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HMS Kingfisher (L70) (later K70) was a Royal Navy patrol vessel and the lead ship of the Kingfisher-class sloops, laid down in 1934 and commissioned in 1935. She took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, and spent much of the Second World War as an experimental trials ship. She was sold for scrap in 1947. Kingfisher was laid down at Fairfield's Govan shipyard on 1 June 1934 and was launched (without ceremony) on 14 February 1935.[1][8] She was completed on 18 June 1935.[1] On 8 December 1939, Kingfisher and the old sloop PC-74 collided at Eglinton, Northern Ireland, with both ships sustaining slight damage,[13][14] Kingfisher was back on duty on 10 December, investigating a possible submarine contact by the destroyer Forester.[13] On 26 May 1940, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the trapped British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk.[15][16] Kingfisher made two evacuation runs on 31 May and two more on 1 June,[17] when she was damaged by near misses from German bombing attacks.[16][18] On the night of 3/4 June 1940, a final effort was made by all available ships to evacuate as many as possible of the remaining troops (by that time mainly French) at Dunkirk. Kingfisher took part in that final evacuation mission, but collided with the French trawler Edmund Rene outside Dunkirk harbour, tearing a hole in the sloop's bow.[19] Kingfisher was under repair until July 1940,[18] the experimental sonar installation being removed.[11] Kingfisher was damaged again by German bombing in Portland harbour on 14 August 1940.[20] Winser, John de S. (1999). B.E.F. Ships before, at and after Dunkirk. Gravesend, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-91-6.
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2 potential matching records have been identified.
These records may contain OCR text matches, source files, page references and digitised page imagery. A match does not by itself prove that the vessel participated in Operation Dynamo.
“Potential match” means a candidate returned by one or more indexing rules; it is not necessarily an exact identity match. Depending on the source, matching may use a normalised vessel name, a partial text or OCR hit, an alias, or related metadata. Roman-numeral suffixes such as I, II, III, IV and V may be absent, misread or separated from the base name, so records for similarly named vessels can be grouped incorrectly. Multi-word names can also produce candidates where only one significant word matches. Confirm the full name, numeral, vessel type, dimensions, builder, ownership, dates and source context before treating two records as the same vessel.
We are compiling and checking transcriptions, metadata, vessel-name matches, source references and reuse permissions before publishing further detail. This work helps prevent incomplete OCR, historic spelling variations or unverified associations from being presented as established fact.
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These details have been aggregated from multiple sources and may include contemporary records, later recollections, claims or assertions for which no corroborating evidence has been identified. Inclusion does not establish that any account or assertion is accurate. The information may be incomplete, out of date, disputed or incorrect and should be checked against the underlying source records and independent evidence before being relied upon.
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Source: Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Heritage & Education Centre, Lloyd’s Register of Yachts 1939, digitised via Internet Archive. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Images have been converted, resized and watermarked for web display; machine-generated table OCR has been added.
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Source: Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Heritage & Education Centre, Lloyd’s Register of Yachts 1939, digitised via Internet Archive. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Images have been converted, resized and watermarked for web display; machine-generated table OCR has been added.
| 481 KINGFISHER KCH R.S. CLEMENT LUCAS. | 482 LAK. PIERRE FIEUX. | 403 NEMO. M A. NAGELMACKERS. | 484 MOBY DICK CUT HON GEORGE COLVILLE, M.B.E. | 485 BONA. SLP. H.W ROSASCO. | 486 AFRICA YWL. L'COMDR WARINGTON SMVTH R.N.V.R | 487 SU-LIN M.LCH CAPT H.G.MITCHELL | 488 TEXA. SLP. ULVA M.KCH. W.G.NEILL. |
