ROYAL NAVY SOUTH ATLANTIC COMMAND - ROYAL NAVY T
4)TURCOMAN (CORVETTE)
Image by A.I.
Completed: 1939
Displacement: 455 tons
Length: 138 ft
Beam: 23 ft
Draught: 13 ft
Propulsion: 3-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine, 1 screw
Armament: 2 × 12 pounder guns AA
Complement: 30
Unlike the *Tulip* and *Tamarisk* class corvettes, HMS *Turcoman* (FY 130) was not a purpose-built warship. She was a commercial trawler requisitioned and armed by the Royal Navy at the start of World War II to serve as an auxiliary anti-submarine trawler. Assigned to the West African Escort Force,
HMS *Turcoman* operated extensively out of the strategic base at Freetown, Sierra Leone. Her service in the region was characterized by intensive patrols and dramatic missions: 1. Dangerous Coastal Escorts (Freetown – Takoradi) The primary mission of HMS *Turcoman* and other vessels in her anti-submarine group was to escort merchant ships and slow-moving convoys traveling along the African coast, particularly along the critical stretch between the bases at Freetown (Sierra Leone) and Takoradi (in present-day Ghana).
These cargo ships carried raw materials and equipment vital to the Allied war effort. 2. The Tragic Confrontation with *U-547* The most significant episode in the history of HMS *Turcoman* while stationed at Freetown occurred on the night of June 13, 1944. She was sailing alongside her sister trawlers, HMS *Birdlip* and HMS *Inkpen*, protecting the French merchant ship *Saint Basile*. The Attack: Off the coast of Liberia, the convoy was ambushed by the German submarine *U-547*.
The enemy fired a salvo of torpedoes that instantly struck and sank both the *Saint Basile* and the group's flagship, HMS *Birdlip*. The Response and Rescue: Amidst immense tension and in total darkness, the crew of HMS *Turcoman* went to "Action Stations," illuminating the water by firing star shells from their 12-pounder gun in an attempt to locate the submarine on the surface. Although the U-boat escaped due to its speed, *Turcoman* performed heroically in rescuing the approximately 16 survivors from HMS *Birdlip* who were adrift in lifeboats, bringing them safely ashore to receive medical care in Freetown hospitals.
3. Rescue and Salvage Operations at Sea: Even prior to this event, *Turcoman* was already known in the port of Freetown for saving lives. On May 29, 1941, the British merchant vessel *Tabaristan* was torpedoed by the submarine U-38 about 250 miles off the coast of Sierra Leone. HMS *Turcoman*, acting swiftly in conjunction with HMS *Bengali*, managed to locate and rescue the stricken ship's captain, along with 36 crew members and two gunners, landing them all safe and sound at the Freetown docks.
