This "story of a ship", the British destroyer H.M.S. Torrin, is told in flashbacks by survivors as they cling to a life raft.

This is the story of a British Naval ship, H.M.S. Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship's first and only commanding officer is the experienced Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him, but to the country, and most importantly, to themselves. They face challenges at sea, and also at home. They lose some of their shipmates in action, and some of their loved ones in the devastation that is the blitz. Throughout it all, the men of the Torrin serve valiantly and heroically.—garykmcd

This is the story of a destroyer of the Royal Navy and of those that serve in her. In the Battle of Crete she i dive bombed while steaming at 30 knots and goes down fighting. Among those of her survivors who are able to reach the Carley float are Captain Edward Kinross RN (Captain D commanding the flotilla) (Noel Coward), Chief Petty Officer Walter Hardy (Bernard Miles) and ordinary seaman 'Shorty' Blake (John Mills). As they cling to the float exhausted, wounded and machine gunned, we see, through the memories of their characters, their families and their home lives interwoven and dominated by their ship. Through their minds we are shown the ordeals, the achievements and the gallantry of HMS Torrin from her commissioning as a unit o His Majesty's Fleet until she sinks in her last battle, Thr Torrin has gone and so have many of her crew but they, no less than the survivors, carry on the fight. For they are the spirit of the British Navy past, present and future, which will guard our shores and keep our honor on all the oceans of the world.—Tonyman 5