Dunkirk 1940 Venom, the second Royal Navy ship of the name, was ordered in January 1918[1] as part of the 10th Order of the 1918-19 Naval Programme. She was laid down on 31 May 1918 by John Brown & Company at Clydebank, Scotland, and launched on 21 December 1918.[5] She was renamed Venomous, the first Royal Navy ship of the name, on 24 April 1919[3][5] to avoid confusion with the Royal Navy's torpedo school, HMS Vernon.[2] She was completed on 24 August 1919[2] and commissioned into service the same day.[1] Her original pennant number, G98, assigned in June 1919,[5] was changed to D75 during the interwar period.[2] On 26 May 1940, Venomous began operations in support of Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied personnel from the beachhead around Dunkirk, France. She made two trips on 31 May 1940, carrying 670 troops from De Panne, Belgium, and Bray-Dunes, France, on the first one and 408 troops from the pier at Dunkirk on the second.[2] She transported 630 troops on 2 June 1940, 957 more on 3 June, and 463 troops on her final voyage from Dunkirk on 4 June.[2] In all, she evacuated 3,128 or 4,410 troops (sources differ) in her five evacuation voyages to the Dunkirk beachhead.[2][7] Venomous' captain, John McBeath appeared in The World at War episode "Alone" (1973), where he discussed the ship's role in the evacuation of Dunkirk.[17] 1 2 Sebag-Montefiore, Hugh, Dunkirk: Fight To the Last Man, Harvard University Press, 2006, pp. 208–209, 593–594 Winser, John de D. (1999). B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-91-6. IWM Interview with John McBeath, who commanded HMS Venomous during the Dunkirk Evacuation