| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Corvette |
| Class | Flower |
| Pennant | K 78 |
| Built by | Harland & Wolff Ltd. (Belfast, Northern Ireland) |
| Ordered | 19 Sep 1939 |
| Laid down | 22 May 1940 |
| Launched | 2 Sep 1940 |
| Commissioned | 18 Oct 1940 |
| End service | |
| History | HMS Rhododendron is not listed as active unit in the July 1945 Navy List. Sold on 17 May 1947. |
Commands listed for HMS Rhododendron (K 78)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. William Nelson Mitchell Faichney, RNR | 8 Sep 1940 | Feb 1941 | |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. William Nelson Mitchell Faichney, DSO, RNR | Apr 1941 | 5 Sep 1941 | |
| 3 | Lt. Harold Ivor Davis, RNVR | 5 Sep 1941 | 8 Apr 1942 | |
| 4 | Lt. Louis Alan Sayers, RNR | 28 Apr 1942 | mid 1943 | |
| 5 | T/Lt. Oliver Birrell Medley, RNVR | mid 1943 | 3 Aug 1944 | |
| 6 | Lt. Gordon Leslie Frank Melville, RNR | 3 Aug 1944 | 14 Oct 1944 | |
| 7 | T/A/Lt.Cdr. Henry Vernon, RNR | 14 Oct 1944 | 21 Jan 1945 | |
| 8 | T/Lt. Ralph Smith Mortimer, RNR | 21 Jan 1945 | Apr 1945 ? | |
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Noteable events involving Rhododendron include:
21 Nov 1940
German U-boat U-103 was attacked with depth charges by the British corvette HMS Rhododendron (Lt.Cdr. W.N.H. Faichney, RNR) north-west of Ireland, in position 56°28'N, 14°13'W. This attack is often credited with the destruction of U-104, this is however not the case and the cause of U-104's loss is still not clear. (see map)
21 Nov 1940
Rhododendron (Lt.Cdr. W.N.H. Faichney, RNR) picks up 36 survivors from the British merchant Daydawn that was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat U-103 about 250 nautical miles west of Bloody Foreland in position 56°30'N, 14°10'W.
17 Jan 1941
HMS Rhododendron (Lt.Cdr. W.N.H. Faichney, RNR) is damaged when she detonates a mine in
Liverpool harbour. She was out of service for about three months.
28 Jul 1941
The British merchant Lapland is torpedoed and sunk north-west of Cape Finisterre in position 40°36'N, 15°30'W by German U-boat U-203. 26 survivors were later picked up by HMS Rhododendron (Lt.Cdr. W.N.H. Faichney, DSO, RNR).
4 Jul 1943
Between 2100 and 2145 hours on 4 July 1943 the British passenger ship City of Venice and the British merchant St. Essylt were torpedoed and sunk off Cape Tenez, Algeria in position 36°44'N, 01°31'E. (The St. Essylt caught fire and blew up next morning.)
461 of the crew of and troops the City of Venice was carrying were rescued by the British corvettes HMS Honeysuckle (Lt. H.H.D. MacKillican, DSC, RNR), HMS Rhododendron (Lt. O.B. Medley, RNVR), the British frigate HMS Teviot (Cdr. T. Taylor, DSC, RN) and the British rescue tug HMRT Restive (Lt. D.M. Richards, RNR).
397 of the crew and troop of the St. Essylt were picked up by HMS Honeysuckle, HMS Rhododendron and HMRT Restive. (see map)