HMS Bicester (pennant number L34) was an escort destroyer of the Type II Hunt class. The Royal Navy ordered Bicesters construction three months after the outbreak of the Second World War. Hawthorn Leslie & Co. laid down her keel at their Tyne yard on 29 May 1940, as Admiralty Job Number J4210. The ship was named after a fox hunt in Oxfordshire.
Career
Early operations
Bicester began her contractor trials and commissioning in June, passing her acceptance trials on 16 June and beginning work-up procedures. On 26 June Bicester escorted King George VI and Queen Elizabeth back to England after their visit to a naval base at Larne, Northern Ireland. In July, the destroyer completed her work-up, and joined the Londonderry Special Escort Force. On 29 July Bicester joined military convoy WS21 in the Clyde with the destroyers , , and as the local escort for the convoy during its passage in the Northwestern Approaches.
In August, Bicester was nominated for detached escort service for a convoy aimed to relieve Malta. On 4 August Bicester detached from WS21, and joined the Malta relief convoy WS21S, which had set off from the Clyde to Gibraltar on 2 August as part of Operation Pedestal. The destroyer passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, and joined the escort for ships on 11 August while on passage through the Sicilian Narrows to Malta.
On 12 August the convoy came under heavy submarine and air attack, during which the aircraft carrier was sunk. Further attacks by submarines sank and severely damaged both escorts and ships, with the result that Bicester had to be detached from the convoy along with and Wilton to escort the damaged back to Gibraltar. On 18 August Bicester was released from Operation Pedestal, and the destroyer took passage back to Derry to resume her escort duties, joining as local escort of military convoy WS22 on 28 August.
Back to Gibraltar
Bicester detached from WS22 on 1 September, returning to Derry for further convoy escort duties, which included joining military convoy WS23 in the Clyde on 4 October. After detaching from WS23, Bicester returned for escort duties in Derry, and was nominated for the escort of military convoys to North Africa for allied landings on 8 October. Bicester was deployed escorting the convoys to Gibraltar throughout November and December.
In January 1943, Bicester was based at Algiers in continuation of her duties. In February, the destroyer was deployed with other Hunt-class destroyers for patrol and convoy escorting duties. On 17 February she took part in the search for the Italian submarine whilst defending a convoy. On 20 February Bicester was deployed with the destroyers and on their search for the German submarine, . Bicester took part in attacks on the German submarine, along with the other two destroyers and on 23 February, after a three-day search and destroy operation, the submarine was sunk by sustained depth charge attacks, with no survivors.
Between March and April, Bicester continued her convoy defence and patrol duties at Algiers. In May the destroyer took part in the blockade of the Cape Bon area in order to prevent the escape of Axis craft. On 9 May, during deployment with , the destroyers found themselves under air attack by Spitfire aircraft; Bicester sustained major damage from a near miss, with the bomb exploding alongside causing major flooding and extensive damage. Bicester was taken in tow to Malta for temporary repairs, which were carried out in June. In July, the destroyer made a passage through to the United Kingdom for permanent repairs, which were carried out between August and September.
Malta, Adriatic and Indian Ocean
In October, Bicester was nominated for service in the 59th Destroyer Division, which was based in Malta, with the destroyer continuing her post repair trials. The destroyer made a passage to Malta in November, where she was deployed in the Adriatic and the central Mediterranean. On 2 December Bicester was damaged during an air raid on Bari when an ammunition ship was hit and exploded, spreading her cargo of mustard gas over the harbour and town. The destroyer was also damaged, but less seriously. Zetland towed Bicester to Taranto for repairs. There were so many mustard gas casualties that, on arrival in Taranto, the ships had to ask for assistance to enter the harbour as all navigating officers had their vision impaired by this chemical weapon.