HMS Onslaught was an O-class destroyer of the Royal Navy which entered service in 1941. She was originally to have been named Pathfinder, but this was changed during construction. She was adopted by the Isle of Wight as part of the Warship Week campaign in 1942. After the Second World War she was sold to Pakistan and scrapped in 1977.

HMS Onslaught FL17021
HMS Onslaught during the Second World War
History
United Kingdom
NameOnslaught
Ordered3 September 1939
BuilderFairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan
Laid down14 January 1941
Launched9 October 1941
Commissioned19 June 1942
IdentificationPennant number: G04 later D04
FateTransferred to Pakistan, 6 March 1951
Pakistan
NameTughril
Acquired6 March 1951
IdentificationPennant number F204 changed to 261 in 1963
FateScrapped 1977
General characteristics
Class and typeO-class destroyer
Displacement1,610 long tons (1,640 t) (standard)
Length345 ft (105.2 m) (o/a)
Beam35 ft (10.7 m)
Draught13 ft 6 in (4.1 m)
Installed power
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph)
Range3,850 nmi (7,130 km; 4,430 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement176+
Armament

Service history

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Second World War service

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On 19 June 1942 Onslaught was commissioned for service in the 17th Destroyer Flotilla, as part of the Home Fleet. She took part in convoy escort duties throughout the war, including the Arctic convoys and the Battle of the Atlantic.[1] She also undertook patrol duties in the English Channel during the Normandy landings in 1944.

Postwar service

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Onslaught remained in commission after VJ Day and in September 1945 was deployed for training duties at Portsmouth Gunnery School, HMS Excellent. In December she was detached to take part in Operation Deadlight, the destruction of surrendered U-boats in the Northwestern Approaches. Between 1946 and 1949 she was used as a submarine target ship in the Clyde. The ship was paid off early in 1950 and put on the Disposal List.

Pakistan service

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She was transferred to the Pakistan Navy on 3 March 1951 and renamed PNS Tughril.[2] In 1957 the ship was converted at Liverpool to a Type 16 anti-submarine frigate and remained on the Active List until 1975.[3] She was scrapped in 1977.

Notes

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  1. ^ "HMS Onslaught (G04) – O-class destroyer". naval-history.net. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  2. ^ Blackman, Raymond V B (ed.). Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. p. 195.
  3. ^ Critchley, Mike (1982). British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. p. 16. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.

References

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