HMS Harvester (H19)

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HMS Harvester (H19) was an H-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, originally built for Brazil as Jurua. She was ordered in 1937 from Vickers-Armstrongs in Barrow-in-Furness, laid down in June 1938, and launched in September 1939. Britain bought her in September 1939, first named Handy, then renamed Harvester in January 1940. She was commissioned on 23 May 1940.

In the Dunkirk evacuation (May–June 1940) Harvester helped rescue hundreds of troops. After Dunkirk she served with Western Approaches Command, escorting Atlantic convoys. On 30 October 1940 she helped sink the German submarine U-32. In 1941 she briefly served with Force H at Gibraltar before being sent to the Newfoundland Escort Force because her anti-aircraft armament was considered too weak; she later returned to Western Approaches duties.

Early in 1942 she was converted to an escort destroyer at Dundee, receiving additional anti-submarine weaponry and radar. She then resumed North Atlantic escort duties as the flagship of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force Group B-3. While protecting Convoy HX 228 in March 1943, Harvester rammed and damaged the submarine U-444; the next day she was torpedoed by U-432 and broke in half. The French corvette Aconit rammed U-432 and rescued Harvester’s survivors before the ship sank, with heavy loss of life including her commander.

Key facts and specifications (as built and during service): Harvester displaced about 1,350 tons standard (up to about 1,883 tons deep load), was 323 feet long, and could reach about 36 knots. She carried four 4.7-inch guns (later reduced), two quadruple 0.5-inch machine gun mounts, two quadruple 21-inch torpedo tubes, and up to 110 depth charges. She received upgrades during the war, including Oerlikon 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar, Type 271 and Type 286 radars, and HF/DF equipment.