HMS Farndale (L 70)

By early 1942 the Royal Navy’s use of camouflage was widespread on units of all types. But late 1941 had seen the RN’s camouflage section hard at work developing colors and patterns for specific ship, geographic area, and threat types. Patterns were simplified and shapes made larger, and by mid-1942 most smaller ships had repainted in one of the new official schemes. Shortage of some pigments led to the development of new colours in the G and B series, with some of the earlier colors being superseded. Admiralty Disruptive Schemes were now promulgated in light and dark versions. The increased use of radar led in very late 1943 to the development of very simplified camouflage designs which came into use in 1944 and lasted to the end of the war. Disruptive patterns largely disappeared during this period. This set of paint chips covers the colors issued after 1941, In addition, it includes an alternate B5 and B6 from those included in our Royal Navy Set 1; the alternate colors were matched to the original hand-painted camouflage design sheets for HMS Farndale. The set also includes prewar Buff, and a Mountbatten Pink matched to a sample provided by the Royal Navy to the U.S. Navy in 1942, presumably for use on Royal Navy vessels undergoing repair in U.S. shipyards. All colors have been carefully matched to Admiralty-issued paint chips or actual samples from ships’ paint lockers when available, to HMS Farndale’s design sheets, or to the 1929 Munsell Book of Color as specified by noted author, Alan Raven. Modelers are referred to Alan Raven’s “The Development of Naval Camouflage 1914-1945 Part III: British Camouflage in World War II,” in Plastic Ship Modeler, 1997/1 (Plastic Ship Modeler is published by Daniel H. Jones, P.O. Box 2183, Arvada CO 80001-2183), and to Alan Raven’s upcoming series of books on Royal Navy Camouflage to be published by WR Press and available from Snyder & Short Enterprises.

HMS Farndale  L.70 - 30th September 1940 - Broken up at Blyth 4th December  1962.

SS CHAKDINA   (December 5, 1941)  Armed boarding vessel commandeered by the British in Tobruk to evacuate their wounded. It sailed from the harbour with 380 wounded soldiers on board including 97 New Zealanders. Some officers and medical personnel were also accompanying the wounded. The ship was heading for Baggush, the H/Q of the 2nd N.Z. Division. At 9 o'clock in the morning a Luftwaffe plane dropped a torpedo which struck the ship in the after hold. It took only three minutes for the Chakdina to sink giving the wounded little chance to escape. Those who were not severely wounded managed to reach the escort destroyer, HMS Farndale, which picked up eighteen New Zealanders from the water. All the medical staff except one, were saved. The Farndale reached Alexandria two days later and the survivors admitted to the No 3 New Zealand General Hospital. 

Farndale, L.70

Type: destroyer of escort		Nationality: Great Britain
Classify: Hunt Blankney	Construction: Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd

 

1939	November 21	Put on hold	Great Britain
1940 Farndale	September 27	Launched. Destroyer of escort, named Farndale
1941 Farndale	April 27	Startup
	July 23	Operation "Substance": convoy for Malta	The Western Mediterranean
	September 26	Convoy "Halberd" towards Malta
December 11	Run: Ammiraglio Caracciolo	Libya
1942 Farndale	February 9	damaged by: German Bombers
August 10	Convoy "Pedestal" for Malta	The Western Mediterranean
1943 Farndale	September 9	Unloading combined in Salerno	Italy
1944 Farndale	August 15	Dragoon: unloading in Provence	South of France
1945 Farndale	March 16	damaged by: collision	Great Britain
1962 Farndale	December	Put at scrap