T-Class
Fleet Destroyer ordered from Swan
Hunter and Wigham Richardson in March 1941
with other ships
of the 8th Emergency Flotilla. The ship was
laid down on 15th October 1941,
launched on 27th July 1942
as the 5th ship to carry the name dating from
1808. It was previously used in
1918 for a destroyer sold
in 1930. Build was completed on 8th April
1943. Following a successful WARSHIP
WEEK in March 1942
the ship was adopted by Great Yarmouth
in
the county of Norfolk.
B
a t t l e H o n o u r s
ATLANTIC
1943
- SICILY 1943 - SALERNO 1943 -
MEDITERRANEAN 1943 - ADRIATIC 1944
- SOUTH FRANCE 1944 - AEGEAN 1944
H
e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge:
On a Field Red, an owl Silver,
with crook and flail Gold.
M
o t t o
'Tireless
Ever'
D
e t a i l s o f
W a r S e r v i c e
(for more ship
information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and
type name in Site Search)
1
9 4 3
April
Builders
trials and commissioning.
7th
Accepted into service for duty
with 24th Destroyer Flotilla.
Passage to Scapa
Flow for work-up with Home Fleet.
May
On completion of work-up
took passage to join Flotilla in the
Mediterranean.
Deployed with
Flotilla in Central Mediterranean for escort
and patrol duties.
June
Escort and patrol duty in
continuation.
Preparation for
Sicily landings (Operation HUSKY)
July
Deployed in Malta
8th
Sailed from Malta for HUSKY
landings duties.
10th
Joined destroyer screen for HM
Battleships NELSON, RODNEY, VALIANT and
WARSPITE,
HM
Aircraft Carriers INDOMITABLE and FORMIDABLE, HM
Cruisers AURORA
PENELOPE,
CLEOPATRA and EURYALUS with 17 other allied
destroyers to
provide
cover
in Ionian Sea against Italian fleet intervention
during Sicily
landings.
(For details see
ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY by Corelli
Barnett and
Naval Staff
History).
August
21st
Carried out bombardment of
Italian mainland from Messina Straits.
31st
Provided naval gunfire support
for allied landings in Calabria with HM
Battleships
NELSON, RODNEY, HM
Cruiser ORION and eight other allied
destroyers
(Operation
BAYTOWN).
September
3rd
Supported landings by British
XIII Corps near Reggio and Villa San Giovanni.
9th
Deployed with HM Battleships RODNEY,
NELSON, WARSPITE and
VALIANT,
HM
Aircraft Carriers FORMIDABLE
and ILLUSTRIOUS as destroyer screen with 20
other destroyers of
4th, 8th and 24th Destroyer Flotillas to
provide cover for landings
at Salerno.
(Operation
AVALANCHE - For
details see above references).
11th
Provided naval gunfire support
and AA protection for Fleet units off beaches.
October
Deployed in support of shore
operations and convoy interception.
16th
Sank supply ship and captured
another during Interception operation off
Albania.
with HM Destroyer
TUMULT.
November
8th
Carried out bombardment of
Volturno.
11th
Carried out bombardment of
shore installations in Gulf of Gaeta with HM
Destroyers
TUMULT, GRENVILLE
and Polish destroyer ORP PIORUN.
December
Transferred to Adriatic for support
of military operations and for interception of
enemy supply
convoys.
In action with
enemy convoy off Kotor and sank small craft.
1
9 4 4
January Adriatic
deployment in
continuation.
Bombarded Rovigno
in support of military operations.
Embarked General
Alexander for passage from Alexandria to
Anzio.
February
Deployed
in Adriatic with Flotilla
for support of military convoys and attacks on
shipping.
27th
Carried out bombardment of Vela
Luka, Yugoslavia.
March Adriatic
deployment in continuation.
to
Nominated for support
of landings in South France as part of US Navy
Task Force.
June
July
Transferred to US Command
for support of landings in South France.
(Operation DRAGOON
- For details see ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE
CLOSELY
and INVASION OF
THE SOUTH OF FRANCE (HMSO).
August Joined
Task Force 88 under US
Command for escort of Escort Aircraft
Carriers.
