HMS Echo (H23) was an E class

E and F class destroyer

The E and F class was a class of 18 destroyers of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War. Three ships were later transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy, one to the Royal Hellenic Navy and one to the Dominican Navy. Launched in 1934, they served in the Second World War. Nine were lost...

 destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 that saw service in the Atlantic, Arctic and Mediterranean theatres during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, before being transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy in 1944, and renamed Navarinon, until scrapped in 1956.

Service history

Echo had a small role in the film Q Planes

Q Planes

Q Planes, released in the United States by Columbia Pictures as Clouds Over Europe, is a 1939 British spy film directed by Tim Whelan and Arthur B. Woods, starring Ralph Richardson, Laurence Olivier and Valerie Hobson. It was produced by Irving Asher with Alexander Korda as executive producer...

, released in March 1939.

In January 1940 Echo was deployed with the 12th Flotilla at Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow

right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...

 for minelayer escort and patrol duties. In May she was deployed to support military operations in Norway

Norwegian Campaign

The Norwegian Campaign was a military campaign that was fought in Norway during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany, after the latter's invasion of the country. In April 1940, the United Kingdom and France came to Norway's aid with an expeditionary force...

. In August she escorted ships of the 1st Minelaying Squadron on several operations, and on the 28th was detached for duty with the Free French

Free French Forces

The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...

 expedition to Dakar

Dakar

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

 (Operation Menace

Battle of Dakar

The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa , which was under Vichy French control, and to install the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle there.-Background:At...

). After the operation was abandoned on 25 September she escorted the damaged battleship to Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...

, and Echo was retained there for local convoy defence, not rejoining the Flotilla until the end of October.

On 21 May Echo, and five other destroyers, were deployed as the escort to the battlecruiser and battleship on their way to the Denmark Strait

Denmark Strait

The Denmark Strait or Greenland Strait |Sound]]) is an oceanic strait between Greenland and Iceland...

, during the search for the German warships and . In 25 May, the day after the Battle of the Denmark Strait

Battle of the Denmark Strait

The Battle of the Denmark Strait was a Second World War naval battle between ships of the Royal Navy and the German Kriegsmarine, fought on 24 May 1941...

, Echo escorted the damaged Prince of Wales to Iceland. At the end of July she was deployed in the destroyer screen of "Force P—the carriers and and the cruisers and —during the raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo

Raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo

The raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo took place on 30 July 1941 during the Second World War. The Royal Navy air arm launched this unsuccessful raid from the aircraft carriers and to inflict damage on merchant vessels owned by Germany and Finland and to show support for their new ally, the Soviet...

. From mid-August she was refitted at the Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

 shipyard at North Woolwich

North Woolwich

North Woolwich is a place in the London Borough of Newham. It is located north of Woolwich proper which is on the south bank of the River Thames. The two places are linked by the Woolwich Ferry and the Woolwich foot tunnel.-History:...

, rejoining the Flotilla on 4 November.

From 8 December she and provided the screen for the cruiser escorting the Russian Convoy PQ 6

Convoy PQ 6

Convoy PQ-6 was the seventh of the Arctic convoys of World War II by which the Western Allies supplied material material aid to the Soviet Union in its fight with Nazi Germany. The convoy sailed from Hvalfjörður, Iceland, on 8 December 1941 and arrived at Murmansk on 20 December 1941.-Ships:The...

 to Kola Inlet. On arrival on the 19th Echo was detached to escort a Russian merchant ship to Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

. She was attacked by two German Ju 88

Junkers Ju 88

The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...

 bombers, but spared by the timely arrival of Russian Hurricane

Hawker Hurricane

The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...

 fighters and Edinburgh. She then escorted the return Convoy QP 4, arriving back at Scapa Flow on 10 January 1942.

Echo returned to Scapa Flow to provide anti-submarine defence for convoys between the UK and Iceland. On mid-June she began a refit in a Humber

Humber

The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal River Ouse and the tidal River Trent. From here to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the East Riding of Yorkshire on the north bank...

 shipyard, returning to Scapa Flow on 22 August to join the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. On 2 September she was deployed to support Russian Convoy PQ 18. Further Arctic convoy duty followed, escorting returning Convoy QP 15 in November, then Convoy JW 51A in December 1942, and Convoy JW 52 in January 1943.

In February Echo began a refit at a Humber shipyard, rejoining the 8th Destroyer Flotilla in June, and sailing for Gibraltar on the 17th. In early July the Flotilla sailed to Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

 to prepare for Operation Husky — the Allied invasion of Sicily

Allied invasion of Sicily

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...

.

On arrival on 16 September she was immediately re-deployed to support operations to reoccupy islands in the Aegean

Dodecanese Campaign

The Dodecanese Campaign of World War II was an attempt by Allied forces, mostly British, to capture the Italian-held Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea following the surrender of Italy in September 1943, and use them as bases against the German-controlled Balkans...

. The next day she and attacked the German Unterseebootsjager

Submarine chaser

A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for anti-submarine warfare. Although similar vessels were designed and used by many nations, this designation was most famously used by ships built by the United States of America...

 UJ-2104 off Stampalia

Astypalaia

Astypalaia , called in Italian Stampalia and in Ottoman Turkish İstanbulya , is a Greek island with 1,238 residents . It belongs to the Dodecanese, an island group of twelve major islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea. The island is 18 km. long, 13 km. wide at the most, and covers an...

, which was beached and abandoned by her crew.