| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | G |
| Pennant | H 31 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.): Parsons |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 20 Sep 1934 |
| Launched | 15 Aug 1935 |
| Commissioned | 6 Jun 1936 |
| End service | 20 Mar 1943 |
| Loss position | |
| History | Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy as HMCS Ottawa on 20 March 1943. HMCS Ottawa was decommissioned on 31 October 1945 and scrapped in January 1946. Commanding Officers: Capt. Hugh St. Lawrence Nicholson, DSO, RN Lt.Cdr. Paul Markham Whatley, RN Lt.Cdr. Arthur Nicholl Rowell, RN HMS Griffin was in Dockyard Control during refit prior to transfer to the Royal Canadian Navy |
| Career notes | Became the Canadian destroyer Ottawa (H 31) |
Commands listed for HMS Griffin (H 31)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. John Lee-Barber, RN | 10 Jan 1939 | 19 Nov 1941 | |
| 2 | Capt. Hugh St. Lawrence Nicolson, DSO, RN | 19 Nov 1941 | ??? | |
| 3 | Lt. Paul Markham Whatley, RN | ??? | Oct 1942 | |
| 4 | Lt.Cdr. Arthur Nichol Rowell, RN | Oct 1942 | ??? | |
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Noteable events involving Griffin include:
21 Nov 1939
Around 2100 hours the British destroyers
HMS Griffin (Lt.Cdr. J. Lee-Barber, RN with Capt. G.E. Creasy, MVO, RN aboard), HMS Gipsy (Lt.Cdr. N.J. Crossley, RN), HMS Keith (Cdr. H.T.W. Pawsey, OBE, RN), HMS Boadicea (Lt.Cdr. G.B. Kingdon, RN) and the Polish destroyer Grom (Lt.Cdr. A. Hulewicz, ORP) were ordered to leave Harwich and establish a patrol in the North Sea. Shortly before that, a German He 59 seaplane dropped two magnetic mines nearby, but there was no time for searching. HMS Gipsy hit one of those mines which tore her into two pieces. Most of the survivors were picked up by HMS Griffin and HMS Keith.
18 Dec 1939
The British destroyers HMS Grenville (Capt. G.E. Creasy, MVO, RN), HMS Greyhound (Cdr. W.R. Marshall-A'Deane, RN), HMS Griffin (Lt.Cdr. J. Lee-Barber, RN) and the Polish destroyer Blyskawica (Lt.Cdr. J. Umecki, ORP) formed the escort of two British minelayers which conducted a night operation off the German coast. Mines were laid between Sylt Island and the harbor of Emden.
13 Jul 1940
Shortly after leaving Dover, escorting a convoy HMS Vanessa (Lt.Cdr. E.A. Stocker, DSC, RN) was damaged by near misses during a German air attack. Vanessa's propellers were damaged and put out of action by a bomb exploding 6 yards astern. Vanessa was towed to Sheerness by HMS Griffin (Lt.Cdr. J. Lee-Barber, RN). Repairs to Vanessa were completed on 4 November 1940.
8 Aug 1940
HMS Griffin (Lt.Cdr. J. Lee-Barber, DSO, RN) picks up 766 survivors from the British troop transport Mohamed Ali El-Kebir that was torpedoed and sunk the previous day by the German submarine U-38 about 230 nautical miles west of Bloody Foreland in position 55º22'N, 13º18'W.
20 Oct 1940
The Italian submarine Lafolè was sunk north off Melilla in position 36º00'N, 03º00'W by the British destroyers HMS Gallant (Lt.Cdr. C.P.F. Brown, RN), HMS Hotspur (Cdr. H.F.H. Layman, DSO, RN) and HMS Griffin (Lt.Cdr. J. Lee-Barber, DSO, RN). (see map)