HMS Meteor (G73)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Meteor.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Meteor
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 the Turkish Navy on 29 June 1959, renamed Piyale Pasha
Notes	Pennant number G74
History
Turkey
Name	Piyale Pasha
Acquired	29 June 1959
Fate	Discarded 1979?
General characteristics as completed
Class and type	M-class destroyer
Displacement	1,920 long tons (1,950 t) (standard) 2,660 long tons (2,700 t) (deep)
Length	362 ft 3 in (110.4 m) o/a
Beam	37 ft (11.3 m)
Draught	10 ft (3.0 m)
Installed power	48,000 shp (36,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 × shafts 2 × Parsons geared steam turbines 2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	190
Sensors and processing systems	ASDIC Type 285 anti-aircraft (AA) radar Type 286M air warning radar
Armament	(as built) 3 × 2 - 4.7 in (120 mm) Mark XI dual purpose guns 1 × 1 - 4-inch Mark V AA gun 1 × 4 - QF 2 pdr (40 mm) Mk VIII AA guns 6 × 1 - 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon AA guns 1 × 4 - 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 45 × depth charges

HMS Meteor was a M-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War II.

Construction

HMS Meteor was ordered on 7 July 1939, as one of eight destroyers of the M class, a near repeat of the previous L class. The ship was laid down at the Alexander Stephen shipyard of Linthouse, Glasgow on 14 September 1940, launched on 3 November 1941 and commissioned on 12 August 1942.

Meteor completed with the originally specified main gun armament of six 4.7 inch (120 mm) Mark XI guns in 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 single 4-inch (102 mm) Mark V anti-aircraft gun. Close in weaponry consisted of a single quadruple 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" and 6 single 20 mm cannon. Meteor was fitted with Type 291 air/surface search radar and Type 285 anti-aircraft ranging radar.

Service

On entering service, Meteor joined the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet and in September 1942 was deployed as part of the escort for the Arctic Convoy PQ 18 to the Soviet Union and the return Convoy QP 14. Following the return from the Arctic, in November 1942, Meteor acted as part of the destroyer screen for the Home Fleet during Operation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa.

On 18 March 1945 Meteor participated in the Battle of the Ligurian Sea, where she sank the German fleet torpedo boat TA24 (Ex-Italian Arturo.

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.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
• 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. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.