ML 574

[Bob Mellor]

Hi there - I am researching my wife's family. My father-in-law was in the Coastal Forces during the latter part of WW2, where he served aboard ML 574. We have a photo of him in Lagos in June 1945, and anecdotal stories passed to relatives of also having been in Dakar and Freetown. I am interested in finding out more about where he would have been posted, serving what purpose (submarine hunting? convoy escort? etc), and anything else about his particular launch and the crew upon it. The photo indicates his nickname to be "Ping", which I am lead to believe indicated he was a sonar operator of some kind, but this is all speculation. I have evidence that he, his crew and this ML were all part of the escort for "Convoy SL131", too, but have no details about it. If anyone has any further information about any of this I would be grateful to learn.

[Admin]

Hello Bob

Welcome to the forum. Could you let me have your father-in-law's name, and his service number if you happen to know it.

I am just trying to research when ML 574 was sent out to West Africa as it doesn't appear to have been with the earlier MLs sent in 1942. The ML Flotillas at Freetown were reconfigured in the latter period of the war so his boat may have formed part of the 26th ML and then later the 12th ML. The MLs from Freetown ranged north to Dakar once the French Vichy regime in West Africa capitulated, and were also known to sail further north to Mauritania. They also sailed south regularly around the Gold Coast escorting convoys to and from Lagos.

Edit:

ML 547 was built by James Miller, St Monace, Fife and completed on 15th January 1943. The Red List shows the boat as originally allocated to the 32nd ML Flotilla comprising MLs 558, 559, 562, 563, 568, 569, 574 & 575, and allocated for Foreign Service. Entries for the Admiralty Diary for the Spring of 1943 shown below indicated a change of plan for the 32nd ML in being reallocated from West Africa to the Mediterranean which it would have reached first when sailing from the UK for onward passage to West Africa. However, ML 574 was detached from the 32nd and reallocated to the 27th ML Flotilla at Freetown, presumably to replace boats lost by fire and explosion.

Admiralty War Diary Entries

28.4.1943
p1041
10. C. in C. Med. requires two additional M.L. Flotillas in the Mediterranean as soon as possible, one flotilla is to be provided by re-allocating the 32nd M.L. Flotilla from West Africa to the Mediterranean.

30.4.1943
p1136
Cancel A.M. 161801 February.32. M.L. 574 is re-allocated to 27th Flotilla at Freetown.
3. 32nd M.L. Flotilla now consisting of M.Ls. 558, 559 562, 563, 568, 569 and 575 is re-allocated to Mediterranean.
4. This re-allocation is necessary owing to urgent operational requirements in the Mediterranean.
5. Claims of West Africa for additional M.Ls. will be given full consideration when the next flotilla become available, about
6. F.O.C. Gibraltar pass to M.Ls. 559» 5^8, 5°2, and 575 on
their arrival at Gibraltar.
(D.D.O.D. (C) 301352B to F.O.C.W.A. ) *32nd M.L. Flotilla
allocated to West Africa.

30.4.1943
p1141
15. The 32nd M.L. Flotilla (7 vessels) has been reallocated to the Mediterranean from West Africa, owing to urgent operational requirements.

30.4.1943
p1142
32 M.L. Flotilla

Your 280800. 32nd M.L.Flotilla consisting of 7 M.L's is being re-allocated from West Africa to you.

(2) Four of these boats should leave U.K. for Gibraltar today Friday. Remaining three boats should be ready to leave U.K. about first week in June.

(3) Owing to the need to fit special tanks and equipment no further M.L's can be made available for you or West Africa before mid July at the earliest apart from those building at Alexandria and the 13 boats referred to in para.4. of a.m. 16

This entry shows the onward passage of ML 574 in company of ML 256 to Bathurst (now Banjul) in The Gambia

13.5.1943
p505

ML 574
M.L. 256, 574, about 012° 38' 017° 35' to Bathurst 9.

John has helpfully supplied the following information in addition to what he has added himself below:

· ML 574 in April 1943 was transferred to the 26th ML Flotilla to replace ML 251 (26th ML Flotilla), which on 6 March 1943 was rammed by the corvette HMS Burdock, which mistook ML 574 for a submarine, and ML 574 sank on 8 March 1943.

· MLs 574 & 289 (26th ML Flotilla) on 27 February 1944 with the antisubmarine whalers HMS SOUTHERN GEM & SOUTHERN PRIDE were dispatched as additional escorts to the twelve-merchant convoy STL 12 (ANGLO INDIAN, CLUNEPARK, CONAKRIAN, DUNKERQUE, EMPIRE FALCON, EMPIRE FLAME, FORT CHIPEWYAN, FORT TADOUSSAC, MADRAS CITY, MONTAIGNE, STANHILL, TOMBOUCTOU) out of Freetown & en route to Lagos after the merchant ship SILVERMAPLE was sunk (lost 7-crew members of their sixty-seven crew) in the Gulf of Guinea by U 66 on 26 February 1944. The escorts with the convoy were the sloop HMS LOWESTOFT, the antisubmarine trawler HMS DUNCTON & the patrol vessels HMS KILDWICK & KILKENZIE.

· MLs 574 & 289 (26th ML Flotilla) on 28 February 1944 were en route to Lagos with convoy STL 12.

· MLs 574 & 289 (26th ML Flotilla) on 29 February 1944 arrived at Lagos with convoy STL 12.

· MLs 574, 281, 289 (26th ML Flotilla) with HDMLs 1016, 1052 on 19 March 1944 are carrying out an antisubmarine sweep off the coast of Nigeria when they spot a U-boat on the surface. The MLs & HDMLs opened fire on the U-boat at 1,000 yards, but the U-boat dived & contact was lost.

· MLs 574, 209, 263, 274, 277, 278, 281, 290 (26th ML Flotilla) on 13 December 1944 were at Freetown, Sierra Leone

· MLs 574, 263, 209, 274, 278, 281, 290 (26th ML Flotilla) on 15 August 1945 were at Freetown, Sierra Leone, paid off (Reserve Category 'B').

· ML 574 in 1945 was placed on the disposal list & sold in Freetown on 1 January 1946.

The Naval Historical Branch web page has all of the Admiralty War Diaries digitised and available for download. They are quite easily searched for references to '574' so you should be able to chart the escorts and patrols carried out from Freetown.


Regards
Admin

[John110547]

Hi Bob

Hope the following information on Convoy SL131 helps?

Convoy SL131 consisted of 25 merchant ships and 7 escort warships. This does not include the trawlers and MLs that were normally used in coastal waters to sweep for mines in front of the convoy. Convoy SL131 departed Freetown on 13 June 1943 and rendezvoused with convoy MKSG15 on 24 June 1943, which consisted of 16 merchant ships and 4 escort warships before continuing its voyage into the Mediterranean.

Please note that the trawlers/MLs minesweeping group would normally spend one or two days with an outbound convoy until the convoy sails into deep waters. At this point, the trawlers/MLs minesweeping group would either return to port or rendezvous with an inbound convoy and carry out the same process until the convoy made port or it was handed over to another minesweeping group.

Best regards
John

[John110547]

Hi Bob

Further to my earlier message, I would make one other point with regards to the coastal force’s minesweeping groups in front of convoys - they also had antisubmarine capabilities within the group. On finding an underwater contact, the convoy commander would either direct one of his escort vessels or one of the trawlers/MLs to investigate. Often the underwater contact was found to be a school of fish or whales. The convoy commander would also notify the air force Coastal Command. Note: In 1943 RAF coastal command aircraft sank three U-boats in West African coastal waters (U-Boats 105, 403 & 468).

Best regards
John