View source for HMS Griffin (H31)

{{Short description|A G-class destroyer, built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1930s}}
{{other ships|HMS Griffin|HMCS Ottawa}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= File:HMS Griffin (H31) IWM FL 013646.jpg
|Ship caption=''Griffin'' in 1936
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Griffin''
|Ship namesake= [[Griffin]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Vickers-Armstrongs]], [[Barrow-in-Furness]], UK
|Ship laid down=20 September 1934
|Ship launched=15 August 1935
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship original cost=£248,518
|Ship completed= 
|Ship commissioned= 6 June 1936
|Ship motto=*''Dentibus ac rostro''
*([[Latin]] : "With teeth and beak")
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours= 
|Ship fate=Transferred to [[Canada]], 1 March 1943
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country=Canada
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Canada|naval-1911}}
|Ship name=''Ottawa''
|Ship namesake=[[Ottawa River]]
|Ship acquired=*By purchase, 1 March 1943
*Gifted, 15 June 1943
|Ship commissioned=7 April 1943
|Ship decommissioned=May 1945
|Ship motto=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: H31
|Ship honours=*Atlantic, 1939-45
*Normandy, 1944
*English Channel, 1944
*Biscay, 1944
|Ship fate=Sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]], August 1946
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=(as built)
|Ship class=[[G and H-class destroyer|G-class]] [[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1350|LT|t|lk=on}} ([[Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{convert|1883|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|323|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|12|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*3 [[Admiralty 3-drum boiler]]s
*{{cvt|34000|shp|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=2 shafts, 2 geared [[steam turbine]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|5530|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=137 (peacetime), 146 (wartime)
|Ship armament=*4 × single [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|4.7 in (120&nbsp;mm) guns]]
*2 × quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun|{{cvt|0.5|in|1}} machine gun]]s
*2 × quadruple [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 in (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tubes]]
*20 × [[depth charge]]s, 1 rail and 2 throwers
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Griffin'' (H31)''' was a [[G and H-class destroyer|G-class]] [[destroyer]], built for the [[Royal Navy]] in the mid-1930s. In [[World War II]] she took part in the [[Norwegian Campaign]] of April–May 1940 and the [[Battle of Dakar]] in September before being transferred to the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] in November. She generally escorted larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet as they protected [[convoy]]s against attacks from the Italian Fleet. ''Griffin'' took part in the [[Battle of Cape Matapan]] in March 1941 and the [[Battle of Greece|evacuations of Greece]] and [[Battle of Crete|Crete]] in April–May 1941. In June she took part in the [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign]] and was escorting convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet until she was transferred to the [[Eastern Fleet]] in March 1942.

''Griffin'' saw no action in the Japanese [[Indian Ocean raid (1942)|Indian Ocean raid]] in April, but was escorting convoys for most of her time in the [[Indian Ocean]]. In June she returned to the Mediterranean to escort another convoy to Malta in [[Operation Vigorous]]. Beginning in November 1942, she was converted to an [[Frigate#World War II|escort destroyer]] in the [[United Kingdom]] and was transferred to the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] on 1 March 1943. The ship, now renamed HMCS ''Ottawa'', was assigned to escort convoys in the [[North Atlantic]] until she was transferred in May 1944 to protect the forces involved with the [[Normandy Landings]]. Working with other destroyers, ''Ottawa'' sank three German submarines off the French coast before she returned to Canada for a lengthy refit. After the end of the European war in May 1945 she was used to bring Canadian troops until she was [[Ship decommissioning|paid off]] in October 1945. ''Ottawa'' was sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]] in August 1946.

==Description==
''Griffin'' displaced {{convert|1350|LT|t}} at [[Displacement (ship)|standard]] load and {{convert|1883|LT|t}} at [[deep load]]. She had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|323|ft|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|33|ft|1}} and a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|12|ft|5|in|1}}. She was powered by [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of {{convert|34000|shp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}. Steam for the turbines was provided by three [[Admiralty 3-drum boiler]]s. ''Griffin'' carried a maximum of {{convert|470|LT|t}} of [[fuel oil]] that gave her a range of {{convert|5530|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}. Her complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime,<ref name=w78>Whitley, pp. 107–108</ref> but in increased to 146 in wartime.<ref>English, p. 89</ref>

The ship mounted four 45-[[caliber (artillery)|calibre]] [[4.7 inch QF Mark XII|4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) Mark IX guns]] in single mounts. For [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) defence, ''Griffin'' had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the [[Vickers machine gun|0.5&nbsp;inch Vickers Mark III]] [[machine gun]]. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple [[torpedo tube]] mounts for [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|adj=on|0}}]] torpedoes.<ref name=w78/> One [[depth charge]] rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.<ref>English, p. 141</ref>

