HMS Bulldog

British B-class destroyer

War & ConflictPolitics & Government

HMS Bulldog — Image via Wikimedia Commons or Wikipedia.

Overview

What happened

The Capture of U-110 on May 9, 1941, provided the Allies with a crucial advantage in the Battle of the Atlantic, as the British Navy seized a German U-b...

Date

May 9, 1941

Location

North Atlantic, near Iceland

Key people

Enigma machine, Captain Joe Baker-Cresswell, Kapitänleutnant Fritz-Julius Lemp

Why it matters

This article provides a detailed analysis of the capture of the U-110, including the bravery and quick thinking of the British Navy's HMS Bulldog and HMS Aubretia, and the significan...

What was HMS Bulldog?

HMS Bulldog (H91) was a B-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy (RN) between 1929 and 1931. Initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet, she transferred to the Home Fleet in 1936. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. Bulldog saw service throughout World War II on convoy escort duty during the Battle of the Atlantic and in the Arctic. Her most notable actions were the capture of an Enigma machine and codebooks from the U-110 in 1941, sinking another German submarine in 1944 and taking the surrender of the German garrisons on the Channel Islands on 9 May 1945.

Background and consequences

Surplus after the war, she was broken up for scrap in 1946. Bulldog displaced 1,360 long tons (1,380 t) at (standard load) and 1,790 long tons (1,820 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), a beam of 32 feet 3 inches (9.8 m) and a draught of 12 feet 3 inches (3.7 m).

Men signalling Bulldog from shore near Veulettes-sur-Mer, 10 June 1940. Watercolour by Richard Harding Seddon (1915–2002)

Related on thisDay

Capture of U-110 — May 9, 1941

41 Allied ships sunk: U-110's capture near Iceland on May 9, 1941, gave the British Navy a crucial advantage in the Battle of the Atlantic

Sources and further reading

Use the dated article for the day-specific account; use these references to check the event record and explore its wider historical context.

Date article: Capture of U-110 — May 9, 1941 Wikipedia source

Cite this page

MLA

“HMS Bulldog.” thisDay, thisday.info/history/hms-bulldog/. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

APA

HMS Bulldog. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://thisday.info/history/hms-bulldog/

Chicago

“HMS Bulldog.” thisDay. Accessed October 19, 2026. https://thisday.info/history/hms-bulldog/.

Found an error? Let us know.