HMS Peony (K40)

HMS "Peony" (K40) was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy. She also served in the Royal Hellenic Navy as RHS "Sachtouris". The ships pennant number was not changed upon transfer.

Royal Navy

Throughout her career with the Royal Navy, "Peony" escorted convoys. She primarily escorted convoys in home waters, but was sometimes called upon to escort convoys in the Mediterranean Sea and to Freetown.

In late 1940 through to early 1941, she was part of the 10th Corvette Group, Mediterranean Fleet based in Alexandria. While based there, she escorted numerous convoys to Malta. In February 1941, she was equipped for minesweeping duties as there were not enough minesweepers available. In July 1941, she assisted in the transportation of men to Cyprus. She carried out anti-submarine operations off Cyprus during the following months. She attacked a U-boat on 8 October 1941 with HMAS "Vendetta", three corvettes and two anti-submarine aircraft, but the U-boat escaped.

In December 1941, while escorting Mediterranean convoy AT-6 (from Alexandria to Tobruk), she came under attack by "U-559" which torpedoed the Polish steamer "Warszawa". "Peony" took the stricken ship in tow until another torpedo hit from the U-boat doomed the steamer and she sank. "Peony" and HMS "Avon Vale" rescued some survivors, but 23 people died in the strike.

Royal Hellenic Navy

In 1943, "Peony" was transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy, where she was re-named "Sachtouris" ( _el. ΒΠ Σαχτούρης) after Georgios Sachtouris, an admiral during the Greek War of Independence. She was the first ship to bear this name, the second being the "Gearing" class destroyer USS "Arnold J. Isbell". Interestingly, the corvette was the second HMS "Peony" to be transferred to the Hellenic Navy: the first was a seaplane tender, which was captured by the Germans in 1941 and was still afloat when this ship was transferred, but sank after hitting a mine in the same year. [ [http://www.leander-project.homecall.co.uk/Sloops.html Steel Sloops ] ]

She served the remainder of the Second World War under the Greek flag. She also served in the Greek Civil War, which started after the end of the Second World War.

In 1947, the United States proclaimed that it would support the Greek government in its war against against the Communist guerrillas in what became known as the Truman Doctrine. In the early 1950s, the Mutual Defense Assistance Act started the transfer of American ships to Greece. Four "Cannon" class destroyers entered Greek service and so the old British Flower class corvettes were superseded.

"Sachtouris" was returned to the Royal Navy in September 1951 and was scrapped on 21 April 1952.

References

ources

* [http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/class.html?ID=42 Flower class Corvettes]
* [http://www.naval-history.net/ NAVAL-HISTORY.NET]