1 9 4 3
July
Contractors
Sea Trials and commissioning.
14th
Accepted for service with 23rd Destroyer
Flotilla, Home Fleet.
August
Worked-up with Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.
September
Joined
Flotilla for Home Fleet screening duties and
patrol
October
20th
Independent passage to Kola Inlet to
escort
returning merchant ships. (Operation FR).
November
3rd
Escorted Convoy RA54A from Kola Inlet with
H M Destroyers SAVAGE, SAUMAREZ
MILNE, SCORPION,
MAHRATTA, MATCHLESS, MUSKETEER and
WESTCOTT.
(HM Minesweepers JASON and
BRITOMART and HM Corvette
EGLANTINE were
also
part of the Ocean
Escort)
10th
Detached from RA54A with Home Fleet
destroyers
23rd
Joined Ocean Escort for Russian Convoy JW54B
with HM Destroyer SAUMAREZ,
HARDY, SAVAGE, SCORPION, VENUS,
VIGILANT Norwegian
STORD.
December
3rd
Detached from JW54B on arrival at approach
to Archangel made independent passage
with
Home Fleet destroyers
to Scapa
Flow.
10th
Deployed with Flotilla
for Hone Fleet screening duties.
20th
Part of screen for HM Battleship DUKE OF
YORK and HM Cruiser JAMAICA providing
Distant Cover for
Russian Convoy JW55B and returning Convoy
RA55B.
22nd
Detached to reinforce escort for Russian
Convey
JW55B after German battlecruiser
SCHARNHORST was known to be in area.
Joined escort with H M Destroyers
IMPULSIVE, ONSLOW, ONSLAUGHT, ORWELL,
HAIDA (RCN), HURON (RCN) and
IROQUOIS.
30th
Detached from JW55B and rejoined HMS DUKE
OF YORK and HMS JAMAICA for
return to
Scapa Flow.
(For details of all
Russian Convoy operations see CONVOYS TO
RUSSIA by RA
Ruegg,
ARCTIC CONVOYS
by R Woodhead,
CONVOY! by P Kemp,THE
KOLA
RUN by D. MacIntyre
and I Campbell and RUSSIAN CONVOYS by B. Schoefield.
1 9 4 4
January
Resumed Home Fleet
deployment with Flotilla.
26th
Part of Ocean Escort for Russian Convoy
JW56B
with HM Destroyers MAHRATTA,
MILNE, MUSKETEER,
OPPORTUNE, HURON (RCN)
and METEOR.
February
1st
Detached from JW56B
on arrival at Kola Inlet.
3rd
Joined Ocean Escort for return Convoy RA56
with JW56A and JW56B escorts.
9th
Detached from RA56 with HM Destroyers
INCONSTANT,
MAHRATTA, METEOR,
MILNE, HURON, MUSKETEER
and Norwegian STORD.
11th
Deployed with Flotilla in Home Fleet.
March
Home Fleet duties in NW Approaches
in continuation.
to
April
May
Nominated for duty with ships of
Flotilla in Force S during allied landings
in
Normandy.
Allocated targets in Pre-Arranged
Fire Plan - Beach defences East of Le Breech
C.
(Operation NEPTUNE - For details of naval
activities
prior to and during landings.
See OPERATION NEPTUNE by K Edwards, LANDINGS
IN NORMANDY, June
1944 (HMSO).
Took part in preparatory
exercises for assault operations.
June
Joined HM Destroyers SAUMAREZ, KELVIN,
VIRAGO, SCORPION, VERULAM,
SWIFT, SERAPIS, MIDDLETON, EGLINTON,
Polish SLAZAK, Norwegian SVENNER
and STORD
in Force S. Passage to
Spithead.
4th
Operation delayed 24 hours.
5th
Joined Polish destroyer SLAZAK and HMS
MIDDLETON as escort for Convoy S2
through
swept channel.
(Convoy comprised 15th Minesweeping
Flotilla, four Danlayers,
two
Minesweeping
Motor Launches
and a Harbour Defence Motor Launch.
6th
Carried out bombardment
in accordance with Fire Plan.
On completion provided gunfire support
in SWORD area.
7th
Deployed on patrols to intercept enemy
surface craft attempting to attack ships
in Eastern
Task Force area.
.
9th
Deployed to reinforce patrols by HM
Destroyers
ONSLOW, ORIBI, OFFA and
ONSLAUGHT west
of Spout with HMS SERAPIS.
16th
Escorted HM Cruiser ARETHUSA with HM
Destroyer
URANIA.
(Note::
HMS ARETHUSA was taking HM King George VI to
Beachead
area).
July
On release from NEPTUNE rejoined Flotilla at
Scapa Flow to continue screening and
patrol duties
in NW Approaches.
August
Deployed with Flotilla in NW Approaches.
8th
Participated in Home Fleet rehearsal for
planned operation off Norway.
