Further Action
The action of the Ledbury during Operation Pedestal was the pinnacle of an otherwise uneventful career. After Operation Pedestal the Ledbury was involved in several other convoys throughout the latter stages of the Second World War. On 17 January 1943 Convoy JW-52 set sail with fifteen ships of Loch Ewe, with a Western close escort made up of the destroyers Ledbury, Middleton and Blankney, between 17 January and 21 January. The Ledbury and the other destroyers left the convoy with the arrival of the Eastern escort, made up of the destroyers Onslaught, Beagle, Bulldog, Matchless, Musketeer, Offa and the Polish Piorun.
In June 1943, HMS Ledbury proceeded again to the Mediterranean after further service on escort duties between Iceland and the Orkney Islands and took part in the invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky. During this operation, the Ledbury formed part of Support Force East, in support of the troops of Forces N, B and V that formed XXX Corps. The Ledbury was one of a group of upwards of fifty destroyers stationed to escort the landings' main force of cruisers.
She was also involved in the Salerno invasion in September 1943, but thereafter her main employment was as a convoy escort to the Italian front, based at first on Malta and latterly at Alexandria. Occasional offensive patrols in the Adriatic and Aegean were undertaken. Between 15 January and 12 February 1944 the Ledbury was engaged in patrols along the supply lines of the Dalmatian coast, where heavy Axis losses were involved, becoming untenable due to the increased employment of Allied fighter-bombers from bases in Italy. Between 15 January and 16 January, the destroyers Ledbury and Blackmore bombarded Durazzo while other elements on the same patrol, were approaching Curzola.
After taking a minor covering role in the return of British troops to Athens in October 1944, the Ledbury was reduced to reserve in March 1946, and was not again commissioned for active service, remaining in peacetime commission longer than most of her class, before being sold for scrap in 1958. The destroyer was broken up at Rosyth in April 1958.
Read more about this topic: HMS Ledbury (L90)
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