HMS ''Zest'' was a Z-class destroyer 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 ...

that saw service during

World War II 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 opposing ...

Post war service

Between September and November 1945 ''Zest'' was refitted at Leith. Between August 1946 and February 1947 she was part of the

4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...

, as part of the Home Fleet. From July 1947 until February 1948 she was used for Torpoedo training at Portsmouth. From September 1952 until February 1954 she was in reserve at Chatham Dockyard. Between 1954 and 1956 she was converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate at Chatham Dockyard. She was also allocated the new pennant number F102, changing from its initial R02. She was the only Z-class destroyer to be converted into a Type 15 frigate. Between 1956 and 1958 she was leader of the 3rd Training Squadron. From 1958 until 1961 she was part of the 4th Frigate Squadron, and in 1961 she had a refit at Malta. In 1964 she joined the Far East Fleet, joining the 24th Escort Squadron. She carried out patrols in the

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and

Malacca Straits The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...

to prevent infiltration of Indonesian-led forces and smuggling of weapons during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. In November 1964, the merchant ship ran aground on the Bombay Shoal in the South China Sea, as did the tug when she tried to assist. ''Zest'' rescued the crews from both ships, 45 people in total, before a typhoon struck the stranded ships. ''Zest'' returned to British waters at the end of 1965, paying off at Plymouth of 15 December that year before recommissioning with a new crew. In 1967, while in the West Indies, ''Zest'' was deployed at St Vincent during local election period as a precaution. From July 1967 to July 1968 Zest was deployed to the Far East Station visiting Cape Town, Mombasa, Gan, Sydney, Dunedin, New Plymouth, Yokohama, Hong Kong and Singapore

Decommissioning and disposal

In July 1968 she paid off into Reserve at Plymouth. In 1969 she was placed on the Disposal List and sold to BISCO for demolition by Arnott Young at Dalmuir on the Clyde. Whilst on tow by the tug ''Bustler'' the ship broke away from tow. After re-connection she arrived at the breakers on 18 July 1970.

Notes

References

* * * * W and Z-class destroyers 1943 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom Type 15 frigates of the Royal Navy Cold War frigates of the United Kingdom Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company {{UK-destroyer-stub