10th
Part of screen for HM Aircraft Carrier
INDEFATIGABLE,
HM Escort Carriers
TRUMPETER and NABOB, HM Cruisers
KENT and DEVONSHIRE with HM
Destroyers MYNGS, VIGILANT, SIOUX
(RCN), VOLAGE, VERULAM, VIRAGO
and ALGONQUIN
(RCN).
(Operation OFFSPRING - Aircraft minelay
and shipping strikes between Lepsoy
and
Haramsa
Island)
September
Deployed
with Flotilla for Home Fleet screening
duties in NW Approaches.
29th
Nominated for screening
duties during shipping strike and aircraft
minelay.
(Operation TENABLE – later cancelled)
October
Home Fleet Flotilla
duties in continuation.
23rd
Deployed with HM Destroyers SAUMAREZ and
SERAPIS as screen for HM
Escort Carriers TRUMPETER, CAMPANIA and HM
Cruiser DEVONSHIRE as Force 2
(Operation HARDY - Air strikes on
shipping and shore targets south of Lepsoy
and
in Haramsfjord).
November
2nd
Deployed as screen for HM Cruiser BERWICK
and HM Escort Carrier CAMPANIA
with HM
Destroyers CAMBRIAN, CAPRICE, CASSANDRA,
SAUMAREZ and
SERAPIS for escort of ss
EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA and as SCYTHIA during
passage
to Murmansk. as
Convoy JW61A
(Note: These
ships were returning 11,000 Russian
nationals who had been captured
during allied
landings in Normandy whilst serving with
Germany).
6th
Detached from JW61A
on arrival.
11th
Joined screen for BERWICK and CAMPANIA to
escort EMPRESS OF AUSTRALIA
and SCYTHIA with
same ships for return from
Kola to UK as Convoy RA61A.
17th
Resumed Flotilla duties
on arrival of RA61A in
Clyde.
19th
Joined HM Cruiser DIADEM. HM Escort Carriers
PREMIER and PURSUER with
HM Destroyers ZEALOUS, ONSLAUGHT
and SCORPION in Force 3 as screen
during air
minelay in Karm
Sound (Operation HANDFAST).
21st
Deployed
with HM Destroyers ZEPHYR, ALGONQUIN (RCN).
SIOUX
(RCN)
and HM
Cruiser DIDO as escort for HM Aircraft Carrier
IMPLACABLE during air
operations
to attack Norwegian coastal shipping. (Note:
Two Norwegian
and one
German freighter
were sunk.)
December
Home Fleet deployment with Flotilla in
continuation.
1 9 4 5
January
1st
Joined Russian Convoy JW63 with HM
Destroyers
INCONSTANT, MAHRATTA
MYNGS, SAVAGE, SERAPIS, ZAMBESI,
ZEBRA, ALGONQUIN (RCN
),
SIOUX (RCN) and Norwegian destroyer STORD as
screen for HM Cruiser DIADEM
and HM Escort
Carrier VINDEX for passage to Kola Inlet.
8th
Detached on arrival
at Kola Inlet.
11th
Joined escort for return Convoy RA63 with
same ships
.
23rd
Detached on arrival at Loch Ewe with
undetected
passage, due to extreme weather
conditions
which had scattered convoy and necessitated
re-assembly.
February
Flotilla duties in Home Fleet.
12th
Joined Force 2 as screen for HMS DEVONSHIRE,
HMS PREMIER and HMS
PUNCHER with HM Destroyers CAVENDISH,
CAVALIER and ZEBRA during
joint air
minelay and a series of shipping strikes off
Norway.
(Operation SELENIUM).
21st
Deployed with HMS SAVAGE to reinforce escort
of returning Convoy RA64 from
Kola Inlet.
.March
Home Fleet duties
with Flotilla in continuation.
15th
Deployed as screen for HM Escort Carrier
TRUMPETER with HMS SAVAGE and
joined the
escort of Russian Convoy JW65 for passage to
Kola Inlet.
21st
Detached from JW65
on arrival.
23rd
Joined escort for return Convoy RA65 as part
of screen for HMS DIADEM, HMS
CAMPANIA
and HMS TRUMPETER.
30th
Detached with Home Fleet ships before convoy
arrived in Scapa Flow.
April
Deployed with Flotilla in NW Approaches.
(For details see CONVOY!
by P Kemp and ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE
CLOSELY by Corelli
Barnett).
May
Part of screen for HM Cruisers NORFOLK
and DIADEM, HM Escort Carriers
SEARCHER, QUEEN and TRUMPETER during
offensive operations off Norway
4th
Part of Fleet screen during attack on
shipping
west of Narvik during which German
Depot Ship BLACK WATCH and U711 were
sunk.
(Operation JUDGEMENT).
June
Deployed with Flotilla in Home Fleet
including support of reoccupation forces.
to
August
