Second World War Magpie was commissioned on 30 August 1943, the same day as completion, with the
pennant number U82. Following workup of the ship and her crew at
Tobermory, Mull, the ship joined the
2nd Support Group (SG2), based at
Liverpool, in October 1943, for convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic. On 6 November 1943, SG2 was deployed to reinforce the escort of convoy HX264, threatened by a concentration of German U-boats southeast of
Newfoundland. Early on the morning of 6 November, was sunk by the sloop , and later that day, after a U-boat was spotted on the surface by an aircraft from the
aircraft carrier , three ships of SG2 (, and
Magpie) were ordered to attack the submarine, with being sunk by depth charges from
Starling and
Wild Goose. From 20 December 1943 to 20 January 1944,
Magpie was refitted at
Liverpool before returning to service with SG2. SG2 was then deployed in support of Convoys SL147 and MKS38, threatened by the
wolfpack Igel 2. On the night of 8/9 February 1944
Wild Goose first spotted a submarine which was sunk by depth charges from and
Wild Goose, and then detected a second submarine which was sunk by
Starling and
Wild Goose. Meanwhile, spotted a third submarine, with
Magpie coming up in support. Despite
Kite being narrowly missed by an
acoustic torpedo and very poor sonar conditions, which made tracking the submarine difficult, the two sloops delivered a series of depth charge attacks before being joined by
Starling, which directed
Magpie in a Hedgehog attack, which scored two hits, with
Magpie and
Starling following up with two further depth charge attacks. These attacks destroyed the submarine, with a total of 252 depth charges and 48 Hedgehog projectiles expended against the submarine. Three German submarines (, and ) had been sunk in a few hours, although it is not completely clear which submarines had been sunk by which attack.
Magpie, together with
Starling and
Kite, were officially credited with the sinking of
U-238. In March 1944, 2SG, including
Magpie, left Atlantic convoy support duties to support
Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union. On 29 March, the group joined
Convoy JW 58, which had set out from
Loch Ewe in Scotland bound for Russia two days earlier. Late on 29 March,
Starling detected the German submarine , on passage from Norway to the North Atlantic, on sonar and carried out a quick depth charge attack while directing
Magpie to carry out a more deliberate "creeping attack".
Starlings initial attack proved fatal, however, and before
Magpie could attack, a loud underwater explosion was heard followed by a stream of oil and wreckage reaching the surface, indicating
U-961 had been sunk. Three more U-boats were sunk by the convoy's escorts before it reached the
Kola Inlet on 4 April 1944, with none of the convoy's ships damaged.
Magpie had suffered weather damage during the two Arctic convoys, and was then under repair at Liverpool until 28 April 1944. On return from invasion duties
Magpie, joined the 22nd Escort Group, based at
Greenock and escorting convoys in British coastal waters, as well as convoys to
Gibraltar. On 10 May 1945,
Magpie and sister ship took the surrender of the German submarine , the first German submarine to surrender in British waters following the
German capitulation, off
The Lizard and took the submarine into
Portland Harbour.
Post-war operations In 1946,
Magpie joined the
Mediterranean Fleet. Along with others in the
Black Swan class she was officially reclassified as a
frigate in 1947, also receiving a new pennant number
F82. In March 1949,
Magpie and the frigate were deployed off the Jordanian port of
Aqaba in support of British forces securing that port against the approach of Israeli forces during the
1948 Palestine war.
Magpie did duty in
Trieste following riots there over the city's future, which was contended between
Italy and
Yugoslavia. At this time she was based in Malta, as part of the 3rd Frigate Flotilla. This Flotilla took part in patrols preventing illegal immigrants following the formation of Israel. She returned to Portsmouth in 1954 where was placed in reserve.
Magpie was commanded by
then Lieutenant-Commander, later Admiral of the Fleet the Duke of Edinburgh from 2 September 1950 until 1951, based in the
Mediterranean. In 1953 she took part in the
Fleet Review to celebrate the coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II. On 3 March 1955
Magpie left
Portsmouth to steam to the
7th Frigate Squadron at
Simonstown, South Africa. Due to be relieved at the Cape Station by her
sister ship , boiler problems meant the crew were changed.
Magpies crew returned to the UK in
Sparrow.
End of Duty and Breakup In 1958
Magpie's tour of duty at the Cape Station was finally completed; she sailed back for the UK for paying off and was broken up by
Hughes Bolckow,
Blyth,
Northumberland on 12 July 1959. In 1959 HMS
Magpies ship's bell and her division trophies were presented to
Monkton Combe Junior School, near Bath whose magpie icon, created in 1951 by the school's art teacher Miss E Bulmer for the school's Magpie Magazine, had been adopted by the ship in 1952 with the active support of Prince Philip. The icon has been used as the crest for all subsequent HMS
Magpies and is still in use in 2025 by
HMS Magpie (H130). Monkton Prep School continues to use the Magpie name for its magazine. The bell still hangs in the school in 2025.
Filmography HMS
Magpie stood in for the moving shots of in the film
Yangtse Incident in 1957. ==Notes==