Type IV HUNT-Class Escort Destroyer ordered en 28th July
1940 from Thornycroft of Woolston
under the 1940 War Emergency Programme. This ship was built to a Thornycroft design and laid down as Job J6069 (Yard No 1290)
on 27th February 1941 (See General Information). She was launched on 27th June
1942 as the first RN ship to carry this name. Build was completed on 18th
December 1942. After a successful WARSHIP WEEK National Savings
campaign in March 1942 this ship was adopted by the civil community of Brecon, then in the Welsh county of Brecknock,
now in Powys.
B a t t
l e H o n o u r s
ENGLISH
CHANNEL 1943 - SICILY 1943 - SALERNO 1943 - SOUTH FRANCE
1944 - MEDITERRANEAN 1944 - AEGEAN 1944 - ATLANTIC
1945
H e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge: On a Field Barry wavy of
four Blue and White,
a
trumpet, gold
M o t t
o
'By luck and good guidance'
D e t a i
l s o f
W a r S e r v i c e
(for more ship information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and type name in Site Search)
1 9 4 2
December
Contractors trials and commissioned for service with 6th Destroyer Flotilla,
Home Fleet.
18th Build completion and commenced Acceptance Trials.
On completion of trials and storing took passage
to Scapa Flow.
1 9 4 3
January
Worked up with ships of Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.
February
Joined Flotilla for convoy escort and Fleet duties in NW Approaches and
North Sea.
March
Home Fleet deployment in continuation.
to
April
May Nominated for service in support of allied landings
in Sicily.
(Operation HUSKY - For details see ENGAGE THE
ENEMY MORE CLOSELY by C
Barnett), Naval Staff History and BRITISH
INVASION FLEETS by J de Winser.).
June
Detached from Home Fleet
for escort of military convoy.
Prepared for foreign service in Mediterranean to
support planned allied landings in Sicily
(Operation HUSKY)
21st Joined joint military
convoy WS31/KMF17 with HM Destroyers ARROW, LEDBURY,
BLENCATHRA,
BRISSENDEN, HAMBLEDON, MENDIP, VICEROY, WALLACE,
WITHERINGTON and
WOOLSTON as escort during passage to Gibraltar.
26th Remained as escort for
KMF17 with HMS UGANDA during passage to Gibraltar when
WS31 detached for
passage to Cape of Good Hope.
July Passage to Oran to join Support Force E for escort and patrol duties.
7th Deployed with HM Escort Destroyers BLANKNEY, BRISSENDEN and
BRISSENDEN
as Escort Group V.
Nominated for escort of Assault Convoy KMF18.
Departure delayed.
9th Passage to Beach Head with KMF18
10th After arrival deployed for convoy defence and interception patrol.
August
Transferred to Destroyer Division 58 for deployment in Mediterranean.
Nominated for escort and support of allied
landings at Salerno.
Joined Northern Attack Force (Task Force 85)
with ships of Flotilla.
(Operation AVALANCHE - See above references).
September
Passage to Bizerta
3rd Nominated for escort of Assault Convoy FSS2.
6th Sailed from Bizerta with escort for FSS2.
9th Detached from FSS2 on arrival and provided gunfire support with HM
Cruisers
MAURITIUS, UGANDA, ORION, AURORA US cruisers
USS PHILADELPHIA, USS
BOISE, HM Monitor ROBERTS, HM Destroyers
LOOKOUT,
LOYAL, TARTAR,
NUBIAN,
QUANTOCK and EGGESFORD during landings.
On completion of assault phase deployed for
escort, support and patrol duties.
Involved in minor collision with HM Destroyer
LAFOREY.
October
Escort and patrol in Western and Central Mediterranean.
to
December
1 9 4 4
January
Nominated for support of allied landings at Anzio in Northern Attack Force
Peter.
21st Deployed at Naples with H M Cruisers ORION, SPARTAN, HM
Anti-aircraft Ship
ULSTER
QUEEN, HM Destroyers JERVIS, JANUS, LAFOREY,
LOYAL, INGLEFIELD,
TENACIOUS, URCHIN, KEMPENFELT, BEAUFORT, WILTON
and TETCOTT for
convoy
escort and support.
(Operation SHINGLE - See above references).
23rd Sailed from Naples for Beach Head at Anzio.
On arrival deployed for support and patrol.
February
Escort and support of military operations in continuation.
March
Took part in sinking U450 off Anzio with HM Escort Destroyers BLANKNEY, EXMOOR
and
BLENCATHRA In position 40.11N, 12.27E.
Some survivors were rescued.
For details see U-BOATS DESTROYED by P Kemp.
April Transferred to 18th Destroyer Flotilla for convoy
escort and patrol. in Mediterranean.
May Flotilla duties in
continuation.
to
June
July Nominated for escort of military convoys during
planned allied landings in South France
under
overall US Navy command.
(Operation DRAGOON (Formerly ANVIL). See above
references)
Preparation for service with US warships.
August
Passage to Naples for DRAGOON.
Nominated for escort of Follow-up Convoy SM3
20th Arrived at Beach Head with SM3
On release from DRAGOON reverted to RN control
by CinC Mediterranean.
September
Eastern Mediterranean patrol and convoy defence in continuation.
19th Took part in the sinking of U407 south of Melos in position 36.27N
24.33E with HM
Destroyers TERPSICHORE, TROUBRIDGE, ZETLAND and
Polish ORP GARLAND.
28th Took part in bombardment at Pegadio, Scarpanto with HM Destroyers
LIDDESDALE
and ZETLAND.
October
Deployed in British Aegean Force to cover occupation of
Aegean Islands and Greek
mainland
after withdrawal of German troops.
