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ZAMBESI
or Z-Class Fleet Destroyer ordered from Denny of
Dumbarton on 12th February 1942 with the 10th Emergency Flotilla and
to be
named WESSEX.
She was laid down on 19th May 1942 but in 1943, before launch the name was changed to ZENITH. The
ship was launched on 5th
June 1944 as the second RN warship to
carry this name which had been used for a
Drifter during WW1. She was adopted
by the civil community of Sevenoaks,
Kent during 1943 as a replacement
for HM Destroyer GALLANT originally allocated
after a successful WARSHIP WEEK
National Savings campaign in February 1942. (HMS
GALLANT was lost in January
1941). Build was completed on 22nd December
1944.
B
a t t l e H o n o u r s
None
H
e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge:
A
sun with
rays.
M
o t t o
‘
This above all ‘.
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 4
December
Contractor's
sea trials and commissioned for service in 2nd
Destroyer
Flotilla, Home Fleet.
22nd Build
completion and commenced
Acceptance Trials
1
9 4 5
January On
completion
of trials and storing took passage to Scapa
Flow.
Withdrawn
from work-up with ships of Home Fleet because of
defects
requiring dockyard
work.
Passage to Clyde
for repair in commercial shipyard,
February Under
repair.
to
Nominated for
service in Far East.
May (Note:
Arctic fittings
removed and alterations to suit tropical service
made,)
June On
completion of post
repair trials took passage to Scapa Flow to
resume work-up with
ships
of Home
Fleet
July
Worked-up
for operational service.
Took
passage
to Mediterranean
(Note:
Ships
on passage to Far East carried out work-up
exercises prior to leaving for
operational
duties.
August Foreign
deployment
cancelled after VJ Day
(Note: One
source records that ship was present during
landings in Malaya as support
for
operation
ZIPPER. See BRITISH INVASION FLEETS by J de
Winser.
This
is not confirmed in WAR WITH JAPAN (HMSO -
1998))
P
o s t W a r
S e r v i c e
HMS
ZENITH served with the
4th Flotilla in Home waters on return to UK. In
1947 the ship was Paid-off and
was placed in Reserve at Chatham. During
1950 she refitted in a Tyne shipyard and on
completion the next year went back
into Reserve at Harwich. She was placed on the
Sales List and sold to Egypt in
May 1955. After refit at Woolston by Thornycroft
to suit Egyptian naval
requirements this destroyer was renamed EL FATEH
and sailed to Egypt in
September 1956. During 1963 EL FATEH returned to
UK for modernisation at
Woolston which was completed in July 1964.. She
remained in Egyptian service
for another 15 years before being withdrawn from
service.
Addendum
CONVOY
ESCORT MOVEMENTS
of
HMS
ZENITH
by
Don Kindell
No convoys have been
identified
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