| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | ASW Trawler |
| Class | [No specific class] |
| Pennant | FY 214 |
| Built by | Cook, Welton & Gemmill (Beverley, U.K.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | |
| Launched | 6 Feb 1935 |
| Commissioned | Nov 1939 |
| Lost | 15 Jun 1942 |
| Loss position | 36° 52'N, 75° 51'W |
| History | Completed on 13 March 1935. Lent to the United States Navy in February 1942 to operate of the US East coast. She was still manned by her British crew but operated under USN control. On 15 June 1942, while escorting convoy KN-109, HMS Kingston Ceylonite (A/Skipper Lt. William McKenzie Smith Smith, RNR) ran into a minefield laid off Virginia Beach on 11 June by U-701. Kingston Ceylonite sank sank in position 36º52'N, 75º51'W. 18 men out of a crew of 32 went down with the ship. Hit by U-boat |
| U-boat Attack | See our U-boat attack entry for the HMS Kingston Ceylonite |
Commands listed for HMS Kingston Ceylonite (FY 214)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Ch.Skr. John Robert Coultas, RNR | 4 Nov 1939 | 9 Feb 1940 |
| 2 | Ch.Skr. Joseph Samuel Garnham, RNR | 9 Feb 1940 | 24 Mar 1941 |
| 3 | Skr. Richard George Utting, RNR | 24 Mar 1941 | 9 Oct 1941 |
| 4 | Skr. John Coxall, RNR | 9 Oct 1941 | 11 Jan 1942 |
| 5 | Skr. Stanley Charles Larner, RNR | 11 Jan 1942 | 13 Feb 1942 |
| 6 | A/Skr.Lt. William McKenzie Smith, RNR | 13 Feb 1942 | 15 Jun 1942 (+) |
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Notable events involving Kingston Ceylonite include:
6 Dec 1939
HMS Oberon (Lt.Cdr. J.A.S. Wise, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Portland with HMS Kingston Ceylonite (Ch.Skr. J.R. Coultas, RNR) and HMS Kingston Cairngorm (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) P.E. Vaux, DSC, RN). (1)
26 Nov 1940
HMS Unique (Lt. A.F. Collett, RN) departed Portsmouth for Dartmouth. She was escorted by HMS Kingston Ceylonite (Ch.Skr. J.S. Garnham, RNR). (2)
23 Mar 1942
The damaged armed merchant cruiser HMS Queen of Bermuda (A/Capt.(Retd.) A.D. Cochrane, RN) departed Halifax under tow for the Brooklyn Navy Yard at New York. She is to proceed through the Cape Cod Canal.
Escort for the tow is provided by the auxiliary A/S trawlers HMS Bedfordshire (Lt. R.B. Davis, RNR), HMS Coventry City (T/Lt. J.C. Grose, RNR), HMS Kingston Ceylonite (A/Skr.Lt. W.M. Smith, RNR), HMS Lady Elsa (T/Lt. S.G. Phillips, RNVR) and HMS Stella Polaris (Skr. T. Normandale, RNR).
The tow arrived in Long Island sound on 29 March 1942. The trawlers then proceeded to New York arriving later the same day. HMS Queen of Bermuda was towed to the New York Navy Yard on 31 March 1942 as this was not possible earlier due to the weather conditions. (3)
Sources
- ADM 173/15805
- ADM 173/16681
- ADM 53/116477 + ADM 199/2237
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.