HMS ''Tenacious'' was a T-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 ...

that saw service during 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 ...

. She was built by

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

, of

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

and launched on 24 March 1943.

War service

The ship served from 1943 to 1944 in the Mediterranean (where she shared in the sinking of

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

''U-453'' and also several

E-boats E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a lar ...

), and the Aegean and Greek islands. The destroyer also took part in the liberation of France as support bombardment for the invasion of the South of France in July–August, 1944. HMS Tenacious was seconded to serve in

East Indies Fleet The Eastern Fleet, later called the East Indies Fleet, was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1941 and 1952. In 1904, the British First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir John Fisher, ordered that in the event of war the three main commands i ...

, as part of the escort force of the

21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron The 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron also called Twenty First Aircraft Carrier Squadron was a Royal Navy aircraft carrier formation from March 1945 to December 1945. During its existence the squadron's usual composition varied depending on its op ...

in 1944–5, against the Japanese, then came under the command of the 3rd US Pacific fleet (Admiral

Bull Halsey William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the other ...

), and given a temporary pennant number D46 to enable identification by US naval forces. The R45 took part in bombardment of Truk in the Caroline Islands and bombardment of Japan. HMS Tenacious was part of the fleet assembled to witness surrender of Japanese in Tokyo harbour, then took part in the repatriation of POWs from Hammamatsu. The ship continued to serve in Australian waters and South China Sea, and rescued six RAAF personnel in S. China Sea, who had ditched their

C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

aircraft after both engines failed, on 4 January 1946. She returned to Devonport in 1946 and was mothballed for future use.

Postwar service

Between 1946 and 1949 ''Tenacious'' was held in reserve at Devonport. On 23 January 1949 she arrived in

Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

for a refit and in November of that year was commissioned as a target ship for the 3rd Submarine Flotilla at

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; gd, Baile Bhòid ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by ferry from Wemyss Bay, which offers an onward rail ...

Between January 1951 and 1952 she was converted at

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

to a Type 16 fast

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, with the new

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

F44. On 8 May 1952, she ran aground in the River Foyle in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. In 1953 she took part in the

Fleet Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

to celebrate the Coronation of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

.Souvenir Programme, ''Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953'', HMSO, Gale and Polden In 1954 ''Tenacious'' was placed in reserve at Rosyth, then in 1956 into reserve at Barrow. In September 1963 she was towed to

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 ...

. ''Tenacious'' was subsequently sold for scrapping in 1965 and arrived at

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...

for breaking up on 29 June in that year.

References

Publications

* * * * * Anonymous ''H.M.S. Tenacious: Her Story'', printed without date by Richard Clay and Company, Ltd, Bungay, Suffolk. S and T-class destroyers Ships built on the River Mersey 1943 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom Type 16 frigates Cold War frigates of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1952 {{UK-destroyer-stub