HMS ''Zest'' was a Z-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

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 ...

Post war service

Between September and November 1945 ''Zest'' was refitted at Leith. Between August 1946 and February 1947 she was part of the

4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destroy ...

, as part of the Home Fleet. From July 1947 until February 1948 she was used for Torpoedo training at Portsmouth. From September 1952 until February 1954 she was in reserve at Chatham Dockyard. Between 1954 and 1956 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 ...

at Chatham Dockyard. She was also allocated the new

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 ...

F102, changing from its initial R02. She was the only Z-class destroyer to be converted into a Type 15 frigate. Between 1956 and 1958 she was leader of the 3rd Training Squadron. From 1958 until 1961 she was part of the 4th Frigate Squadron, and in 1961 she had a refit at Malta. In 1964 she joined the Far East Fleet, joining the 24th Escort Squadron. She carried out patrols in the

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and

Malacca Straits The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...

to prevent infiltration of Indonesian-led forces and smuggling of weapons during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. In November 1964, the merchant ship ran aground on the Bombay Shoal in the South China Sea, as did the tug when she tried to assist. ''Zest'' rescued the crews from both ships, 45 people in total, before a typhoon struck the stranded ships. ''Zest'' returned to British waters at the end of 1965, paying off at Plymouth of 15 December that year before recommissioning with a new crew. In 1967, while in the West Indies, ''Zest'' was deployed at St Vincent during local election period as a precaution. From July 1967 to July 1968 Zest was deployed to the Far East Station visiting Cape Town, Mombasa, Gan, Sydney, Dunedin, New Plymouth, Yokohama, Hong Kong and Singapore

Decommissioning and disposal

In July 1968 she paid off into Reserve at Plymouth. In 1969 she was placed on the Disposal List and sold to BISCO for demolition by Arnott Young at Dalmuir on the Clyde. Whilst on tow by the tug ''Bustler'' the ship broke away from tow. After re-connection she arrived at the breakers on 18 July 1970.

Notes

References

* * * * W and Z-class destroyers 1943 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom Type 15 frigates of the Royal Navy Cold War frigates of the United Kingdom Ships built by John I. Thornycroft & Company {{UK-destroyer-stub