Virago at anchor on the River Tyne, October 1943 |
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| Career (United Kingdom) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Virago (R75) HMS Virago (F76) |
| Ordered: | 1 September 1941 |
| Builder: | Swan Hunter |
| Laid down: | 16 February 1942 |
| Launched: | 4 February 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 5 November 1943 |
| Decommissioned: | 1963 |
| Honours and awards: |
Arctic 1943-44 North Cape 1943 Normandy 1944 Malaya 1945 Burma 1945 |
| Fate: | Scrapped 4 June 1965 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | V-class destroyer |
HMS Virago (R75) was an V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War II. She was later converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, with the new pennant number F76. She participated with other British destroyers in the Battle of North Cape, where her torpedoes sank the badly beaten Scharnhorst, following a fierce fight between the battleship and HMS Duke of York (17). During the Invasion of Normandy she fired on German positions behind Lion Sur Mer on Sword beach, and gave cover fire for troops advancing inland.
She participated in the Battle of the Malacca Strait with HMS Saumarez, Verulam, Venus and Vigilant which culminated in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser Haguro on the 16 May 1945.
In 1946, Virago and Venus participated in the rescue of crew from the British tanker Empire Cross, which caught fire, exploded and sank at Haifa, Palestine,[1] with the loss of up to 25 lives.[2]
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