The E-class Flotilla Leader HMS Exmouth (H02) was the fourth RN ship to carry the name back to 1854.
HMS Exmouth in Belfast in 1937 (IWM HU 110300)
Constructed in Portsmouth in 1935 at a cost of over £330,000 under the 1931 Naval Programme, she had already had an active war in 1939, escorting no less than eight convoys before, while en route from Aberdeen to Scapa Flow on 21 January, she was struck by a torpedo fired from the early Type IIB submarine, U-22 (Karl-Heinrich Jenisch).
The destroyer sank quickly about 21 miles southeast of Noss Head in the Moray Firth, with a loss of 189 lives. There were no survivors.
She was the first British surface ship lost with all hands during the war.
In a bit of karmic payback, U-22, with Jenisch still in command, went to the bottom just seven weeks later, with all hands.
The Admiralty reports that Exmouth’s broken wreck, some 170 feet down, has been surveyed and a White Ensign deposited on her remains.
Lt Cdr Jen Smith shines her torch on the White Ensign over the wreck of HMS Exmouth
A nameplate found in the wreckage of HMS Exmouth CREDIT ROYAL NAVY 131024
A sextant and chart house sign of HMS Exmouth CREDIT ROYAL NAVY 131024
LCDR Jen Smith said:
“190 souls were lost when HMS Exmouth went down, and only 18 bodies were recovered ashore – the majority of that crew were lost at sea.
“So, their legacy is the wreck itself, that is their final resting place.
“We need to ensure that the wreck stays preserved and remembered, so future generations can visit her or pay their respects to those who gave the greatest sacrifice.”