HMS Faulknor ( H62 ) HMS " Faulknor " was a F - class destroyer flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy in commission from 1934 . The ship had a particularly active operational role during World War II , being awarded 11 battle honour s , and was known as " The hardest worked destroyer in the Fleet " . She was the first ship to sink a German U - boat , took part in the Norwegian Campaign , served with " Force H " in the Mediterranean on the Malta Convoys , escorted convoys to Russia and across the Atlantic , and saw action during the invasions of Sicily , Italy and Normandy , and was at the liberation of the Channel Islands . She was then decommissioned and sold for scrap in late 1945 . Construction . The ship was ordered from Yarrows at Scotstoun under the 1932 Programme . She was laid down on 31 July 1933 , and launched on 12 June 1934 , as the third RN warship to carry this name . " Faulknor " was completed on 24 May 1935 at a cost of £271 , 886 , excluding items supplied by the Admiralty such as guns , ammunition and communications equipment . As the flotilla leader for the 1932 programme of destroyers , she was built to the same design as , flotilla leader for the 1931 programme of s , which marked a return to building flotilla leaders to an enlarged design , the most obvious difference being the additional 4 . 7 inch ( 120 mm ) gun between the funnels in the ' Q ' position . Overall , " Faulknor " was only slightly larger than normal F - class destroyers in terms of length , beam , and draught , although she displaced an additional tons , and had a complement of 175 , compared to the standard F - class complement of 145 . Service history . World War II . Home Fleet and Norway , September 1939 – June 1940 . Operating in the North - West Approaches , she took part in the sinking of and in September , and in May , in unsuccessful patrols seeking to engage German battleships , and in convoy escort duties . In April and May 1940 she was deployed to support Allied operations at Narvik in northern Norway , attacking shore targets , and carrying out anti - submarine patrols . After repairs in June she was transferred with the flotilla to Force H at Gibraltar . Force H , July 1940 – August 1941 . In July 1940 " Faulknor " took part in the attack on the French Fleet at Mers - el - Kébir , and was then deployed with the Flotilla in screening ships engaged in protecting convoys carrying troops and supplies to the besieged island of Malta . These included Operation MB8 , Operation Collar - which lead to the indecisive Battle of Cape Spartivento - " Operation Excess " and Operation Substance , as well as offensive operations against airfields in Sardinia . From August to October 1940 " Faulknor " was detached to support the Free French landings at Dakar in Operation Menace , supporting operations off West Africa before returning to Force H at Gibraltar . In June 1941 she participated in the sinking of and in the interception of the German supply ship SS " Alstertor " . Arctic and Atlantic convoys , August 1941 – June 1943 . In August 1941 " Faulknor " returned to the UK to repair at Southampton , returning to duty with the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow in November , and was part of the escort to the battleship taking Prime Minister Winston Churchill to meet with U . S President Roosevelt in the Atlantic Conference in December 1941 . In 1942 she was deployed with units of the Home Fleet escorting convoys to Russia . These included Convoy PQ 9 / 10 in February , Convoy PQ 12 and Convoy PQ 13 in March , Convoy PQ 14 and Convoy PQ 15 in April , Convoy PQ 16 in May , and Convoy PQ 17 in June . She also took part in attempted attacks on the in March . In July " Faulknor " refitted at a shipyard at Hull , where Type 285 fire control radar and Type 286PQ warning radar was fitted , a HA gun replaced the 4 . 