Allied Warships

HMS Tuscan (R 56)

Destroyer of the T class

Navy	The Royal Navy
Type	Destroyer
Class	T
Pennant	R 56
Built by	Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (Wallsend-on-Tyne, U.K.): Wallsend
Ordered	13 Mar 1941
Laid down	6 Sep 1941
Launched	28 May 1942
Commissioned	11 Mar 1943
End service
History	Scrapped at Bo'ness in May 1966.

Commands listed for HMS Tuscan (R 56)

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	Commander	From	To
1	Lt.Cdr. George Ian Mackintosh Balfour, RN	24 Jan 1943	6 Jun 1943

2	Lt.Cdr. Cecil Hugo de Boisville Newby, RN	12 Jul 1943	Mar 1944
3	Lt.Cdr. Ernest Norman Wood, DSC, RNVR	Mar 1944	22 Jan 1945
4	Lt.Cdr. Peter Barthrop North Lewis, DSC, RN	22 Jan 1945	mid 1946

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Notable events involving Tuscan include:

1 Apr 1943
HrMs O 14 (Lt.Cdr. H.A.W. Goossens, RNN) conducted A/S exercises at / off Scapa Flow with HMS Anthony (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Wallace, DSC, RN), HMS Arrow (Lt.Cdr. W.W. Fitzroy, RN) and HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN). (1)

3 Apr 1943
HrMs O 14 (Lt.Cdr. H.A.W. Goossens, RNN) conducted A/S exercises at / off Scapa Flow with HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN), HMS Anthony (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Wallace, DSC, RN) and HMS Troubridge (Capt. C.L. Firth, MVO, RN). (1)

5 Apr 1943
HrMs O 14 (Lt.Cdr. H.A.W. Goossens, RNN) conducted A/S exercises at / off Scapa Flow with HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN), HMS Anthony (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Wallace, DSC, RN) and HMS Arrow (Lt.Cdr. W.W. Fitzroy, RN). (1)

7 Apr 1943
HMS Universal (Lt. C. Gordon, RN) conducted practice attacks at Scapa Flow with officers participating in the C.O.Q.C. (Commanding Officers Qualifying Course). HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN) served as target. (2)

9 Apr 1943
HrMs O 14 (Lt.Cdr. H.A.W. Goossens, RNN) conducted A/S exercises at / off Scapa Flow with HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN), HMS Lauderdale (Lt. G.D. Pound, DSC, RN), HMS Stevenstone (Lt. P.B.N. Lewis, DSC, RN) and HMS Anthony (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Wallace, DSC, RN). (1)

12 Apr 1943
HrMs O 14 (Lt.Cdr. H.A.W. Goossens, RNN) conducted A/S exercises at / off Scapa Flow with HMS Stevenstone (Lt. P.B.N. Lewis, DSC, RN), HMS Milne (Capt. I.M.R. Campbell, DSO, RN), HMS Troubridge (Capt. C.L. Firth, MVO, RN) and HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN). (1)

15 Apr 1943
HrMs O 14 (Lt.Cdr. H.A.W. Goossens, RNN) conducted A/S exercises at / off Scapa Flow with HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN) and HMS Active (Lt.Cdr. P.G. Merriman, RN). (1)

14 May 1943
HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. G.I.M. Balfour, RN) is damaged when she hits a drifting mine in the Bristol Channel. She is out of action for about 4 months.

13 Nov 1943
HMS Spiteful (Lt.Cdr. F.H. Sherwood, DSC, RCNVR) conducted A/S exercises at Scapa Flow with HMS Ariadne (Capt. Lord Ashbourne, RN), HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. C.H.de B. Newby, RN), HMS Virago (Lt.Cdr. A.J.R. White, RN), HMIS Cauvery (A/Cdr. A.W. Beeton, RIN) and another vessel. (3)

22 Nov 1943
HMS Taku (Lt. A.J.W. Pitt, RN) participated in A/S exercises off Scapa Flow together with HMS Tenacious (Lt.Cdr. D.F. Townsend, RN), HMS Termagent (Lt.Cdr. J.P. Scatchard, DSC, RN) and HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. C.H.de B. Newby, RN). (4)

27 Nov 1943
HMS Taku (Lt. A.J.W. Pitt, RN) participated in A/S exercises off Scapa Flow together with HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. C.H.de B. Newby, RN) and HMS Virago (Lt.Cdr. A.J.R. White, RN). (4)

30 Nov 1943
HMS Taku (Lt. A.J.W. Pitt, RN) participated in A/S exercises off Scapa Flow together with HMS Bellona (Capt. C.F.W. Norris, RN), HMS Meteor (Lt.Cdr. D.J.B. Jewitt, RN), HMIS Cauvery (A/Cdr. A.W. Beeton, RIN) and HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. C.H.de B. Newby, RN). (4)

10 Dec 1943
HMS Telemachus (Cdr. W.D.A. King, DSO, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Scapa Flow together with HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. C.H.de B. Newby, RN), HMS Tenacious (Lt.Cdr. D.F. Townsend, RN), HMS Meteor (Lt.Cdr. D.J.B. Jewitt, RN) and HMS Hardy (Lt.Cdr. R. Horncastle, RN). (5)

30 Dec 1943
At 1745/30, the battleships HMS Queen Elizabeth (Capt. H.G. Norman, CBE, RN), HMS Valiant (Capt. G.E.M. O’Donnell, DSO, RN) and the battlecruiser HMS Renown (Capt. B.C.B. Brooke, RN, flying the flag of Vice Admiral A.J. Power, KCB, CVO, RN, second in command of the Eastern Fleet) departed Scapa Flow with the ultimate destination, Trincomalee, Ceylon. On departure from Scapa Flow these ships were escorted by the destroyer HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. C.H.de B. Newby, RN) and the frigates HMS Berry (T/A/Lt.Cdr. C.S. Pirie, RNVR), HMS Blackwood (Lt.Cdr. L.T. Sly, RD, RNR) and HMS Domett (T/A/Lt.Cdr. S. Gordon, RNVR). These ships proceeded through the Minches and were joined around 1100/31 by the aircraft carriers HMS Illustrious (Capt. R.L.B. Cunliffe, RN, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral C. Moody, CB, RN), HMS Unicorn (Capt. H.L.St.J. Fancourt, DSO, RN) escorted by the destroyers HMS Termagent (Lt.Cdr. J.P. Scatchard, DSC, RN), HMS Tenacious (Lt.Cdr. D.F. Townsend, RN) and HMS Kempenfelt (Lt.Cdr. J.B. Marjoribanks, RN). These ships had departed the Clyde around 2200/30. The frigates HMS Cooke (Lt.Cdr. L.C. Hill, OBE, RD, RNR), HMS Duckworth (Cdr. R.G. Mills, DSO, DSC and Bar, RN), HMS Essington (A/Lt.Cdr. W. Lambert, RNVR) and HMS Parrett (Lt.Cdr.(Retd.) T. Hood, RNR) also joined. They came from Londonderry, Northern Ireland. HMS Tuscan was now detached to the Clyde to make repairs as she had sustained weather damage during the passage from Scapa Flow. (6)

11 Aug 1945
HMS Virtue (Lt. R.D. Cairns, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Sydney with (at least) HMS Tuscan (Lt.Cdr. P.B.N. Lewis, DSC, RN). (7)