HMS Matabele was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in World War II, being sunk by a U-boat on 17 January 1942.

[5] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 5,700 nautical miles (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).

[6] The primary armament of the Tribal-class destroyers was eight quick-firing (QF) 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII guns in four superfiring twin-gun mounts, one pair each fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear.

[11] To increase the firing arcs of the AA guns, the rear funnel was shortened and the mainmast was reduced to a short pole mast.

Launched on 6 October 1937, Matabele was commissioned on 25 January 1939 at a cost of £342,005 which excluded weapons and communications outfits furnished by the Admiralty.

In June Matabele was assigned to assist in rescue operations for the stricken submarine Thetis which had sunk during builder's trials in Liverpool Bay.

On 25 September she was deployed with sisters Somali and Mashona to search for the submarine Spearfish, which had been badly damaged during a patrol in Heligoland Bight.

Having successfully made contact with Spearfish on 26 September, they escorted her back to the UK under the cover of major warships of the Home Fleet.

In January and February 1940 she was under repair at HMNB Devonport for work which included the replacement of turbine blades, damaged due to excess stress during high speed steaming in inclement weather, and the installation of de-gaussing equipment for protection against magnetic mines.

She returned to active service in March, and took part in convoy escorts to and from Norway, as well as sweeps to intercept German warships.

November and December were spent operating out of Scapa Flow, including forming part of a screen for the search for the German raider Admiral Scheer which had been reported on passage to attack the Atlantic convoys.

On her departure from Barrow on 5 June to rejoin the fleet, she grounded and sustained major damage to her underwater fittings, including her shaft brackets and propellers.

That evening the merchant ship Harmatis was hit at 6.46pm by a single torpedo and taken in tow by the minesweeper HMS Speedwell, with the Matabele providing escort as the rest of the convoy continued on ahead.

[17] Unable to free their Carley life rafts the surviving crew were forced to jump overboard into the freezing sea, with many being killed when the Matabele's depth charges exploded as the ship sank.