Joined HM Escort Carriers HUNTER, STALKER,
EMPEROR, ATTACKER, SEARCHER,
PURSUER, KHEDIVE, HM Cruisers ORION, AJAX,
ROYALIST, BLACK PRINCE,
AURORA and COLOMBO with HM
Destroyers TROUBRIDGE, TERMAGANT,
TERPSICHORE, TEAZER, TUSCAN, TUMULT, HM
Escort Destroyers
CALPE,
CATTERICK, CLEVELAND, LIDDESDALE, ZETLAND and
Greek Escort
Destroyers.
Carried out operations to intercept evacuation
craft and provided gunfire support for
landing
parties.
November
Nominated for return to UK to prepare for service in East Indies.
December
Passage to UK.
1 9 4 5
January
Joined HM Escort Destroyers BLEASDALE, CATTISTOCK, COTTESMORE,
to COWDRAY, CROOME, EGGESFORD, FERNIE, HAYDON,
HOLDERNESS, MENDIP
March
MIDDLETON, PYTCHLEY and French Escort Destroyer LA COMBATTANTE in 21st
Destroyer Flotilla based at Sheerness.
(Note: This deployment was necessary because of
the need to increase defence of
convoys
and patrol because of the extensive operations
by SCHNORKEL fitted
submarines
for attacks on coastal convoys and minelaying)
Deployed for defence of re-routed Atlantic
convoys in Channel and SW Approaches.
(For details see SEEK AND STRIKE by W Hackmann
and HOLD THE NARROW SEA by
P Smith).
April Nominated for refit to prepare for service in
Eastern Fleet.
Took passage to Malta
Under refit at Malta.
May Post refit trials and passage to UK to give leave
before foreign service.
June Prepared for foreign service.
10th Took passage to join 18th Destroyer Flotilla at Colombo.
July On arrival prepared for support of landings in
Malaya (Operation ZIPPER).
August
East Indies Fleet escort duties In continuation.
(Note: ZIPPER LANDINGS were delayed by US
insistence and implementation of
PYTHON Release scheme for return of long serving
servicemen to UK from
SEAC. See WAR WITH JAPAN (HMSO), The Final
Report of Supreme
Commander SEAC and THE FORGOTTEN FLEET by J
Winton.)
September
4th Sailed from Colombo as part of escort for Convoy JMG2
Joined Convoy JMA25 on passage to Beach Head.
8th Replenished during passage to Singapore to attend Final Surrender.
P o s t W a r N o t e s
HMS BRECON was allocated to 29th Destroyer Flotilla on 29th August
and was present at the surrender of Japanese forces in Malaya at Singapore on
9th September. The ship returned to
Portsmouth on 12th December 1945 to Pay-off and reduce to Reserve status. She remained in
Reserve until 1956 when placed on the Disposal List. After de-equipping the
hulk was not sold to BISCO for breaking up until August 1961. She arrived at Faslane in tow for demolition by Shipbreaking
Industries on 12th September 1962.
Addendum
CONVOY ESCORT MOVEMENTS of
HMS
BRECON
by Don Kindell
These convoy lists have not been cross-checked
with the text above
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Date convoy sailed
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Joined convoy as escort
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Convoy No.
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Left convoy
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Date convoy arrived
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|
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12/03/43
|
12/03/43
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PW 307
|
14/03/43
|
14/03/43
|
18/06/43
|
26/06/43
|
KMF 017
|
27/06/43
|
27/06/43
|
13/06/43
|
02/07/43
|
UGS 010
|
06/07/43
|
10/07/43
|
05/07/43
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unknown
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MKF 017A
|
unknown
|
17/07/43
|
12/07/43
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29/07/43
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UGS 012
|
07/08/43
|
10/08/43
|
22/07/43
|
22/07/43
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GUS 010X
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25/07/43
|
13/08/43
|
29/07/43
|
29/07/43
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KMS 021
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07/08/43
|
10/08/43
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07/09/43
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07/09/43
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FSS 002
|
09/09/43
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09/09/43
|
20/01/44
|
29/01/44
|
MKF 028
|
01/02/44
|
07/02/44
|
16/03/44
|
16/03/44
|
IXF 011
|
18/03/44
|
21/03/44
|
05/05/44
|
unknown
|
IXF 014
|
unknown
|
09/05/44
|
15/05/44
|
15/05/44
|
MKF 031
|
22/05/44
|
29/05/44
|
24/05/44
|
24/05/44
|
NSF 023
|
27/05/44
|
27/05/44
|
28/05/44
|
28/05/44
|
SNF 023
|
31/05/44
|
31/05/44
|
06/06/44
|
06/06/44
|
NSF 024
|
09/06/44
|
09/06/44
|
10/06/44
|
10/06/44
|
SNF 024
|
13/06/44
|
13/06/44
|
11/06/44
|
19/06/44
|
KMF 032
|
24/06/44
|
24/06/44
|
28/06/44
|
unknown
|
XIF 017
|
unknown
|
02/07/44
|
12/07/44
|
13/07/44
|
XIF 018
|
18/07/44
|
18/07/44
|
18/07/44
|
18/07/44
|
IXF 018
|
22/07/44
|
22/07/44
|
28/07/44
|
28/07/44
|
MKF 033
|
04/08/44
|
11/08/44
|
18/07/44
|
30/07/44
|
KMF 033
|
31/07/44
|
31/07/44
|
17/08/44
|
17/08/44
|
SM 003A
|
20/08/44
|
20/08/44
|
24/08/44
|
01/09/44
|
KMF 034
|
07/09/44
|
07/09/44
|
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(Note on Convoys)
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