7 - inch mounting in the X position , and the after torpedo tube mounting was also replaced . She then returned to convoy escort duty , screening Convoy PQ 18 in September , and sinking the south of Spitsbergen . In October she escorted returning Convoy QP 15 , and Convoy JW 51A in December . Further escort duty followed in 1943 , escorting Convoy JW 52 in January , Convoy JW 53 in February , and Convoy RA 53 in March . In April she was detached for convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic with the Flotilla as the 4th Escort Group , escorting convoys HX 234 , SC 127 , ONS 6 , ONS 182 , and HX 239 . Mediterranean and Aegean , June 1943 – March 1944 . In June 1943 " Faulknor " rejoined the 8th Destroyer Flotilla for Fleet duties in the Mediterranean , arriving at Alexandria on 5 July to support the Allied invasion of Sicily ( Operation Husky ) . She served as part of the screen for the covering force in the Ionian Sea ( two aircraft carriers , three battleships , and four cruisers with 17 other Allied destroyers ) . After screening and patrol duties in August , she supported Allied landings on the Italian mainland ( Operation Baytown ) and at Salerno ( Operation Avalanche ) with destroyers of 4th , 8th and 24th Flotillas . She was then detached with other destroyers to screen ships escorting the Italian Fleet to Alexandria via Malta , and then was transferred to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Allied operations in defence of Aegean Islands against German invasion . She transported troops to Leros , carried out patrols , sank several cargo ships and landing craft , and carried out bombardments of shore positions before the operation was abandoned in November . In December " Faulknor " supported military operations on the west coast of Italy , escorting the landing ships and with No . 9 Commando for a landing north of the Garigliano ( Operation Partridge ) , then carrying out diversionary bombardments . In January 1944 she took part in the landings at Anzio ( Operation Shingle ) , providing naval gunfire support and anti - aircraft defence during the initial landings , then as a patrol and escort ship into March . Normandy and the Channel , April 1944 – May 1945 . In April 1944 , " Faulknor " returned to Scapa Flow to support the Normandy landings ( Operation Neptune ) joining ten other destroyers in Force J of the Eastern Task Force , and assigned to attack the beach defences west of La Riviere . On 27 April she sailed to the Solent for exercises . She sailed for Normandy on 4 June , but was recalled when the operation was postponed for 24 hours . On the 5th she sailed with Convoy J1 , made up of the 9th Minesweeping Flotilla , four Danlayer s , a Harbour Defence Motor Launch and the 1st Division of 159 BYMS Flotilla . On the morning on 6 June she provided naval gunfire support off Juno Beach , returning to Portsmouth to re - ammunition later in the day . On the 7th she returned to Normandy with General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery , the Allied Land Forces Commander for the initial phase of the invasion , on board for transport to the beachhead to set up his Tactical HQ . She was then deployed on patrols , anti - aircraft defence , and ferrying duties . On the 24th she embarked the First Sea Lord Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Cunningham , the Second Sea Lord Admiral Algernon Willis , the Naval Secretary Admiral Cecil Harcourt , and the Lord Privy Seal Lord Beaverbrook at Portsmouth to visit the Assault Area . After arrival the flag of Admiral Bertram Ramsay , the Allied naval commander was worn during a visit by Admiral Alan G . Kirk , the U . S . naval commander . She returned to Portsmouth with her passengers same day . " Faulknor " was released from duty in July and sailed to Grimsby for repairs . In September she was deployed for support and convoy defence duty in the Channel , and in October joined the 14th Escort Group based at Milford Haven , employed in the Irish Sea , English Channel and the South - West Approaches . In December she rejoined the reformed 8th Destroyer Flotilla at Plymouth , and was deployed for the defence of Channel convoys . On 8 May 1945 she accepted the surrender of the German garrison at Saint Peter Port , Guernsey , and on the 17th escorted six German minesweepers and two patrol boats to the UK . On 6 June she escorted the cruiser taking King George VI to visit the Channel Islands . Decommissioning and disposal , July 1945 – April 1946 . In July " Faulknor " was reduced to the Reserve and de - stored at Plymouth , then sailed to Dartmouth to decommission on the 25th . She was put on the Disposal List in December 1945 , and was sold on 21 January 1946 to British Iron & Steel Corporation ( BISCO ) for breaking - up by T . W . Ward at Milford Haven . After being stripped of equipment at Plymouth in March she was towed to the breaker ' s yard , arriving on 4 April 1946 .