Beginning in mid-1940, her anti-aircraft armament was increased although when exactly the modifications were made is not known. The rear set of torpedo tubes was replaced by a [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|{{convert|3|in|1|adj=on}} (12-pounder)]] AA gun and the quadruple .50-calibre Vickers mounts were replaced by [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{convert|20|mm|adj=on|1}} Oerlikon]] [[autocannon]]. Two more Oerlikon guns were also added in the forward superstructure.<ref name=w78/>

==Service history==
''Griffin'' was laid down by [[Vickers-Armstrongs]] Naval Construction Works at [[Barrow-in-Furness]] on 20 September 1934, launched on 15 August 1935, and completed on 6 March 1936. Excluding government-furnished equipment such as armament, she cost £248,518.<ref>English, pp. 89–90</ref> ''Griffin'' joined her [[sister ship|sisters]] and was assigned to the [[1st Destroyer Flotilla]] of the Mediterranean Fleet upon commissioning. She escorted the [[ocean liner]] SS ''Strathnaver'' between Malta and [[Alexandria]] in the [[Munich Crisis]] in September 1938. She then escorted the [[light cruiser]] {{HMS|Arethusa|26|2}} on her voyage to [[Aden]]. She collided with the target destroyer {{HMS|Shikari|1919|2}} on 2 February 1939 and her repairs were completed five days later.<ref name=e0>English, p. 100</ref>

===With the Royal Navy, 1939–1942===
On 3 September 1939 ''Griffin'' was in Alexandria and still assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla. In October she was transferred to home waters. On 7 October she was escorting the {{GRT|7289}} [[Troopship|troop ship]] {{SS|Mohamed Ali El-Kebir||2}} from [[Avonmouth]] bound for [[Gibraltar]] when the German submarine {{GS|U-38|1938|2}} torpedoed the troop ship in the [[Western Approaches]] about {{convert|230|nmi|km}} west of [[Gweedore|Bloody Foreland]] in [[Ireland]]. 96 people were killed but ''Griffin'' attacked and chased away the submarine with depth charges and then rescued 766 survivors, whom she landed at [[Greenock]] on the [[Firth of Clyde]] on 9 October.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/454.html |title=Mohamed Ali El-Kebir |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |date=1995–2014 |work=uboat.net |publisher=Guðmundur Helgason |access-date=12 January 2014}}</ref>

She rejoined her flotilla at [[Harwich Dockyard|Harwich]] in November, where they patrolled the [[North Sea]] and escorted local convoys.<ref name=e0/> She rescued survivors from her sister {{HMS|Gipsy|H63|2}} after that ship struck a [[naval mine|mine]] off Harwich on 21 November.<ref>English, p. 95</ref> She was damaged the same month and was under repair until 6 December. In preparation for the Norwegian Campaign, ''Griffin'' was transferred to the [[Home Fleet]] at [[Scapa Flow]] in April 1940.<ref name=e0/>''Griffin'' escorted the [[capital ship]]s of the Home Fleet as they sortied into the North Sea on 7 April and continued that duty for the next several weeks.<ref>Haar (2009), pp. 86, 289, 372</ref>

On 26 April, ''Griffin'' and the destroyer {{HMS|Acheron|H45|2}} captured the German [[naval trawler|trawler]] ''Schiff 26'', bound for [[Narvik]] with a cargo that included guns, mines and ammunition. She was disguised as the Dutch ''Polares'' and armed with one gun and two torpedo tubes. Crewmen aboard the trawler failed to properly dispose of some of her code documents when she was boarded from ''Griffin''. The recovered material allowed [[Bletchley Park]] to retrospectively break 6 days of naval Enigma codes. Whilst not operationally useful, this was the first break of the code and gave [[Alan Turing]] essential information on how Enigma was used, so allowing methods to be developed for future breaks. This was the first of several similar captures that were essential for the continued Allied breaking of the naval Enigma codes.{{sfn|Sebag-Montefiore|2000|pp=26, 113-114}}

