HMS ''Marne'' was an M-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

of the Royal Navy commissioned on 2 December 1941. She was built by Vickers-Armstrongs at High Walker Yard,

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

, England, and saw service in the Atlantic theatre of World War II.

Service history

Royal Navy

''Marne'' was part of

Convoy PQ 15 Convoy PQ 15 was an Arctic convoy sent from Iceland by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. The convoy sailed in late April 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports after air attacks that sank three ships out ...

and along with , helped to rescue 169 survivors from after she was sunk in a collision with the battleship . HMS Marne damaged

The destroyer depot ships and with the escort ships and ''Marne'', were part of a convoy as part of

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

west of

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 ...

. On 12 November 1942 the German submarine torpedoed and sunk ''Hecla'', and minutes later fired two more torpedoes and badly damaged ''Marne'', blowing off her stern. Michael Flanders, who was to become a famous actor and writer, was serving on board as part of the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve

Turkish Navy

Following the Second World War ''Marne'', along with three other ships of the same class, was transferred to the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

Navy as part of an agreement signed at Ankara on 16 August 1957. They underwent a refit which involved the removal of the after set of torpedo tubes and some secondary armament. They received a new deckhouse and Squid anti-submarine weapons system. On 29 June 1959 they were handed over at Portsmouth. ''Marne'' was renamed ''Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak'', after

Fevzi Çakmak Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak (12 January 1876 – 10 April 1950) was a Turkish field marshal ('' Mareşal'') and politician. He served as the Chief of General Staff from 1918 and 1919 and later the Minister of War of the Ottoman Empire in 1920. He lat ...

(1876–1950), the Turkish Mareşal (

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

) and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p248 The ship remained in service with the Turkish Navy until 1970, when she was discarded and scrapped.

Notes

References

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External links

Roll of honour
L and M-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Tyne 1940 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Ships built by Vickers Armstrong {{UK-mil-ship-stub