HMS Tanatside (L69)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Tanatside
Ordered	23 August 1940
Builder	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down	23 June 1941
Launched	30 April 1942
Commissioned	August 1942
Out of service	Loaned to the Royal Hellenic Navy in 1946
Identification	pennant number: L69
Honours and; awards	ATLANTIC 1943 - ENGLISH CHANNEL 1943 - NORMANDY 1944 - BISCAY 1944
Fate	Scrapped in January 1964
Badge	On a Field per fess wavy White and Blue, an oak tree eradicated proper enfiled with a mural crown Gold.
Greece
Name	Adrias
Identification	Pennant number: D06
Fate	Returned to the Royal Navy in August 1962
General characteristics
Class and type	Hunt-class destroyer
Displacement	1,050 long tons (1,070 t) standard; 1,435 long tons (1,458 t) full load;
Length	85.3 m (279 ft 10 in) o/a
Beam	10.16 m (33 ft 4 in)
Draught	3.51 m (11 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers; 2 shaft Parsons geared turbines, 19,000 shp;
Speed	27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h); 25.5 kn (29.3 mph; 47.2 km/h) full;
Range	2,350 nmi (4,350 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement	168
Armament	4 × QF 4 in Mark XVI guns on twin mounts Mk. XIX; 4 × QF 2 pdr Mk. VIII on quad mount MK.VII; 2 × 20 mm Oerlikons on single mounts P Mk. III; 2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes; 110 depth charges, 4 throwers, 3 racks;

HMS Tanatside was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Yarrow in April 1942. Ships of this class were designed as cheap, easily built vessels for convoy escort and antisubmarine duties. She was named like her sisters after a fox hunt, in her case one in North Wales. War bonds were issued to finance the building of warships. Tanatside was funded by people from Tregaron, Aberaeron, New Quay, Aberystwyth and Teifiside, in a nod to the ship's name. Plaques were presented to each of these townships.^[1] During a Warship Week held between 14 and 21 March 1942 the civil community of the Welsh county of Cardiganshire adopted the ship.

Service history

Tanatside took part in Operation Tunnel anti shipping forays and was present at Omaha Beach, where she approached the beach to assist in the destruction of German defences. In December 1945 Tanatside was reduced to care and maintenance at Malta.^[2]

Greek service

In 1946 she was transferred to the Greek Navy and renamed Adrias. She was removed from the effective list in 1963 and scrapped in 1964.^[3]

References

^ Ceredigian County Council
^ Critchley, Mike, "British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers", Maritime Books: Liskeard, UK, 1982. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2, page 43
^ Raymond V B Blackman (ed.). Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. p. 112.

Publications

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
English, John (1987). The Hunts: a history of the design, development and careers of the 86 destroyers of this class built for the Royal and Allied Navies during World War II. England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-44-4.