HMS Teazer (R23)

	HMS Teazer in September 1943
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Teazer
Ordered	March 1941
Builder	Cammell Laird
Yard number	1099
Laid down	20 October 1941
Launched	7 January 1943
Commissioned	13 September 1943
Reclassified	Converted to Type 16 frigate 1952
Identification	Pennant number: R23 (F23 after 1954)
Honours and; awards	Mediterranean 1943; Adriatic 1944; South France 1944; Aegean 1944;
Fate	Scrapped 7 August 1965
General characteristics as T–class
Class and type	T-class destroyer
Displacement	1,710 long tons (1,737 t) - 1,730 long tons (1,758 t) (standard nominal); 1,780 long tons (1,809 t) - 1,810 long tons (1,839 t) (actual); 2,505 long tons (2,545 t) - 2,545 long tons (2,586 t) (deep load);
Length	339 ft 6 in (103.48 m) pp; 362 ft 9 in (110.57 m) oa;
Beam	35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
Draught	14 ft 2 in (4.32 m)
Propulsion	2 shaft Parsons geared turbines; 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers; 40,000 shp (30,000 kW);
Speed	36.75 knots (42.29 mph; 68.06 km/h)
Complement	180-225
Armament	4 × 4.7-inch (120-mm) QF Mk IX guns (4×1); 2 × 40mm Bofors (1x2); 8 × 20 mm guns anti-aircraft guns; 8 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2×4);
General characteristics as Type 16
Class and type	Type 16 frigate
Displacement	1,800 long tons (1,800 t) standard; 2,300 long tons (2,300 t) full load;
Length	362 ft 9 in (110.57 m) o/a
Beam	37 ft 9 in (11.51 m)
Draught	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Propulsion	2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers; Steam turbines, 40,000 shp; 2 shafts;
Speed	32 knots (37 mph; 59 km/h) full load
Complement	175
Sensors and ; processing systems	Type 293Q target indication Radar; Type 974 navigation Radar; Type 1010 Cossor Mark 10 IFF; Type 146B search Sonar; Type 147 depth finder Sonar; Type 162 target classification Sonar; Type 174 attack Sonar;
Armament	1 × twin 4 in gun Mark 19; 1 × twin 40 mm Bofors gun Mk.5; 5 × single 40 mm Bofors gun Mk.9; 2 × Squid A/S mortar; 1 × quad 21 in (533 mm) tubes for Mk.9 torpedoes;

HMS Teazer was a T-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. She was later converted to a Type 16 fast anti-submarine frigate, with the new pennant number F23.

Service history

Wartime service

During September 1943, Teazer underwent builder's trials before being commissioned. Upon commissioning, she was accepted into the 24th Destroyer Flotilla. Upon deployment with the flotilla, Teazer underwent working up exercises in Scapa Flow before sailing for the Mediterranean theatre, where, in November, she supported ground operations by the British X Corps in the Minturno sector.

In July 1944, she was placed under U.S. Navy command and was one of the ships scheduled to support the landing in the South of France as part of Operation Dragoon.

During the Allied withdrawal form the Aegean Sea in 1944, Teazer was responsible for the sinking of the transport ship KT Erpel and the submarine chaser UJ2171 off Cape Spatha.

In May 1945, following a refit in January and February, she was assigned to Task Force 57 and then Task Force 37 in the Pacific and was responsible for providing an escort screen to the large Royal Navy carriers used in raids on the Japanese Home Islands.

With the surrender of the Japanese, she was present at the surrender ceremony on 27 August 1945 in Tokyo Bay.

Postwar service

Between 1946 and 1953, Teazer was held in reserve at Devonport. Between 1953 and 1954, she was converted into a Type 16 fast anti-submarine frigate, by Mountstuart Dry Docks, Cardiff, with the new pennant number F23^[1] In January 1959, she replaced Grenville in the 2nd Training Squadron.

Decommissioning and disposal

Following decommissioning, Teazer was placed on the disposal list in September 1961. She was subsequently sold to Arnott Young, Dalmuir, for scrapping, arriving there on 7 August 1965.

In popular culture

In 1957, Teazer was used during the making of the film Yangtse Incident. She depicted both HMS Consort and HMS Concord.

Doctor Who companion, Ben Jackson, was assigned to Teazer, as shown on his uniform cap. Within the "Whoniverse", Teazer was still in service in 1966. In July that year, she had recently left England, bound for the West Indies, leaving Jackson seconded to a shore posting and very disappointed.^[2]

References

^ Critchley, p.60
^ The War Machines eps. 1 and 4.

Publications

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
Critchley, Mike (1982). British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.
Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.