1943
In late February or early March 1943,after completing acceptance trials and fitting out,Brissenden proceeded to Scapa Flow for work-up training,during which she undertook patrols in the Western Approaches. On 21 April she joined Convoy WS29A as a local escort alongside Anthony and Lewes . On 26 April,she was relieved by Boreas and returned to the Home Fleet for further training.
In May,she was assigned to support the Allied invasion of Sicily. On 21 June,she joined Convoy WS31/KMF17 en route to Gibraltar,along with other Home Fleet vessels earmarked for the operation. She remained with KMF17 after the convoys split,continuing as escort alongside the cruiser HMS Uganda . WS31 proceeded independently via the Cape of Good Hope.
At the beginning of July,Brissenden joined the 58th Destroyer Flotilla,moving to the Bône Peninsula to support the eastern flank of the landings. On 7 July,she escorted Convoy KMF18 as part of Escort Group V,alongside HMS Blankney , HMS Blencathra , Brecon and Brocklesby . She refuelled on 9 July before resuming escort duty.
On 10 July,she arrived off the Bark West landing zone with KMF18,detaching to provide naval gunfire support during the landings and to patrol the landing area. She was tasked,alongside Blankney,with securing the port of Pozzallo.
On 13 July,Blankney accidentally collided with Brissenden,causing serious damage to her port bow. She was sent to Malta for initial repairs before being transferred home. She entered dry dock at Liverpool on 21 August. Upon completion,she was reassigned to the 15th Destroyer Flotilla at Plymouth and resumed service on 2 October. Thereafter,she conducted convoy escort duties and patrolled English Channel shipping lanes until being reassigned to the Home Fleet in November.
On 10 November,she joined Convoy RA54A returning from the Kola Peninsula alongside Middleton and HMS Halcyon ,escorting the final leg to Loch Ewe. She detached on 13 November,then joined Convoy JW54A outbound to the Soviet Union with Termagant and the Polish Navy's ORP Burza ,escorting the convoy to Iceland. She left the group on 18 November once the main convoy had arrived,then returned to her flotilla at Plymouth.
1944
In early 1944,Brissenden remained with her flotilla in Plymouth. In February,she was assigned to Operation Tunnel,aimed at intercepting German E-boats operating from bases along the French coast. On 5 February,she took part in a naval action off the north coast of Brittany with HMS Tanatside , HMS Talybont and HMS Wensleydale against the German torpedo boat T-29 and minesweepers M-156 and M-206 . [3]
On 15 March,while escorting Convoy WP492 north of Land's End with HMS Melbreak (L73),she repelled a torpedo boat attack in which S143 was damaged. Brissenden continued with escort duties until assigned in May to Force B for the Normandy landings.
In May,she took part in preparatory exercises for the invasion. In early June,she joined Force B at Milford Haven with Wensleydale. On 5 June,she deployed to the English Channel to intercept German naval forces attempting to disrupt the landings in the western sector. On 12 June,Brissenden and Wensleydale repelled an E-boat attack against the beachhead. On 22 June,as the weather cleared,Luftwaffe activity intensified and Brissenden came under air attack. After release from invasion duties,she resumed convoy escort operations in the Channel until entering refit at Pembroke Dock in December.
Postwar and fate
She remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1947,during which she undertook coastal patrols off Mandatory Palestine. Upon her return to the United Kingdom,she was decommissioned and placed in reserve at Portsmouth on 19 June 1948. [5]
The Government of Kuwait expressed interest in acquiring the vessel for conversion into a royal yacht,but the proposal was ultimately abandoned. [6] In 1962,she was marked for disposal and sold on 18 February 1965 to the British Iron &Steel Corporation (BISCO) for £29,000. She was handed over to W. H. Arnott,Young and Company Ltd. of Dalmuir for scrapping,arriving under tow on 3 March 1965.
United Kingdom