HMS Tyrian (F67): From the Sicily Landings to Running Aground at the Coronation Review

Adopted by Great Yarmouth

HMS Tyrian was ordered from Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson in March 1941, laid down that October, launched on 27 July 1942 and completed the following April, a T-class destroyer adopted by the people of Great Yarmouth following a successful Warship Week fundraising campaign in March 1942.

Screening the Sicily Landings

Joining the 24th Destroyer Flotilla in April 1943, Tyrian deployed to the Mediterranean and formed part of the destroyer screen for major British battleships and aircraft carriers during Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, that July, before providing bombardment and gunfire support at Messina, Calabria and the Salerno landings through August and September.

Carrying a General Through the Adriatic

Between December 1943 and March 1944, Tyrian carried out supply ship interception and shore bombardment work in the Adriatic, and on one occasion transported General Alexander, a notable passenger for a destroyer more usually engaged in direct combat operations.

That summer she transferred to American command for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, before joining the British Aegean Force for further operations that autumn.

A New Pennant in Australian Waters

During her later wartime deployment, Tyrian's pennant number was changed to conform with American destroyer identification conventions after her arrival in Australia, one of several administrative changes that reflect just how closely Allied naval operations were coordinated by the closing stages of the war.

Aground at the Coronation Review

Returning to Britain in February 1946, Tyrian was converted into a Type 16 anti-submarine frigate at Liverpool, completing in 1952, and attended the Coronation Review at Spithead in June 1953. That September, she suffered the embarrassment of running aground on Haisborough Sands, though she was successfully refloated without lasting damage.

Broken Up at Troon

HMS Tyrian spent her final years in reserve before arriving at the Troon breakers on 9 March 1965 for demolition, closing out the career of a destroyer whose wartime record across the Mediterranean and Adriatic was substantial, even if her postwar service is now perhaps better remembered for a moment of maritime embarrassment off the Norfolk coast.