HMS ''Guardian'' was a
net laying ship of the
Royal Navy, launched in 1932 and scrapped in 1962. She was also equipped for target towing and gunnery photography.
[Francis E. McMurtrie,''Ships of The Royal Navy'', Sampson Low, Marston & Co, 1941] A second net-layer, , was built to a modified design. Launched in 1936 ''Protector'' was scrapped in 1970.
Service history
''Guardian'' was ordered as part of the 1930 naval programme,
[Parkes 1931, p. 73.] the first purpose built netlayer for the Royal Navy.
[Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 79.] She was laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 15 October 1931, was launched on 1 September 1932 and completed on 13 June 1933.
[Blackman 1960, p. 39.]
''Guardian'' served in the
Indian Ocean between 1941 and 1942. She took part in the
invasion of Madagascar and helped build a base in the
Maldives at
Addu Atoll
Addu Atoll, also known as Seenu Atoll, is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. Addu Atoll, together with Fuvahmulah, located 40 km north of Addu Atoll, extend the Maldives into the Southern Hemisphere. Addu Atoll is located 540 k ...
in 1942 in case
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
fell into
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese hands. She also built two more bases for the protection of
merchant ships assembling for
convoys: one was near
Mombasa and the other near
Cape Town. ''Guardian'' then returned to
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
and took part in the
invasion of Algeria at
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
(
Mers-el-Kebir) in 1942. Afterwards, she returned to
Belfast for a refit and the fitting of additional anti-aircraft weaponry. Later, she took part in the
invasions of Sicily (Operation Husky) and
Italy.
In 1952, ''Guardian'' was taken out of the
Reserve Fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...
storage on the
River Tamar between
Devonport and
Saltash and towed to
Newport
Newport most commonly refers to:
*Newport, Wales
*Newport, Rhode Island, US
Newport or New Port may also refer to:
Places Asia
*Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay
Europe
Ireland
*Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...
for a refit and modernisation, which was completed in 1954. She was then mothballed and returned to rejoin the reserve fleet at
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
.
References
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*
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{{WWII British ships
1932 ships
Ships built in Chatham
World War II naval ships of the United Kingdom
Boom defence vessels of the Royal Navy