 HMS Nith during WWII | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSNith |
| Namesake | River Nith |
| Builder | Henry Robb Ltd.,Leith |
| Laid down | 5 September 1941 |
| Launched | 25 September 1942 |
| Commissioned | 16 February 1943 |
| Fate | Sold toEgyptian Navy in 1948 |
| History | |
 Republic of Egypt | |
| Name | Domiat |
| Namesake | Damietta |
| Commissioned | 1948 |
| Fate | Sunk 31 October 1956 |
| General characteristics As built | |
| Displacement | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 36 ft 6 in (11.1 m) |
| Draught | 9 ft (2.7 m); 13 ft (4.0 m) (deep load) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts,reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 7,200 nmi (13,300 km; 8,300 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) with; 440long tons (447 t) oil fuel |
| Complement | 107 |
| Armament |
|
HMSNith was aRiver-class frigate of theRoyal Navy duringWorld War II. In 1948, she was transferred to theEgyptian Navy and given the nameDomiat.
During the war, the ship served inNormandy, India, the Far East, and in theReserve Fleet atHarwich, England.[1][2]
Having failed her sea trials due to lack of speed, HMSNith was prepared as a Brigade headquarters ship for theD-DayNormandy landings, acting as the231st Infantry Brigade HQ, delivering Brigadier StanierAlexander Beville Gibbons Stanier toGold Beach.[3][better source needed] HMSNith was then detailed with the task of coordinating landing ships going ashore offCourseulles, and as a result of craft not being able to identify her, theNith had her bridge painted orange.[citation needed]
On being stationed offshore, a crewman from theNith recollects seeing a German mini-sub moored to a British minesweeper aft of HMSNith. The mini-sub still contained the dead pilot in its cockpit, with a shell hole through the mini-sub canopy clearly visible. Subsequent efforts to trace the history of this mini-sub have proved fruitless.[citation needed]
On the night of 23 / 24 June 1944, whilst in theBaie de Seine, HMSNith was severely damaged by aMistel, a German prototype drone aircraft packed with explosives, remotely controlled by a mother aircraft that released the drone after being previously attached to it. Nine crew were instantly killed and wereburied at sea, with a tenth succumbing to his wounds shortly after. This tenth casualty being buried inHollybrook CWGC cemetery inSouthampton. An Americanhospital ship took off the twenty six wounded and theNith was then towed back toWhites shipyard atCowes on theIsle of Wight for repairs.[2][better source needed]
By October 2024, HMSNith had been repaired since theMistel attack and was then sent to the Far East theatre, where on occasion she transported Japanese PoWs. HMSNith took part in theRangoon victoryfleet review undertaken byLord Mountbatten in June 1945. HMSNith can be seen in a newsreel of the review.[4]
In 1948, she was transferred to theEgyptian Navy and given the nameDomiat.
As part of theSuez Crisis, on the night of 31 October 1956 in the northern Red Sea, the Britishlight cruiserHMSNewfoundland challenged and engaged the Egyptian frigateDomiat, reducing it to a burning hulk in a brief gun battle. The Egyptian warship was then sunk by escorting destroyerHMSDiana, with 69 surviving Egyptian sailors rescued.[5][6]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1956 | |
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