⚓ Shipwrecks Map

HMS Encounter

HMS Encounter 1938 IWM FL 11382
Image: Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Marker: recorded wreck position (Date not recorded).

Key facts

NameHMS EncounterWikidata label
Ship typedestroyerWikidata P31 instance of
Nationality / flagUnited KingdomWikidata P137 operator → P17 country
OperatorRoyal NavyWikidata P137 operator
ConflictWorld War IIWikidata P607 conflict
Sea / oceanJava SeaNatural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon
Position-5.0000, 111.0000Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0)

About the wreck

HMS Encounter was an E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Although assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion, the ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39, she spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Encounter was assigned to convoy escort and anti-submarine patrol duties in the Western Approaches, when World War II began in September 1939. She participated in the Norwegian Campaign before joining Force H in mid-1940 and was present during the Battles of Dakar and Cape Spartivento later that year. The ship was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1941 where she escorted convoys to Malta.

Encounter was badly damaged while refitting at Malta a few weeks after arriving in the Mediterranean and was briefly reassigned to Force H after her repairs were completed before rejoining the Mediterranean Fleet later in the year.

Location

  • Recorded position: -5.0000, 111.0000 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
  • Sea / ocean: Java Sea

Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.

OpenStreetMap

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article HMS Encounter (H10) (revision 1375232936), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.

Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).

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Further reading