylmer" resumed her role as Senior Officer of the 5th Escort Group and on 15 April 1945 the group, by ships, and HMS "Keats" sank south west of Ireland. On 8 May 1945, VE day, HMS "Aylmer " was in Belfast, her home port. On 10 May 1945, she was dispatched to Loch Alsh to assist in taking German U-boat crews into captivity. On 5 November 1945, she was returned to the US Navy at  New York.