Tyrian purple Tyrian purple Tyrian purple (, "porphúra"; ), also known as Tyrian red, Phoenician purple, royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. It is a secretion produced by several species of predatory sea snails in the family Muricidae, rock snails originally known by the name "Murex". In ancient times, extracting this dye involved tens of thousands of snails and substantial labor, and as a result, the dye was highly valued. The main chemical is 6,6′-dibromoindigo. Tyrian purple may first have been used by the ancient Phoenicians as early as 1570 BC. The dye was greatly prized
HMS Tyrian (R67) and ratings. The ship was armed with four 45-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII guns in dual-purpose mounts. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, "Tyrian" had one twin mount for Bofors 40 mm guns and four twin Oerlikon autocannon. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for torpedoes. Two depth charge rails and four throwers were fitted for which 70 depth charges were provided. Between 1946 and 1951 "Tyrian" was held in reserve at Harwich. Between 1951 and 1952 she was converted to a Type 16 fast anti-submarine frigate, by Harland & Wolff at Liverpool. She was also allocated the new