HMS ''Oribi'' (G66) was an O-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 The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. Following the style of her sister ships, she was named with a word beginning with O. Originally, she was to have been named HMS ''Observer''; however, because her building was sponsored by the South African government, she was christened HMS ''Oribi'', after the

oribi The oribi (; ''Ourebia ourebi'') is a small antelope found in eastern, southern and western Africa. The sole member of its genus, it was described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1783. While this is the only m ...

, a South African antelope. In 1942, after a successful warship week, the ship was "adopted" by Havant, Hampshire.

Second World War service

On August 4, 1941, ''Oribi'' carried British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

and senior officers from Scrabster to

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...

, where the group embarked on for passage to Newfoundland and the highly secret meeting with US President

Franklin D Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

at which the

Atlantic Charter The Atlantic Charter was a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the world after the end of World War II. The joint statement, later dubbed the Atlantic Charter, outlined the aims of the United States and ...

was signed. ''Oribi'' was one of the destroyers that supported

Operation Archery Operation Archery, also known as the Måløy Raid, was a British Combined Operations raid during World War II against German positions on the island of Vågsøy, Norway, on 27 December 1941. British Commandos of No. 3 Commando, two troops of ...

, the November 1941 commando raid on Norway, by shelling the islands and attacking German shipping in the sheltered anchorage. She also assisted to bring Norwegian nationals home after the raid to escape the German occupation. She saw extensive action during the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and North Atlantic convoys of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. These included

Convoy ONS 5 ONS 5 was the 5th of the numbered ONS series of Slow trade convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The North Atlantic battle surrounding it in May 1943 is regarded as the turning point of the Battle of the Atlantic in World ...

in May 1943, regarded as the turning point of the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...

. At 03:00 on 6 May 1943 ''U-125'' was located by radar in thick fog, rammed by HMS ''Oribi'' and disabled, she was unable to dive. At 03:54 the U-boat was sighted by the

Flower-class corvette The Flower-class corvetteGardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 62. (also referred to as the ''Gladiolus'' class after the lead ship) was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine ...

s ''Snowflake'' and , and as ''Snowflake'' manoeuvred to attack, closing to 100 yards, the crew of ''U-125'', realising their indefensible position, scuttled the boat. The captain of ''Snowflake'' signalled the Senior Officer Escort, Lieutenant Commander Robert Sherwood, proposing to pick them up, and received the response: "Not approved to pick up survivors." ''Snowflake'' and ''Sunflower'' thereupon resumed their positions around the convoy, while the crew of ''U-125'' died in the Atlantic over the next few hours.

Postwar service

''Oribi'' was transferred to the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establi ...

in 1946 and renamed ''Gayret'', to replace a previous ship of that name requisitioned by the Royal Navy during the Second World War and lost during hostilities. She received the new pennant number D15 and was used as a headquarters ship.Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p249

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * O and P-class destroyers Ships built in Govan 1941 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom O-class destroyers of the Turkish Navy {{UK-destroyer-stub