Name HMS Whimbrel Commissioned 13 January 1943 Launched 25 August 1942 | Laid down 31 October 1941 | |
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Honours andawards Sicily 1943Atlantic 1943-44Normandy 1944English Channel 1944Arctic 1944Okinawa 1945 Fate Sold to Egypt November 1949 Similar HMS Starling (U66), HMS Pheasant (U49), HMS Hart (U58) | ||
HMS Whimbrel is the last surviving Royal Navy warship present at the Japanese Surrender in World War II. She was a sloop of the Black Swan-class, laid down on 31 October 1941 to the pennant number of U29 at the famed yards of Yarrow Shipbuilders, Scotstoun, Glasgow.
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Second World War Service
Launched on 25 August 1942 almost nine months after laying down which was about average for this class of vessel. She was commissioned on the 13 January 1943 and was to primarily serve in the Atlantic as part of several escort groups. In 1945 she was sent to the Pacific for the last few months in war being part of the large exodus of ships there. She was present at the Japanese surrender.
Post War
In November 1949 she was sold to Egypt and renamed El Malek Farouq. In 1954 she was renamed Tariq.
A preservation attempt launched in 2006 aimed to bring her to Canning Dock Liverpool as a memorial to those who died on the Atlantic Convoys. On 26 March 2008 a plaque celebrating the ship was presented to the Mayor of Sefton. John Livingston, president of the Liverpool branch of the Whimbrel Project, said: "She’d be a marvellous addition to our waterfront and a reminder of the sacrifice of our seamen". The Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Richard Hands, said: "HMS Whimbrel forms a unique part of both our social and maritime history and I fully support the campaign to bring her back to Liverpool". The attempt stalled when it was not possible to agree a price with the Egyptian Government.
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