HMS BRAMBLE
Halcyon Class Minesweeper
This page is not meant to be a comprehensive history of HMS BRAMBLE., but a record of sailors of the ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY who served in her, photos they took and stories they may have shared with their families.
On 22 December 1942 Bramble sailed with Convoy JW 51B from Loch Ewe. The convoy was sighted by the German submarine U-354 on the 30th, and the German cruisers Admiral Hipper and Lützow, accompanied by six destroyers, sailed from Altenfjord to intercept them in Operation Regenbogen, leading to the Battle of the Barents Sea.
On 31 December Bramble, which had been detached to search for stragglers, was returning to the convoy when she encountered Admiral Hipper and three destroyers. Hipper promptly opened fire with her 8-inch (200 mm) guns. Bramble returned fire, but was overwhelmed and finally sunk with all hands (8 officers and 113 ratings) by the destroyer Friedrich Eckoldt
In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice Lest We Forget
Sto 2c, RCNVR MPK - 31 Dec 1942
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