HMS ''Matchless'' was an M-class destroyer built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war she was placed in reserve until August 1957 and eventually sold to the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

, who renamed her TCG ''Kılıç Ali Paşa''. She was struck from the Turkish Navy list and scrapped in 1971.

Adoptions

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

Borough Council in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

officially adopted HMS ''Matchless'' after holding a

Warship Week Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of a Royal Navy warship being adopted by a civil community. During the early parts of the war, the Royal Navy not only had lost many capital ships but ...

in March 1942 that raised £550,296. A ship's badge was presented to the borough in September 1942.

Associated Motor Cycles Associated Motor Cycles (AMC) was a British motorcycle manufacturer founded by the Collier brothers as a parent company for the Matchless and AJS motorcycle companies. It later absorbed Francis-Barnett, James Cycle Co, James, and Norton Motorcy ...

in southeast London, which made

Matchless Matchless is one of the oldest marques of British motorcycles, manufactured in Plumstead, London, between 1899 and 1966. A wide range of models were produced under the Matchless name, ranging from small two-strokes to 750 cc Four-stroke cy ...

motorcycles, unofficially adopted the ship in 1943. After the

Battle of the North Cape The Battle of the North Cape was a Second World War naval battle that occurred on 26 December 1943, as part of the Arctic campaign. The , on an operation to attack Arctic convoys of war materiel from the western Allies to the Soviet Union, ...

in December 1943 her battle flag and other mementoes were presented to the company.

Service

Scapa Flow

''Matchless'' undertook

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

and then joined the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

for crew training in gunnery and torpedo attacks. Her first active service was on an

Arctic convoy The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

and the

Kola Inlet Kola Bay () or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma, Rosta and Kola Rivers discharge into t ...

. On 13 May 1942 she was one of four destroyers that sailed from Murmansk escorting the light cruiser , which had been damaged during a previous convoy and partially repaired for her homeward voyage. On 15 May 20

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one of ...

bombers attacked the flotilla and one bomb set ''Trinidad'' on fire and crippled her. ''Matchless'' rescued over 200 survivors and then

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

''Trinidad'' by torpedoing her.

Malta

In June 1942 ''Matchless'' took part in Operation Harpoon: a heavily armed convoy to relieve the besieged island of Malta. The convoy sailed from

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

on 12 June and ''Matchless'' was damaged by a mine off Malta on 15 June. This forced her to remain in Malta for repairs, where she survived 265 air raids. In August she sailed from Malta disguised as an Italian warship. She reached Gibraltar just in time to join

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 ...

, which was the next convoy to relieve Malta.

Arctic Convoys

After Operation Pedestal, ''Matchless'' escorted two successful Arctic convoys from

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe () is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notable of which, si ...

to the Kola Inlet: JW 51A in December 1942 and

JW 51B Convoy JW 51B was an Arctic convoy sent from United Kingdom by the Western Allies to aid the Soviet Union during the Second World War. It sailed in late December 1942, reaching the Soviet northern ports in early January 1943. Convoy JW 51B came ...

in December and January. In May and June 1943 ''Matchless'' escorted the ocean liner part-way across the North Atlantic while the liner was carrying

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

to the United States. She then escorted further Arctic convoys: JW 54B in November 1943 and JW 55A in December 1943.

Sinking ''Scharnhorst''

On 24–25 December 1943 ''Matchless'' was returning from the Kola Inlet escorting

Convoy RA 55A Convoy RA 55A was an Arctic convoy during World War II. It was one of a series of convoys run to return Allied ships from Soviet northern ports to ports in Britain. It sailed in late December 1943, reaching British ports at the end of the month ...

when she and three other destroyers were ordered to detach from that convoy and join a JW convoy heading for Russia. It was believed the German battleship might be on the point of leaving her Norwegian fjord base to attack the convoys. On Christmas Day came a message that the 10th Cruiser Squadron consisting of , & , under Vice Admiral

Robert Burnett Admiral Sir Robert Lindsay Burnett, (22 July 1887 – 2 July 1959) was an officer in the Royal Navy. Naval career Educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy and Bedford School, Burnett joined the Royal Navy in 1902. He served on the China S ...

had been in action against ''Scharnhorst''. Her mission was to attack the convoys, but she had been ordered to avoid battle with heavy Allied units. Accordingly, she disengaged from the cruisers and with her superior speed was soon out of contact. Vice-Admiral Burnett believed she might be heading north to attack the convoys: Acting on that assumption he also headed north & on Boxing Day did in fact make contact again, with exchange of shots, during which the ''Norfolk'' was hit. ''Scharnhorst'' disengaged again and headed south for the safety of her Altafjord base. The cruisers & destroyers took up a shadowing role. Burnett was aware that a heavier Royal Navy force commanded by Admiral Bruce Fraser aboard the battleship was steaming from the west to intercept her. Admiral Erich Bey aboard ''Scharnhorst'' was not aware. About 5.15pm the black of the winter Arctic night was lit up as bright as day by starshells, & the battle began in earnest. Outnumbered, outgunned, surrounded, her retreat cut off, there could be only one end. She was weakened first by shellfire from ''Duke of York'', then by torpedoes from the cruiser , British and Norwegian destroyers. Finally the destroyer detachment from Convoy JW 55A, including ''Matchless'', closed in and sank ''Scharnhorst'' with a further 19 torpedoes going under around 7.15pm. Only 36 survivors were recovered; ''Matchless'' picking up six of them.

Return to Home Fleet

After the battle, ''Matchless'' returned to Scapa Flow, resumed duties with the Home Fleet and performed escort duties including further Arctic convoys until August 1944. She was then paid off in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

, but after repairs and a re-fit she was recommissioned later the same month. ''Matchless'' saw further service in the Mediterranean until 1945, and was then decommissioned in April 1946.

Laid Up

''Matchless'' was then laid up off

Portchester Castle Portchester Castle is a medieval fortress that was developed within the walls of the Roman Saxon Shore fort of Portus Adurni at Portchester, to the east of Fareham in Hampshire. The keep was probably built in the late 11th century as a bar ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

where she was held in reserve until at least 1957. Along with three other ships of the same class she was transferred to the Turkish Navy as part of an agreement signed at Ankara on 16 August 1957. They underwent a refit which involved the removal of the after set of torpedo tubes and some secondary armament. They received a new deckhouse and Squid anti-submarine weapons system. On 29 June 1959 they were handed over at Portsmouth. ''Matchless'', which was refitted at Harland & Wolff's shipyard at Govan, Glasgow, was commissioned as TCG ''Kılıç Ali Paşa'' (D-350) after an Italian-born 16th century Turkish admiral,

Uluç Ali Reis Occhiali (also Uluj Ali; born Giovanni Dionigi Galeni; – 21 June 1587), later known as Kılıç Ali Paşa, was an Italian privateer and admiral who served as the commander of the Regency of Algiers and Grand Admiral (Kapudan Pasha) of ...

(1519–87).Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p. 248 She served in the

until 1971, when she was struck from the list and scrapped.

Heritage

After the war an HMS ''Matchless'' Association was formed to unite personnel who had served aboard her. The ship's badge that was presented to Maidenhead Borough Council in 1942 has since been lost. For a time the ship's battle flag from the Battle of the North Cape hung in the Directors' Office at Associated Motor Cycles' factory in

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Plumstead has been settled since ancient times, and London's earliest timber structure has been found here. ...

. The flag, along with a photograph of the ship and a letter from her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander J. Mowlam, were lost after AMC went into receivership in 1966.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matchless (G52) L and M-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Clyde 1941 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom