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HYACINTH. Corvette. Flower Class. Built in 1940 by Harland & Wolff, Belfast. Launched 19th August 1940. 925tn. L 193'. B33'. Triple expansion engine. 2800ihp. 17kn.
Armed with One 4". One 40mm AA. Four 20mm AA guns. Captured the Italian submarine PERLA off Palestine on 9th July 1942. Lent to the Greek Navy in 1943 and renamed APOSTOLIS - Greece 1946. 2000dr. SG652 (LB 1/85.4/115. EWA Vol 1. p32)

20 April 1940 laid down
04 October 1940 commissioned.

1961 Scrapped in Italy.

The stamp design depicts the capture of Italien submarine Perla off Palestine in 1942 by HMS Hyacinth.

For Perla (Submarine) see topic: Perla (Submarine) 1936.

HMS Hyacinth was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and achieved three victories over enemy submarines in a highly successful career. Only Sunflower managed to repeat such success among her sister ships.

During the Second World War Hyacinth served in the Eastern Mediterranean where she protected the Palestine coastline and escorted numerous convoys along it. She also took part in the Malta convoys. She was a part of the 10th Corvette Group of the Mediterranean Fleet based in Alexandria together with her sister ships Peony and Salvia.

Since Hyacinth spent most of her time in the Mediterranean, without access to British shipyards, she was not retrofitted as many of her class were, and so retained her short forecastle. Another of her distinctive features was a 3-inch gun instead of the usual 4-inch.

On 28 September 1941, Hyacinth attacked and sank the Italian submarine Fisalia north-east of the port of Jaffa, at 32®19'N, 34®17'E, just off the beach at Tel Aviv. On 9 July 1942, while escorting a convoy from Jaffa to Beirut Hyacinth attacked, damaged and captured the Italian submarine Perla. The submarine was towed into port, repaired and put into operation with the Hellenic Navy under the name Matrosos in 1943. On 12 September 1943, after Italy had capitulated,Hyacinth and the Australian minesweeper Wollongong sank the German submarine U-617, after the submarine had been damaged in an attack by Wellington and Swordfish aircraft.

In1943, Hyacinth was transferred to the Royal Hellenic Navy, and was renamed Apostolis, from the Psarian admiral of the war of independence, and served the remainder of the Second World War under the Greek flag.

She was returned to the Royal Navy in 1952 and scrapped in the same year.

Source: Watercraft Philately

Greece, 1947, 2000 dr.