| Kingfisher | Kch. | R. S. Clement Lucas | 481 | Lella II | Kch. | Avv. P. Binda | 733 | Mano II | Slp. | Ch. Gaulthier & R. |
| Baccarat | 26 | Beduin II. | Bertha | 88 | a. Cinderella. | Blackbird | 3 | Merle. | Boy Fred | 58 | a. Kingfisher. |
| Janetha II | 111 | m. Christabel II | Josephine | - | m. Mascotte. | Kallisto | 581 | m. Fisherman II | Kingfisher II | — | a. Cascade. |
| a. a. Sans Souci | 63 | a. Kingfisher | 58 | m. Night Mist | 54 | a. Kingarvie | 52 | a. Norbar | 51 | Magda XIII | 49 |
| m. Mistress | 18 | a. Alkor | 17 | m. Lady Inez | 17 | m. Silver Cloud | 17 | a. Coila | 16 | m. Kingfisher | 16 |
| Bain, John, A.M.I.N.A. | m. Kingfisher | 16 | Sneferu | 2 | m. Placida - | m. Bittern 6 |
| m. Mist 9 | S. Tiha 679 | a. Ben-y-Gloe 6 | Moyola 4 | a. Kingfisher 4 |
| Bittabi 8 | a. Vialeen 10 | m Derson 14 | m. Mistress (designed in | Kingfisher 4 | a. Gardenia 9 |
| a. Doreen | 4 | Kingfisher | 6 | a. Sanda | 5 | Naval Construction & | Nicholson, B. |
| Memory | 3 | m. Allan Cross 18 | m. Kingfisher | 16 | m. Silver Elk | 12 | m. Sture II - | (See T. E. Ferris.) |
| m. Thelma 8 | a. Kingfisher 58 | Hagen - | m. Leprechaun 106 | m. Flèche Blanche 80 | Vrybuiter 10 |
| m. Bettylou 25 | m. Albert Edward 28 | a. Nirvana | 5 | a. Kingfisher 4 | T. M. Tons |
| Woking, Surrey.-Ald.-Isl. a. Sea Saga 17 Adamson, J., Beehive Hotel, Sandbanks Road, Parkstone, Dorset.-Hmy. a. Hilbre (P.O.) 10 | Adie, Brooke, 49, Clarendon Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham.-Mtr. a. Le Cygne 37 m. Sunrise 12 | Fridolin Agate, Charlton S., Lynwood, Wayneflete Tower Avenue, Esher, Surrey. a. Rosalind 13 | Aiken, W., Coolavin, Ballyholme Road, Bangor, Co. Down.-Uls. Kingfisher (P.O.) 6 Ainsworth, Capt. | Akademischer Segler- Verein zu Danzig, E. V., Hindenburg-allee 23, Danzig- Langfuhr. Peter von Danzig 41 |
| Tons Poppy (P.O.) 5 | m. Lady Campbell — | a. Kingfisher 4 Vanity (P.O.) 3 | X. - | Tons m. Santa Barbara 52 |
| Pomona II 19 | a. Sindbad III - | a. Chloe 4 | m. Kingfisher 6 | m. Eun Mara (P.O.) 29 |
| Oslo, Norway.-Nsk. Si | | Elmsley, Floor Street, Johnstone, Renfrewshire.-Grk. m. Lancer 8 | m. Polaris 210 | Luard, Lieut. P. J., | a. Kingfisher 58 |
| Morison, C. A., Jam. a. Frances (P.O.) 32 | Morris, J. H. C., Magdalen College, Oxford. Crz.-Oxf. Yacht building 12 (See page 610) | Mortensen, Ernst G., Lovenskioldsgt. 18, Oslo, Norway. Nsk. m. Kringla III | Morton Eng. & Dry Dock Co., Ltd., West End, Louise Embankment, Quebec City, Canada. | Mould, H. W., Wynnstay, Jesson Road. Walsall, Staffs.-Bry.-S.M.Y.C.-Sev.M. m. Kingfisher 16 |
| Nash, Thos. F., 55, Portland Place, London, W.1. Mtr. m. Jomarna 18 | Neal, C. H., c/o A.M.P. Society, Wellington, N.Z. P.Nc. a. Wylo 10 | Nègre, Jean R., 91, Bvd. Malesherbes, Paris, 17e. Y.C.F.-Y.C.B. S. Elena 121 | Neill, S. D., Ardmara, Clifton Road, Bangor, Co. Down.-Uls. Kingfisher (P.O.) 6 | Ness, J. Miller, Rose Mount, Uphill Road, Mill Hill, London, N.W.7.-Ich.-L.S. m. Sport 8 |
| Mautby Lodge, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.-Cor.-N.&S. a. Frances 25 Spencer, F. H. J., | Spillane, George, Belle Vue, Limerick, Ireland. Bxm.-Ish. a. Nancy-Rose 32 | Spurrier, Henry, Farington Lodge, Leyland, Lancashire. Hbl.-Mer.-Srn. m. Ranger 158 | Staley, R. C. W., Beresford House, Stubbington Avenue, Portsmouth, Hants.-C.A. a. Kingfisher 5 | Stange, Einar, Klingenberg 26, Oslo, Norway.-Nsk. a. Eileen (See page 606) |
| Townsend, Mrs. 1., Villa Menuiere Prophete, Marseilles. a. Davida 380 | Travers, H. J., 124, High Street, Poole, Dorset. Hmy.-Pks.-Pol.(V.C.). | Trehearne, A. F. A., Olde Place, Kenley, Surrey. C.A.-Ich.-Mtr.-Tms. a. Giroflée 59 | Trevor, Mrs. J. F., 29, Avenue George V., Paris, Se. Tms. m. Janot 52 | Trolley, Douglas G., Whyteleafe," Fox's Lane, Falmouth, Cornwall.-L.S. Kingfisher 4 |
Movements recorded for KINGFISHER during the evacuation period, as plotted on the Operation Dynamo map.
| Departed | Route | Arrived | Troops | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Dunkirk | — | — |
Stationary
HMS report explicitly names this location; a complete dated movement is unavailable
|
TNA ADM 116 4649, page 113 |
| — | Malo | — | — |
Stationary
HMS report explicitly names this location; a complete dated movement is unavailable
|
TNA ADM 116 4649, page 113 |
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