Description WW2 naval Casualty – H.M.S. Afridi, 3rd May 1940. 1939-45 Star; Atlantic Star; 1939-45 War Medal; Condolence slip, Charles Henry Bowditch; Box of issue addressed to Mr G.W. Bowditch, Shirley, Southampton. Charles Henry Bowditch was the son of George William and Ada May of Shirley, Southampton. He died on the 3rd May 1940 whilst serving on H.M.S. Afridi. Afridi and four other destroyers escorted a small supply convoy to Åndalsnes and Molde that was so heavily attacked by the Luftwaffe on 27 April that they had to abort their mission before two of the ships could complete their unloading. They were attacked again the following day as they withdrew. The Allied defeat during the Namsos Campaign forced them to evacuate the survivors. Afridi was one of the escorts for the troopships that arrived at the entrance to the Namsenfjorden on 1 May to take them off, but thick fog delayed them until the following day. On the evening of 2 May, the destroyer led the heavy cruiser York and three French troopships to Namsos. Two transports were able to dock in the harbour, but the third and York had to have the troops ferried to them by the destroyers and trawlers. All the ships except Afridi departed at 02:30, but she waited until 03:15 for the rearguard to reach the port before leaving herself. The Germans spotted the evacuation convoy early that morning and Luftwaffe attacks began around 08:45. At 10:00 a Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka” dive bomber of I Group, Dive-bomber Wing 1 (Sturzkampfgeschwader 1) hit the French destroyer Bison with a bomb that caused her forward magazine to explode. Afridi and the destroyers Imperial and Grenade went to her aid and fought off two more air attacks while rescuing survivors. Afridi sank Bison by gunfire around noon after twice missing with torpedoes and departed the area with 69 survivors on board. When she rejoined the convoy at 14:00, another dive bombing attack developed. The ship was targeted by more Stukas diving from each side, making evasive manoeuvres ineffectual. She was hit by two bombs, one passing through the wireless telegraphy office and exploding beside the forward boiler room, the second hitting just forward of the bridge and starting a severe fire at the after end of the mess decks. Imperial came alongside to port and Griffin to starboard to take aboard survivors. At 14:45 hours, Afridi capsized and sank bow-first with the loss of 52 crewmen at 66°14′N 05°45′E. Thirteen soldiers were also lost—the only casualties among the whole force evacuated from Åndalsnes and Namsos–and 30 of the 69 Frenchmen she had picked up from Bison. Condition – NEF NOTE: Sorry we cannot accept payment by PayPal for this item, We can accept payment by Credit / Debit Card, Bank Transfer or Cheque.
