HMS ''Geranium'' (K16) was a that served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during the Second World War. She was later sold to Denmark and renamed Thetis.

Construction and career

Royal Navy

The ship was ordered 25 July 1939 and laid down 21 September 1939 at William Simmons & Co. in

Renfrew Renfrew (; ; ) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gaine ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The ship was launched on 23 April 1940 and commissioned 24 June 1940. In August 1942, the ship participated in

Operation Pedestal Operation Pedestal (, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as (), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. British ships, submarines and aircraft from Malta attacked Axis p ...

, a British convoy to supply Malta. In the operation, she was assigned to Force R along with 3 other corvettes and a tug to protect the fleet oil tankers: RFA ''Brown Ranger'' and RFA ''Dingledale''. She was under the command of A.Foxall, RNR. In 1943, the ship was operating in the Atlantic engaged in anti-submarine warfare. On 31 October, together with HMS Whitehall she sunk the U-Boat U-306 with depth charges and hedgehog attacks.

Danish Navy

The ship was sold to the Royal Danish Navy in 1945. They renamed her Thetis (F340) and she entered service. The ship was scrapped in 1963.

Honours

The ship featured on a 2012 Maltese postal stamp.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geranium, HMS 1940 ships Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Navy