HMS Verulam (F29): Shelled Off Norway, Then Present at the Sinking of the Haguro

Constructed at Govan

HMS Verulam was built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan, laid down on 26 January 1942, launched on 22 April 1943 and commissioned on 26 November 1943, a V-class destroyer that joined the 26th Destroyer Flotilla in January 1944 and took part in Arctic convoy escort duty to Russia.

Bombarding the Beaches at Lion-sur-Mer

Verulam played her part in Operation Neptune, the naval component of D-Day, escorting Convoy S7 and bombarding German beach defences around Lion-sur-Mer in June 1944, before turning later that year to operations against German shipping off the coast of Norway.

Hit Twenty-Two Times Off Norway

During Operation Counterblast in November 1944, Verulam was struck twenty-two times by German 37mm and 20mm shellfire, a ferocious close-range engagement that killed two of her crew and wounded five more, a loss this account records with due respect for the danger such coastal actions routinely carried.

The Battle of the Malacca Strait

After repairs, Verulam transferred to the East Indies Fleet in April 1945, taking part in Operation Sunfish against Japanese targets before achieving a genuine distinction at the Battle of the Malacca Strait, where she was among the destroyers that sank the Japanese heavy cruiser Haguro on 16 May 1945.

Testing Sonar for the Admiralty

Between 1951 and 1952, Verulam was converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate at Portsmouth, receiving the new pennant number F29, and took part in Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 Coronation Fleet Review, before spending 1958 to 1961 as an Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment trials ship helping to develop new sonar technology, a quietly important scientific role for a ship with such an eventful combat record.

Broken Up at Newport

HMS Verulam was decommissioned on 21 December 1970 and broken up for scrap by John Cashmore Ltd, arriving at Newport, Wales on 23 October 1972, bringing to a close a career that spanned D-Day, a fierce action off Norway, and the last great cruiser battle of the Pacific War.