HMS Petard (G56) - The Early Years

The Early Years

Petard was launched on 27 March 1941 at Walker's shipyard in Newcastle, on the River Tyne. Accommodation was basic, the officers had a cabin each in the aft of the ship, which doubled as office space. The ratings were housed in messes forward and slept in hammocks. As a result of these locations, confusion could arise when 'action stations' were sounded which might involve the officers making their way forward towards the bridge while gun-crews attempted to move aft to the stern armament.

She was fitted out and handed over to "a mainly untried crew" on 15 July 1942. Although the ship was fitted with radar, it was relatively primitive, so the need for a good visual watch was regarded as crucial. Her first captain was Lieutenant Commander Stephen Beattie who would go on to win the Victoria Cross in the St Nazaire raid. He was replaced by Lt Cmdr Mark Thornton DSC on 28 April, (he had come from HMS Harvester; his DSC was for sinking a German U-boat). He worked the ship's company hard in training.