''Griffin'' evacuated British and French troops [[Namsos Campaign|from Namsos]], and rescued survivors from the destroyer {{HMS|Afridi|F07|2}} after she was sunk by [[Junkers Ju 87]] ''Stuka'' [[dive bomber]]s on 3 May. The ''Stuka''s also attacked ''Griffin'', without success.<ref>Haarr (2010), pp. 169–175</ref> ''Griffin'' was then transferred to the [[13th Destroyer Flotilla]] of the [[North Atlantic Command]] at Gibraltar.<ref name=e1>English, p. 101</ref> She escorted the capital ships of [[Force H]] in the Battle of Dakar on 23 September, but was not engaged.<ref>Rohwer, p. 42</ref> On 20 October, with her sisters {{HMS|Gallant|H59|2}} and {{HMS|Hotspur|H01|2}}, she sank the {{ship|Italian submarine|Lafolè||6}} off [[Melilla]].<ref name=e1/> ''Griffin'' escorted the [[battleship]] {{HMS|Barham|04|2}} and the cruisers {{HMS|Berwick|65|2}} and {{HMS|Glasgow|C21|2}} in [[Operation Coat]] in early November as they joined the Mediterranean Fleet. ''Griffin'' herself was transferred to the [[14th Destroyer Flotilla]] in Alexandria and took part in the inconclusive [[Battle of Cape Spartivento]] on 27 November in [[Operation Collar (Convoy)|Operation Collar]].<ref>Rohwer, pp. 47, 50</ref>

In [[Operation Excess]], ''Gallant'' struck a mine off [[Pantellaria]] on 10 January 1941 and ''Griffin'' rescued most of the survivors.<ref>English, p. 92</ref> In February 1941 she was transferred to the [[Red Sea]] where she escorted the [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Formidable|67|2}} in the latter's operations in support of the [[East African Campaign (World War II)|military offensive in Italian Somaliland]] ("Operation Canvas").<ref>Rohwer, p. 58</ref> ''Griffin'' escorted the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet in the Battle of Cape Matapan on 28–29 March. With her sister {{HMS|Greyhound|H05|2}}, she attacked some of the Italian destroyers, but lost them when they passed through their own [[Smoke screen|smokescreen]].<ref>Stephen, pp. 65–67</ref> ''Griffin'', the Australian destroyer {{HMAS|Stuart|D00|2}}, and the [[gunboat]] {{HMS|Gnat|T60|2}} bombarded Axis positions near [[Sallum|Sollum]] in northwestern Egypt on 15 April.

She took part in the evacuation of British, Australian and New Zealand troops from Greece at the end of April. On 25 April a German air attack crippled the Dutch troop ship {{SS|Pennland||2}}, which ''Griffin'' had been escorting to [[Megara]]<ref name=SAS>{{cite web |url= http://shippingandshipbuilding.uk/view.php?year_built=&builder=&ref=204045&vessel=PITTSBURGH |title=Pittsburgh |work=Shipping and Shipbuilding |publisher=Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust |access-date=4 March 2021}}</ref> to evacuate Allied troops. ''Griffin'' rescued about 300 survivors,<ref name=NYT-1942-0712>{{cite news |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1942/07/12/85564190.html |title=Purser is decorated here for heroism displayed when his ship sank off Crete |newspaper=The New York Times |page=91 |date=12 July 1942 |url-access=subscription |access-date=4 March 2021}}</ref> sank ''Pennland'' by gunfire,<ref name=SAS/> and took the survivors to Crete.<ref name=NYT-1942-0712/> On 27 April ''Griffin'' rescued 50 survivors from the destroyers {{HMS|Diamond|H22|2}} and {{HMS|Wryneck|D21|2}}, which had been sunk by German aircraft in the [[Sea of Crete]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/38293/supplements/3053 |title=Report on Evacuation of British Troops from Greece, April, 1941 |newspaper=Supplement to [[The London Gazette]] |issue=38293 |page=3053 |date=19 May 1948 |access-date=6 January 2014}}</ref>

''Griffin'' again escorted the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet as they covered a convoy from Alexandria to Malta on 8 May.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 68, 70, 72</ref> In the evacuation of Crete at the end of May, ''Griffin'' evacuated 720 men from [[Souda Bay]].<ref name=e1/>

During [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign|Operation Exporter]], the ship escorted the Australian light cruiser {{HMAS|Perth|D29|2}} as she bombarded [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] positions in [[Lebanon]] on 2 July.<ref>Rohwer, p. 78</ref> ''Griffin'' escorted convoys to and from [[siege of Tobruk|Tobruk]] from July to November.<ref name=e1/> On 25 November she was escorting the battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet when ''Barham'' was torpedoed by {{ship|German submarine|U-331}}. She escorted the light cruiser {{HMS|Naiad|93|2}} when that ship bombarded [[Derna, Libya|Derna]] in early December<ref>Rohwer, pp. 118, 123</ref> and was transferred to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla later that month.<ref name=e1/> ''Griffin'' escorted convoys to Malta in January and February 1942.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 136, 138, 142</ref> until she was transferred to the [[Eastern Fleet]] in the [[Indian Ocean]] in late February.<ref name=e1/> ''Griffin'' was assigned to Force A of the fleet in the Indian Ocean raid by the Japanese in early April 1942. She returned to the Mediterranean to take part in [[Operation Vigorous]], another convoy from Alexandria to Malta, in June.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 154, 173</ref> She rejoined the Eastern Fleet afterwards and escorted convoys there until ordered home to begin conversion to an escort destroyer in September.<ref name=e1/>

