HMS Palomares
HMS Palomares was a British anti-aircraft ship of the Second World War.
Originally MV Palomares, built by William Doxford & Sons, Sunderland yard in 1937, it operated as a merchant fruit carrier ship for service on the MacAndrews Line in January 1938 with their Spanish service.
Service
She was purchased by the Admiralty in 1940, as these fruit ships were considered to be fast and manoeuvrable. In 1941 the Admiralty converted her to an anti-aircraft ship and then to a fighter direction ship. Most likely the conversion took place at Fairfields yard in Govan on the River Clyde with her sister ship.In March 1942, she sailed with Pozarica, and the corvettes,, and for the port of Seyðisfjörður in Iceland. In June 1942, she sailed as an escort in Convoy PQ 17, where 25 out 36 ships were lost to the Germans, while working around Murmansk and Archangel.
In November 1942, Palomares took part in the Operation Torch landings in Algiers as an anti-aircraft ship. The ship left Gibraltar on 3 November and arrived on 8 November. The next day Palomares was hit by a bomb that caused many casualties, caused a large fire and put the steering gear was put out of action. Deceased seamen were transferred to the corvette for burial at sea and her steering gear was repaired by 10 November.
In September 1943, during the Salerno landings of Italy on 9 September, Palomares was a fighter direction ship, directing fighters with her radar system.
In January 1944, Palomares again served as a fighter direction ship during the Anzio landings. Arriving at the beachhead on 22 January, she struck a mine and was towed back to Naples by the tugs Edenshaw and Evea. In September 1945, Palomares was to have participated in the Malaya landings but could not, as a fire had damaged her engine room.