HMS ''Urania'' was a U-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

that saw service 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 converted into a Type 15 fast

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapon ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

and was scrapped in 1971.

Service history

Second World War service

''Urania'' saw service during the Second World War as part of the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. It was formed from aircraft carriers, other surface warships, submarines and supply vessels of the RN and British Commonwealth ...

Post War service

From 1947 until 1950 ''Urania'' was held in reserve at Devonport Dockyard. She was converted into a reserve fleet

accommodation ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for sai ...

in 1949, and was based at Devonport. On 11 November 1950 she arrived at Hawthorn Leslie on the Tyne for a refit and was again in reserve at Harwich in 1952. On 23 April 1953 she arrived in Liverpool for conversion into a Type 15 fast

, by Harland and Wolff. Her

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

was also changed from R05 to F08. On completion of her conversion she was commissioned on 2 January 1955 into the 6th Frigate Squadron, for service in the Mediterranean, with other Type 15 frigates , and . They collectively took part in the Suez Operation and Cyprus emergency before returning home. In 1958 she was returned to the reserve at Devonport dockyard before another refit. On 7 January 1959 she re-commissioned for trials before returning to reserve.

Decommissioning and disposal

From 1962 until 1967 she was held in reserve at Devonport. In January 1967 she was transferred to the operational reserve. She was subsequently sold for scrap and arrived at Faslane for breaking up on 2 February 1971.

Notes

Publications

* * * * * U and V-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1943 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom Type 15 frigates Cold War frigates of the United Kingdom {{UK-destroyer-stub