UBS ''Mayu'' was the first flagship of the

Burmese Navy The Myanmar Navy ( my, တပ်မတော် (ရေ); ) is the naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Myanmar. With 24,000 personnel on duty, the navy operates more than 150 vessels. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in c ...

. She was commissioned on 25 May 1947 and saw 32 years of active service during which she participated in many counter-insurgency campaigns, safeguarding

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

's territorial waters, and also served as a training ship for the officers and ratings of Myanmar (Burma) Navy. The ship had been built as HMS ''Fal'' for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and was transferred to the Burmese government in 1947 on loan, and permanently in 1948. She was decommissioned in 1979 and was converted to a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

History

As HMS ''Fal''

HMS ''Fal'' was a River-class frigate of the Royal Navy, built for

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typ ...

and

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

escort duty in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Her keel was laid down on 20 May 1942 in the United Kingdom. She was first commissioned by the

on 2 July 1943. After working up, ''Fal'' served for a time in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe a ...

, before moving to

Freetown Freetown is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educ ...

for service on the West African convoy route between

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indu ...

and Freetown. By this stage of the Atlantic campaign the U-boat threat had been diminished, and ''Fal''s work was routine, seeing no enemy action. At the end of hostilities she was at Simonstown, and was transferred to the Far East, stationed at

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

. She was handed over by the British Government to the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve on 25 May 1947 on loan to Burma.

As HMBS ''Mayu''

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Aung San Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947) was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he was assassinated just six months before his goa ...

accepted the transfer of the ship on behalf of the Government of Burma. During his acceptance speech, he renamed her to HMBS ''Mayu'', after

Mayu River The Mayu is a river in Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). The river and its surrounding region, known as the ''Mayu region'' or ''Mayu peninsula'', is named after the nearby ''Mayu Mountain''. It was formerly known as the Manlayuwaddy River. It is ...

Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...

state to honour officers and men of Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, who fought against Imperial Japanese forces at the river during the Second World War.

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

Khin Maung Bo was the first commanding officer of HMBS ''Mayu''. She took part in a 25 gun salute along with on 4 January 1948 to mark Burma's independence from the British colonial rule.

As UBS ''Mayu''

On 29 August 1948, was transferred permanently to the Burmese Navy as a free gift and she was officially renamed as UBS ''Mayu''. UBS ''Mayu ''fought alongside other ships of Burmese Navy and units of Burma Army in various battles during the turbulent years that followed Burmese independence in 1948. She was involved in the following battles: * Battle of Insein * Battle of Pathein * Battle of Kyauk Phyu * Battle of Mawlamyaing * Battle of Thanhlyin-KyiteKhout She served as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the ...

of the

Burma Navy The Myanmar Navy ( my, တပ်မတော် (ရေ); ) is the naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Myanmar. With 24,000 personnel on duty, the navy operates more than 150 vessels. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in c ...

throughout her service and was decommissioned on 1979 after 32 years of active service. Following her decommissioning, she was designated as an historic war vessel and has been preserved as a

at Myanmar Naval Training Headquarters, Seikkyi.

General Aung San's acceptance speech

The following is the transcript of the acceptance speech made by General

for the hand over of HMS ''Fal''.Defence Museum, Yangon :I accept on behalf of the Burma Government the free loan of HMS ''Fal'' generously offered by His Majesty's Government. This is an auspicious occasion as, with the hand-over of this frigate, the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve will have for the first time a Major Warship fit to withstand all weather conditions. In keeping with the national status of the country it will be desirable to rename this ship while she is being used by the Burma Navy. I propose to rename her after the River Mayu in Arakan with which the officers and men of the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve in active service during the last war had proud associations. As you are all aware it was along the beaches of this river that the Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve played a prominent part in the active operations against the Japanese during the famous Arakan Campaigns. Their courage, determination and resolute during these operations have won for them a well-deserved praise and I as a Burman take pride in their achievements. :I wish to thank, on behalf of my government, Lt. Commander Mitchell, his officers and men for bringing this ship safely to our hands. I now rename the ship HMBS ''Mayu'' and hand over to Lt. Commander Khin Mg Bo to take charge of its command under the orders of the officer commanding, Burma Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and the Burma Government. :25 May 1947

References

Publications

External links

HMS ''Fal'' at naval-history.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayu River-class frigates of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Tees 1942 ships World War II frigates of the United Kingdom Frigates of the Myanmar Navy Museum ships in Myanmar