Allied Warships

HMS Taff (K 637)

Frigate of the River class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeFrigate
ClassRiver 
PennantK 637 
Built byCharles Hill & Sons Ltd. (Bristol, U.K.) : Bellis & Morcom 
Ordered11 Sep 1942 
Laid down14 Apr 1943 
Launched11 Sep 1943 
Commissioned7 Jan 1944 
End service 
History

Scrapped in June 1957.

 

Commands listed for HMS Taff (K 637)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1T/Lt.Cdr. Aislabie Harrison, RNR1 Nov 194323 May 1944
2Cdr. Gerald Anthony Gore Ormsby, RN23 May 19449 Jun 1945
3A/Lt.Cdr. Michael Elijah Impey, DSO, DSC, RN9 Jun 19452 Nov 1945

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Notable events involving Taff include:


1 Feb 1944
HMS Varangian (Lt. S.J. Fovargue, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory with HMS Taff (T/Lt.Cdr. A. Harrison, RNR). (1)

2 Feb 1944
HMS Varangian (Lt. S.J. Fovargue, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory with HMS Taff (T/Lt.Cdr. A. Harrison, RNR). (1)

6 Feb 1944
HMS Varangian (Lt. S.J. Fovargue, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Tobermory with HMS Taff (T/Lt.Cdr. A. Harrison, RNR) and HMS Fort York (T/Lt. E.W. De la Mare, RNR). (1)

3 Mar 1944

Convoy KMF 29A.

This convoy departed the Clyde on 3 March 1944 for Alexandria.

It was made up of the troop transport Strathnaver (British, 22283 GRT, built 1931). Also part of the convoy were the escort carriers HMS Atheling (Capt. R.I. Agnew, OBE, RCN), HMS Begum (A/Capt. J.E. Broome, DSC, RN) and the aircraft transports HMS Athene (T/A/Cdr. C.H. Moulton, RNR) and HMS Engadine (Capt. W.T. Fitzgerald, RD, RNR). These ships were ferrying aircraft.

Escort was provided by the light cruiser HMS Nigeria (Capt. S.H. Paton, RN), sloop HMIS Cauvery (A/Cdr. A.W. Beeton, RIN) and the frigates Cranstoun (Lt. E.W. Rainey, RN), HMS Deane (Lt. V.A. Hickson, DSO, RN), HMS Redmill (Lt. J.R.A. Denne, RN), HMS Findhorn (Lt.Cdr. J.C. Dawson, RD, RNR), HMS Lossie (Lt.Cdr. A.F. MacFie, OBE, RNR), HMS Shiel (Lt. H.P. Crail, DSC, RNR), HMS Spey (Cdr. G.A.G. Ormsby, RN) and HMS Taff (T/Lt.Cdr. A. Harrison, RNR).

Around 0800Z/6, the sloop HMS Erne (Lt.Cdr. W.R. Hickey, RNR) joined the convoy.

Around 1800Z/6, the frigates HMS Cranstoun, HMS Deane and HMS Redmill parted company with the convoy.

During the night of 9/10 March, HMS Nigeria fuelled at Gibraltar and then rejoined the convoy.

Around 1000A/11, HMS Erne parted company with the convoy to proceed to Algiers.

At 0137B/13, HMS Nigeria parted company with the convoy to proceed ahead of it to Port Said.

Around 1710A/13, the light cruiser HMS Phoebe (Capt. C.P. Frend, RN) joined the convoy.

Around 0600B/16, HMS Phoebe parted company with the convoy to proceed to Alexandria.

The convoy arrived at Port Said late in the afternoon of the 16th.

28 Mar 1944

Convoy AJ 2.

This convoy departed Aden on 28 March 1944.

It was made up of the transport; Aronda (British, 9031 GRT, built 1941).

The escort carriers HMS Atheling (Capt. R.I. Agnew, OBE, RCN), HMS Begum (A/Capt. J.E. Broome, DSC, RN) and aircraft transports HMS Athene (T/A/Cdr. C.H. Moulton, RNR) and HMS Engadine (Capt. W.T. Fitzgerald, RD, RNR) were also part of this convoy.

On departure from Aden they were escorted by the destroyer HMS Racehorse (Cdr. J.J. Casement, DSC, RN), sloop HMIS Cauvery (A/Cdr. A.W. Beeton, RIN) and the frigates HMS Lossie (Lt.Cdr. A.F. MacFie, OBE, RNR), HMS Spey (Cdr. G.A.G. Ormsby, RN) and HMS Taff (T/Lt.Cdr. A. Harrison, RNR).

At 0500E/2, the destroyer HMAS Nizam (Cdr. C.H. Brooks, RAN) joined coming from Addu Atoll.

The convoy arrived at Colombo on 4 April 1944.

1 Sep 1944
The British merchant Troilus is torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-859 about 300 nautical miles north-east of Socotra Island in position 14°10'N, 61°04'E. Later HMS Nadder (T/A/Lt.Cdr. P.E. Kitto, RNR) and HMS Taff (Cdr. G.A.G. Ormsby, DSO, DSC, RN) together pick up 95 survivors and landed them at Aden on 10 September.

Sources

  1. ADM 173/19347

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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