===Refit and transfer to Canada, 1942–1946===
Work on the conversion began on 2 November in [[Southampton]]<ref name=e1/> and included the removal of two 4.7-inch guns and the 12-pounder AA gun, and their replacement with a [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] [[anti-submarine mortar]] forward and additional depth charges aft. [[List of World War II British naval radar#Type 286|Type 286]] and [[Type 271 radar|271]] radar sets were fitted, as well as additional 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon AA guns.<ref>Whitley, p. 108</ref> While still refitting, on 1 March 1943, ''Griffin'' was transferred to the [[Royal Canadian Navy]], and commissioned on 20 March, four days before her conversion was finished. The ship was renamed ''Ottawa'' on 10 April to commemorate an earlier {{HMCS|Ottawa|H60|6}} which had been sunk. After working up at [[Tobermory, Mull|Tobermory]], she sailed for Canada, and was gifted to the Canadians on 15 June. ''Ottawa'' became the senior ship of Escort Group C5 which worked between [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's, Newfoundland]], and [[Derry]], [[Northern Ireland]] until May 1944 when she became the senior ship of the 11th Escort Group. The 11th consisted of the Canadian destroyers {{HMCS|Kootenay|H75|2}}, {{HMCS|Chaudière|H99|2}}, {{HMCS|Gatineau|H61|2}}, and {{HMCS|St. Laurent|H83|2}} and were tasked to protect the invasion forces for D-Day. On 6 July 1944, ''Ottawa'', ''Kootenay'', and the British [[frigate]] {{HMS|Statice|K281|2}} sank {{ship|German submarine|U-678||2}} off [[Beachy Head]], [[Sussex]]. ''Ottawa'' and ''Chaudière'' sank {{ship|German submarine|U-621||2}} on 16 August near [[La Rochelle]] and two days later they sank {{ship|German submarine|U-984||2}} west of [[Brest, France|Brest]].<ref name=e1/>

''Ottawa'' was refitted in St. John's between 12 October 1944 and 26 February 1945. On 11 March she collided with the Canadian [[minesweeper]] {{HMCS|Stratford|J310|2}} off [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] and was under repair until 30 April. After the end of the war in May she ferried Canadian troops back to Canada until she was paid off on 31 October. ''Ottawa'' was sold to the International Iron and Metal Company in August 1946 and subsequently broken up.<ref name=e1/>

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s|year=1993|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Kendal, England|isbn=0-905617-64-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Haarr|first=Geirr H.|title=The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940|year=2010 |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-59114-051-1}}
* {{cite book|last=Haarr|first=Geirr H.|title=The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940 |year=2009 |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=978-1-59114-310-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/germaninvasionof00geir}}
*{{cite book |last1=Kahn |first1=David |title=Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-boat Codes, 1933-1945 |date=1996 |publisher=Arrow Books |location=London |isbn=0-09-978411-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=2005 |edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sebag-Montefiore |first1=Hugh |title=Enigma : the Battle for the Code |date=2000 |publisher=J. Wiley |location=New York |isbn=978-1620456347}}
* {{cite book|last=Stephen|first=Martin|title=Sea Battles in Close-Up: World War 2|year=1988 |publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=0-87021-556-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/seabattlesinclos00mart}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland|author-link=Michael J. Whitley}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Crabb |first=Brian James |year=2021 |title=Operation Demon: The story of the evacuation of British Commonwealth troops from mainland Greece and the tragic loss of the Dutch troopship Slamat and HM destroyers Diamond and Wryneck in April 1941 |place=Portishead |publisher=Angela Young |isbn=978-1-527271-01-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Winser |first=John de D |year=1999 |title=B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk |place=Gravesend |publisher=World Ship Society |isbn=0-905617-91-6}}

{{G and H class destroyer}}
{{Canadian River class destroyer}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin (H31)}}
[[Category:G and H-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships of the Royal Canadian Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness]]
[[Category:1935 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Canadian River-class destroyers]]
[[Category:Canadian River-class destroyers converted from G and H-class destroyers]]