| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | P |
| Pennant | G 56 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Newcastle-on-Tyne, U.K.) : Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 20 Oct 1939 |
| Laid down | 26 Dec 1939 |
| Launched | 27 Mar 1941 |
| Commissioned | 15 Jun 1942 |
| End service | |
| Loss position | |
| History | Scrapped at Bo-ness in June 1967.
Commanding Officers: Lt.Cdr. Rupert Cyril Egan, RN Petard refitting Lt.Cdr. Reginald Lacey Caple, DSC, RN |
| Former name | HMS Persistant |
Commands listed for HMS Petard (G 56)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. Mark Thornton, DSC, RN | 28 Apr 1942 | Jan 1943 | |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Rupert Cyril Egan, RN | 1 Jan 1943 | Sep 1944 ? | |
| 3 | Lt.Cdr. Reginald Lacey Caple, DSC, RN | Nov 1944 | Oct 1945 ? | |
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Noteable events involving Petard include:
30 Oct 1942
The German submarine U-559 was sunk in the Mediterranean north-east of Port Said, in position 32º30'N, 33º00'E, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Pakenham (Capt. E.B.K. Stevens, DSO, DSC, RN), HMS Petard (Lt.Cdr. M. Thornton, DSC, RN), HMS Hero (Lt. W. Scott, DSC, RN) and the British escort destroyers HMS Dulverton (Lt.Cdr. W.N. Petch, DSO, OBE, RN), HMS Hurworth (Lt.Cdr. J.T.B. Birch, DSO, DSC, RN) and a British Short Sunderland aircraft from RAF 47 Sqn. (see map)
15 Dec 1942
The Italian submarine Uarsciek (620 tons) was sunk south off Malta by the British destroyer HMS Petard (Lt.Cdr. M. Thornton, DSC, RN) and the Greek destroyer Vasilissa Olga.
4 May 1943
The British destroyers HMS Nubian (Cdr. D.E. Holland-Martin, DSC, RN), HMS Paladin (Lt.Cdr. L.St.G. Rich, RN) and HMS Petard (Lt.Cdr. R.C. Egan, RN) sinks the Italian transport ship Campo Basso (3566 GRT) and its escort the Italian torpedo boat Perseo (652 tons) about 8 nautical miles east of Kelibia, Tunisia.
![]() Capturing Enigma Harper, Stephen |
Books dealing with this subject include:
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