HMSMeteor(G73)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMSMeteor
Ordered	7 July 1939
Builder	Alexander Stephen and Sons,Linthouse,Scotland
Laid down	14 September 1940
Launched	3 November 1941
Completed	12 August 1942
Fate	Sold to theTurkish Navyon 29 June 1959, renamedPiyale Paşa
Notes	Pennant numberG73
History
Turkey
Name	Piyale Paşa
Acquired	29 June 1959
Fate	Discarded 1979?
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	M-class destroyer
Displacement	1,920 long tons (1,950 t) (standard); 2,725 long tons (2,769 t) (deep load);
Length	362 ft 3 in (110.4 m) (o/a)
Beam	37 ft (11.3 m)
Draught	14 ft (4.3 m)
Installed power	48,000shp(36,000 kW); 2 ×Admiralty 3-drum boilers;
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × gearedsteam turbines;
Speed	36knots(67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	5,500nmi(10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	190
Sensors and; processing systems	ASDIC; Type 285gunneryradar; Type 290air warning radar;
Armament	3 × twin4.7 in (120 mm) Mk XIdual-purpose guns; 1 × singleQF 4 in (102 mm) Mk Vanti-aircraft gun; 1 × quadrupleQF 2-pdr (40 mm) Mk VIIIAA guns; 2 × singleOerlikon 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns; 2 × quadruple, 2 × twin0.5 in (12.7 mm) Vickers Mark IIIanti-aircraft machineguns; 1 × quadruple21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes; 42 ×depth charges,2 × racks, 2 × throwers;

HMSMeteorwas aM-class destroyerbuilt for the Royal Navy duringWorld War II.

Construction

HMSMeteorwas ordered on 7 July 1939, as one of eight destroyers of the M class, a near repeat of the previousL-class.The ship was laid down at theAlexander Stephenshipyard ofLinthouse,Glasgowon 14 September 1940, launched on 3 November 1941 and commissioned on 12 August 1942.^[1]^[2]

Meteorcompleted with the originally specified main gun armament of six4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XI gunsin fully enclosed Mark XX mounts, but was only fitted with a single set of quadruple 21-inch torpedo tubes, with the planned aft set being sacrificed to accommodate a single4-inch (102 mm) Mark Vanti-aircraft gun. Close in weaponry consisted of a single quadruple2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom"and 6 single 20 mm cannon.^[3]Meteorwas fitted withType 291air/surface search radar andType 285anti-aircraft ranging radar.^[3]^[4]

Second World War Service

On entering service,Meteorjoined the3rd Destroyer Flotillaof theHome Fleetand in September 1942 was deployed as part of the escort for theArctic Convoy PQ 18to theSoviet Unionand the returnConvoy QP 14.^[5]^[6]Following the return from the Arctic, in November 1942,Meteoracted as part of the destroyer screen for the Home Fleet duringOperation Torch,the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa.^[6]

On 18 March 1945Meteorparticipated in theBattle of the Ligurian Sea,where she sank the German fleet torpedo boatTA24(ex-ItalianAriete-class torpedo boatArturo).

Postwar service

Following the Second World WarMeteor,along with three other ships of the same class, was transferred to theTurkishNavy as part of an agreement signed at Ankara on 16 August 1957. They underwent a refit which involved the removal of the after set of torpedo tubes and some secondary armament. They received a new deckhouse andSquid anti-submarineweapons system. On 29 June 1959 they were handed over at Portsmouth.Meteorwas renamedPiyale Paşa.^[7]

Notes

^English 2001, p. 112.
^Whitley 2000, p. 121–122.
^^a ^bEnglish, p. 113
^"Radar in the RN at the End of WW2"(PDF).Royal Navy Museum of Radar and Communications. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 24 September 2015.Retrieved10 January2014.
^English 2001, p. 121.
^^a ^bMason, Geoffry B. (5 August 2011)."HMS METEOR (G 73) – M-class Destroyer".Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2.naval.history.net.Retrieved10 January2014.
^Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p. 248

References

Blair, Clay(2000).Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters, 1942–1945.New York: Modern Library.ISBN 0-679-64033-9.
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.
Critchley, Mike (1982).British Warships Since 1945: Part 3 Destroyers.Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books.ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.
English, John (2001).Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937–43.Gravesend, UK: World Ship Society.ISBN 0-905617-95-0.
Friedman, Norman(2006).British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
Lenton, H. T.(1998).British & Empire Warships of the Second World War.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
Lyon, Hugh & Chumbley, Stephen (1995). "Turkey". In Chumbley, Stephen (ed.).Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995.Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-132-7.
Rohwer, Jürgen(2005).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two(Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
Whitley, M. J.(2000).Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia.London: Cassell & Co.ISBN 1-85409-521-8.

[English_p112-1] English 2001, p. 112.

[Whitley_p121-2-2] Whitley 2000, p. 121–122.

[English_p113-3] English, p. 113

[4] "Radar in the RN at the End of WW2"(PDF).Royal Navy Museum of Radar and Communications. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 24 September 2015.Retrieved10 January2014.

[English_p121-5] English 2001, p. 121.

[navhist-6] Mason, Geoffry B. (5 August 2011)."HMS METEOR (G 73) – M-class Destroyer".Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2.naval.history.net.Retrieved10 January2014.

[7] Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p. 248

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