12th
Sailed from Malta as
destroyer screen for HM Escort Carriers
ATTACKER, KHEDIVE,
EMPEROR, SEARCHER
and PURSUER, HM Cruisers ROYALIST and DELHI with
destroyers of 24th
Flotilla as Task Group 88.1
15th
Deployed for defence of TG88.1
during landings in South France.
19th
Withdrawn with TG88.1 for
replenishment at Maddalena.
21st
Returned to Assault Area with
TG88.1.
24th
Withdrawn with TG 88.1 for
replenishment
27th
Released from DRAGOON and took
passage to Alexandria.
Returned to RN
control.
September
Joined British Aegean Force with
Flotilla to support military operations to
occupy
islands and in
preparation for landings on Greek mainland .
(See ENGAGE THE ENEMY MORE CLOSELY
and WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
(HMSO).
October
26th
Carried
out bombardment of Melos
with HM Cruiser AURORA and HM Escort
Destroyer TETCOTT.
November
10th
Carried out bombardments of Civitano and
Pedaso with HM Destroyer GRENVILLE.
December Passage
to UK to prepare for
service in British Pacific Fleet.
1
9 4 5
January
Taken in hand for refit by HM
Dockyard, Chatham to prepare for service with
4th Destroyer
Flotilla in British Pacific Fleet
February
Under refit.
to
May
June
Post refit trials and
preparation for foreign service.
July
Passage to Sydney.
August Joined
British Pacific Fleet
on arrival.
(Note: This ship
was not deployed operationally with the
British Pacific Fleet
on
15th August .
Her
Pennant
Number for visual signalling purposes was
changed to D52 after
arrival
in Australia where she prepared for deployment
under US Navy
overall
command. This identity was
changed to conform with US Navy
system
for destroyer signal identification.)
27th
Deployed with HM Aircraft
Carrier COLOSSUS, HM Cruisers BERMUDA and
ARGONAUT, HM
Destroyers TUMULT, TUSCAN and QUIBERON to
assist with
occupation of
Shanghai as part of Task Group 111.
P
o s t W a r
N o t e s
HMS
TYRIAN
returned to UK after a visit to Melbourne with
HM Destroyer TENACIOUS, TUMULT and UNDINE in February
1946. She was reduced to Reserve status at
Harwich after arrival on 30th May that
year. Transferred to the Reserve Fleet at
Chatham in 1949 she laid-up there
until 1951 when the ship was
converted to a Type 16 Anti-Submarine Frigate
at Liverpool. On completion in
1952 she served with the 2nd Training Flotilla
at Portland and attended the
Coronation Review at Spithead in June 1953
with the Squadron.
In September 1953 during NATO Exercise MARINER
she ran aground on Haisborough
Sands. Again
reduced to Reserve in November 1956 she was
initially laid-up at Chatham but
transferred to Lisahally,
Northern Ireland in 1957. Placed on the
Disposal List in 1965 she arrived in tow
at the Breaker’s in
Troon, Ayrshire for demolition on 9th March
1965.
Addendum
CONVOY
ESCORT MOVEMENTS
of
HMS TYRIAN
by
Don Kindell
These
convoy lists have not been cross-checked
with the text above
|
|
|
|
|
Date
convoy sailed
|
Joined
convoy as escort
|
Convoy No.
|
Left
convoy
|
Date
convoy arrived
|
|
|
|
|
|
04/06/43
|
05/06/43
|
OS
049KM
|
13/06/43
|
13/06/43
|
13/06/43
|
13/06/43
|
KMS
016G
|
15/06/43
|
15/06/43
|
19/09/43
|
19/09/43
|
NSF
003A
|
21/09/43
|
22/09/43
|
21/04/44
|
21/04/44
|
IXF
013
|
21/04/44
|
25/04/44
|
22/05/44
|
09/06/44
|
XIF
015
|
09/06/44
|
28/05/44
|
28/06/44
|
unknown
|
XIF
017
|
unknown
|
02/07/44
|
18/07/44
|
18/07/44
|
IXF
018
|
19/07/44
|
22/07/44
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Note
on Convoys)