Name HMS Hyacinth Laid down 20 April 1940 Commissioned 2 October 1940 Launched 19 August 1940 Weight 955.1 tons Draft 3.51 m | Yard number 1071 Completed 3 October 1940 Construction started 20 April 1940 Length 62 m Displacement 852,800 kg Builder Harland and Wolff | |
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Out of service Transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy on 24 October 1943 | ||
HMS Hyacinth was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and achieved three victories over enemy submarines in a highly successful career. Only Sunflower managed to repeat such success among her sister ships. She went on to serve in the Royal Hellenic Navy as Apostolis, was returned to the Royal Navy in 1952 and scrapped in the same year.
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Royal Navy
During the Second World War Hyacinth served in the Eastern Mediterranean where she protected the Palestine coastline and escorted numerous convoys along it. She also took part in the Malta convoys. She was a part of the 10th Corvette Group of the Mediterranean Fleet based in Alexandria together with her sister ships Peony and Salvia.
Since Hyacinth spent most of her time in the Mediterranean, without access to British shipyards, she was not retrofitted as many of her class were, and so retained her short forecastle. Another of her distinctive features was a 3-inch gun instead of the usual 4-inch.
From 1 October 1942 until 5 March 1943 Hyacinth was commanded by Commander R.T. White D.S.O.** (later Captain R.T. White D.S.O.**, 2nd son of Sir Archibald White, Bt. of Wallingwells).
Anti-submarine successes
On 28 September 1941, Hyacinth attacked and sank the Italian submarine Fisalia north-west of the port of Jaffa, at 32º19'N, 34º17'E, just off the beach at Tel Aviv. On 9 July 1942, while escorting a convoy from Jaffa to Beirut Hyacinth attacked, damaged and captured the Italian submarine Perla. The submarine was towed into port, repaired and put into operation with the Hellenic Navy under the name Matrosos (Greek: Ματρώζος) in 1943. On 12 September 1943, after Italy had capitulated, Hyacinth and the Australian minesweeper Wollongong sank the German submarine U-617, after the submarine had been damaged in an attack by Wellington and Swordfish aircraft.
Royal Hellenic Navy
In 1943, Hyacinth was transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy, and was renamed Apostolis (Greek: Αποστόλης), from the Psarian admiral of the war of independence, and served the remainder of the Second World War under the Greek flag.