HMS Diana (H49)

HMS Diana ( H49 ) was a destroyer of the D- class of the Royal Navy in World War II.

The ship was launched on 16 June 1932 as part of a class of eight destroyers at Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company in Hebburn -on- Tyne from the stack. Put into service, it was on 20 December 1932.

Along with her ​​sister ships HMS Diana formed the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, which was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet. Shortly before the Second World War, the ships were stationed in Hong Kong. They were then however ordered back into the Mediterranean.

Before the year was HMS Diana with its sister ships HMS HMS Dainty Duchess and the task of escorting the battleship HMS Barham of Malta in local waters. The destroyer was initially assigned to the Home Fleet.

In April 1940, the ship in the attempted defense of the German landing in Norway ( company Weserübung ) was used to cover ships of the Home Fleet.

In September 1940, the destroyer was delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy as a replacement for HMCS Fraser, who had briefly fallen before. The ship was renamed HMCS Margaree ( H49 ) and used as escort of convoys.

A few weeks later, on October 22, 1940, the ship however sank after a collision with a freighter in the North Atlantic. 140 people lost their lives.