HMAS Napier (G97)

HMAS Napier in 1944

For other ships of this name, see HMS Napier.

HMS Napier (G97), named for Admiral Sir Charles Napier RN (1786-1860), was an N-class destroyer of the Royal Navy.

She was laid down by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, at Govan in Scotland on 26 July 1939. she was launched on 22 May 1940 and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy on 11 December 1940 as HMAS Napier with an Australian crew, although she remained the property of the British Government. During her Australian service, Napier served with the British Eastern Fleet between February 1942 and February 1945, and was present in Tokyo Bay on Victory over Japan Day (2 September 1945), when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed. ^[1] Her Australian crew left on 25 October 1945 and she reverted to the Royal Navy.

Napier was sold for scrap to Thomas W. Ward and arrived at Briton Ferry on 17 January 1956 where she was broken up.

[edit] References

^ Allied Ships Present in Tokyo Bay During the Surrender Ceremony, 2 September 1945. Naval Historical Center - U.S. Navy (27 May 2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-13. “Taken from Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPAC/CINCPOA) A16-3/FF12 Serial 0395, 11 February 1946: Report of Surrender and Occupation of Japan”