HMS Wizard (F72): Nearly Sunk by Her Own Depth Charges

Laid Down at Barrow

HMS Wizard was built by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness, laid down on 14 September 1942, launched on 29 September 1943 and entering service on 30 March 1944, joining the Home Fleet and screening the aircraft carriers Furious and Searcher from 6 May that year.

A Dangerous Accident

On 9 June 1944, Wizard suffered major damage from an accidental explosion of her own depth charges, killing six of her crew, a particularly alarming mishap for a ship whose entire anti-submarine armament was meant to be a weapon against the enemy rather than a hazard to herself. Emergency repairs at Lyness were followed by extended work at Middlesbrough that kept her out of action until April 1945.

Present at Tokyo Bay

Reassigned to the British Pacific Fleet, Wizard reached the Far East in August 1945 and was present in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender, though her limited operational deployment meant she received no formal Battle Honour for the campaign, a slightly bittersweet footnote given how eventful her war had already been.

Rebuilt as a Type 15 Frigate

After serving with Plymouth's local flotilla between 1946 and 1951, Wizard was converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate at Devonport between 1953 and 1954, emerging with the pennant number F72 and going on to deploy to Northern Ireland, take part in Mediterranean operations during the 1956 Suez Crisis, and serve with training squadrons and the 8th Frigate Squadron in the West Indies until 1964.

Scrapped at Inverkeithing

HMS Wizard was paid off and reduced to reserve status in 1966, sold for scrap on 16 February 1967 and broken up at Inverkeithing, closing out a career that had survived her own depth charges before going on to serve in two very different eras of the Royal Navy.