and the Department of the Navy. Bells remain a powerful and tangible reminder of the history, heritage, and accomplishments of the naval service. Thus, private ownership of the USS Herndon bell may be a violation of Navy regulations and Federal statutes. HMS Churchill Herndon decommissioned and was turned over to Great Britain under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 9 September 1940. As HMS Churchill, she served as leader of the first flotilla in transatlantic convoys and patrol duty off the Western Approaches to the British Isles. Notable events in her career in the Royal Navy included participation in the search for the German battleship after she had sunk the battlecruiser , and a visit by her namesake, the Prime Minister Winston Churchill, on his way home from the Atlantic Conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August 1941. Churchill was assigned to Escort Group B-7 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force for convoys HX 186 and ON 94. Churchill also served as an escort for the pre- and post-invasion buildup for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. Churchill was modified for trade convoy escort service by removal of three of the original /50 caliber guns and three of the triple torpedo tube mounts to reduce topside weight for additional depth charge stowage and installation of Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar. Churchill was assigned to Escort Group C-4 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force for convoys SC 112, ON 158, HX 224, ON 177 and HX 235 during the winter of 1942–43 Transferred to the Soviet Navy 16 July 1944, the destroyer was renamed (). She was sunk while escorting a convoy over the treacherous route from Kola Inlet to the White Sea in the Kara Sea east of Cape Terebirski (), either by being torpedoed by , or by accidental explosion of her depth charges while attacking the submarine, with the loss of 117 of her 124 crew. The seven survivors reported a massive explosion at the ship's stern. Survivors were rescued by . References Citations Sources External links navsource.org: USS Herndon hazegray.org: USS Herndon Herndon Depot Museum SovietNavy-WW2: Таун ("Town") class U-boat.net: Dejatelnyj Clemson-class destroyers 1919 ships Ships of the United States Coast Guard Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers converted from Clemson-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Ships