HMS ''Nith'' was a River-class frigate of 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

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 ...

. In 1948, she was transferred to the

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy (), also known as the Egyptian Naval Forces, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East as well as Africa, and is the twelfth largest (by the number of vessels) navy in the w ...

and given the name ''Domiat''.

World War II

During the war, the ship served in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, India, the Far East, and in the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully Ship decommissioning, decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothba ...

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-o ...

, England. Having failed her sea trials due to lack of speed, HMS ''Nith'' was prepared as a Brigade headquarters ship for the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...

, acting as the 231st Infantry Brigade HQ, delivering Brigadier Stanier Alexander Beville Gibbons Stanier to

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of German military administration in occupied France during World War II, German-occupied France in the Normandy la ...

. HMS ''Nith'' was then detailed with the task of coordinating landing ships going ashore off Courseulles, and as a result of craft not being able to identify her, the ''Nith'' had her bridge painted orange. On being stationed offshore, a crewman from the ''Nith'' recollects seeing a German mini-sub moored to a British minesweeper aft of HMS ''Nith''. The mini-sub still contained the dead pilot in its cockpit, with a shell hole through the mini-sub canopy clearly visible. Subsequent efforts to trace the history of this mini-sub have proved fruitless. On the night of 13 / 14 June 1944 ource for these dates: 'Bomber Units of the Luftwaffe 1933-1945, Vol.2', de Zeng/Stankey (Classic), p.281 whilst in the Baie de Seine, HMS ''Nith'' was severely damaged by a ''

Mistel ''Mistel'' (German language, German, 'mistletoe', a parasitic plant) was the larger, unmanned component of a composite aircraft configuration developed in Germany during the later stages of World War II. The composite comprised a small piloted ...

'', a German prototype drone aircraft packed with explosives, remotely controlled by a mother aircraft that released the drone after being previously attached to it. Nine crew were instantly killed and were buried at sea, with a tenth succumbing to his wounds shortly after. This tenth casualty being buried in Hollybrook CWGC cemetery in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. An American

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

took off the twenty six wounded and the ''Nith'' was then towed back to Whites shipyard at

Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

for repairs. By October 2024, HMS ''Nith'' had been repaired since the ''Mistel'' attack and was then sent to the Far East theatre, where on occasion she transported Japanese PoWs. HMS ''Nith'' took part in the

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

victory fleet review undertaken by

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

in June 1945. HMS ''Nith'' can be seen in a newsreel of the review. In 1948, she was transferred to the

and given the name ''Domiat''.

Sinking

As part of the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

, on the night of 31 October 1956 in the northern Red Sea, the British

light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to thi ...

HMS ''Newfoundland'' challenged and engaged the Egyptian frigate ''Domiat'', reducing it to a burning hulk in a brief gun battle. The Egyptian warship was then sunk by escorting destroyer HMS ''Diana'', with 69 surviving Egyptian sailors rescued.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nith 1942 ships River-class frigates of the Royal Navy World War II frigates of the United Kingdom Frigates of the Egyptian Navy Shipwrecks in the Red Sea Maritime incidents in 1956