The HMS Maori was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co.Ltd and laid down in 1936. It was launched September 7, 1937, and commissioned on December 5th, 1938.

HMS Maori was a Tribal Class British destroyer. When WWII broke out, Maori did escort duty for convoys in the Mediterranean and then in the North Sea across the Atlantic.

In early 1941 Maori played a part in the hunt and sinking of the famous German battleship Bismarck. She was even on hand to pick up Bismarck�s survivors. Late 1941 Maori played her most important role in the war. Maori intercepted and sank two Italian cruisers which were supplying Rommel�s tank core in North Africa. The Italian cruisers were 5,200-ton warships, but they packed more fire power than a British destroyer. Maori surprised the convoy and opened fire. One torpedo hit a cruiser in it�s midsection. The other exploded in the stern. The Italian cruiser sank almost at once. Another torpedo hit the second cruiser and exploded several drums of petrol. The cruiser burst into flames and all hands abandoned ship.

After sinking two Italian cruisers Maori steamed into Grand Harbour to a hero�s welcome. Two months later Maori was to get as good as she gave. She was moored to a buoy in the middle of the harbour near what was called French creek. Several other ships were at anchor nearby. On February 12 1942, air raid sirens blew and anti aircraft guns lit up the night sky.

Purves: �The Italians at that time august �41 were doing most of the bombing from southern Sicily. So they didn�t have very far to come. They flew maybe 90 miles across the strait to Malta to bomb. It was a very, very short distance.�

German Stukas dived vertically at their targets and released their cargo of bombs at the bottom of the dive. They were accurate to within thirty metres. One of them bombed Maori. It scored a direct hit on the engine room. The explosion instantly killed one of the few crew members on board. Fire broke out and quickly spread. On board ammunition exploded. The few on board worked like mad to shut the bulkheads and to fight the flames, but there was just too much damage. Maori listed to port and as the last of the crew abandoned ship she slipped to the bottom of Grand Harbour.