HMS Brilliant (H84)

HMS Brilliant was a B-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War.

From 1931 to 1938, she served in the Mediterranean. At the outbreak of war, Brilliant was deployed with the 19th Destroyer Flotilla at Dover and took part in Channel convoy protection and escorting minelaying operations. On 10 May 1940, she took part in Operation XD, the destruction of Dutch port facilities and the evacuation allied personnel. On 15 May she collided with HMS Boreas (H77) en route for the Hook of Holland. After repairs she was again damaged this time by dive bombers on 25 July, returning to port by jettisoning her aft guns.

In May 1941, she took part in Operation Splice, the delivery of fighters to Malta. From there, she joined HMS London in the hunt for German supply ships in the Atlantic. They intercepted the Esso Hamburg and Egerland which were both scuttled by their crews. Operating from Freetown, Brilliant rescued 321 personnel from the boats of HMT Oronsay which was torpedoed by an Italian submarine on 9 October 1942. Thereafter, she joined Force H for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. She sank the Vichy French minesweeper FRENCH MINESWEEPER Surprise off Oran on 8 November.

After conversion for anti-submarine work, she joined the 13th Destroyer Flotilla in Gibraltar in July 1943. On Christmas Day 1943 she rammed and sank a surfaced U-boat which was firing on her. The threat from other U-boats forced her to leave the survivors to die in the water. On 24 December 1944 Brilliant was escorting the transport ship SS Leopoldville (1929) when the it was struck by a torpedo from GERMAN SUBMARINE U-486, 5½ nautical miles off Cherbourg. Brilliant was able to rescue about 500 survivors from the damaged troopship as she lay at anchor, but due to various communication failures, no other vessels reached her before she sank and 764 died. On 7 June 1945, Brilliant escorted King George VI on board HMS Jamaica (44) as he visited the Channel Islands. She escorted surrendered U-boats to Scotland in Operation Deadlight before being paid-off into reserve in November 1945.