HMS Diana (D126)

	HMS Diana at sea, 1954
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Diana
Ordered	16 February 1945
Builder	Yarrow and Co. Ltd
Laid down	3 April 1947
Launched	8 May 1952
Commissioned	29 March 1954
Decommissioned	1969
Identification	Pennant number D126
Fate	Sold to Peruvian Navy, 1969
Peru
Name	BAP Palacios
Acquired	1 December 1969
Commissioned	April 1973
Decommissioned	1993
Identification	DM-73
Fate	Discarded 1993
General characteristics
Class and type	Daring-class destroyer
Displacement	Standard: 2,830 tons, Full load: 3,820 tons
Length	390 ft (120 m)
Beam	43 ft (13 m)
Draught	13.6 ft (4.1 m)
Propulsion	2 boilers (650 psi (4,500 kPa), 850 °F), Parsons steam turbines, 2 shafts, 54,000 shp (40 MW)
Speed	30 kn (56 km/h)
Range	4,400 nmi (8,100 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement	Approximately 300
Sensors and ; processing systems	Radar Type 293Q target indication; Radar Type 291 air warning; Radar Type 274 navigation; Radar Type 275 fire control on director Mk.VI; Radar Type 262 fire control on director CRBF and STAAG Mk.II;
Armament	6 QF 4.5 in /45 (114 mm) Mark V in 3 twin mountings UD Mark VI; 4 40 mm /60 Bofors A/A in 2 twin mounts STAAG Mk.II; 2 40 mm /60 Bofors A/A in 1 twin mount Mk.V; 2 pentad tubes for 21 inch (533 mm) torpedoes Mk.IX; 1 Squid anti submarine mortar;

HMS Diana was one of the

destroyers planned during the Second World War by the Royal Navy. The design reflected developments of the Pacific campaign

, including long range and the ability to efficiently Replenish At Sea (RAS).

Diana's standard displacement was 3,610 tons. Length and beam of the ship are 390 feet (120 m) and 43 feet (13 m) respectively, she was capable of steaming at over 30 knots (56 km/h). The normal peacetime complement of Diana was 297 officers and men.

Launch

The ship was built at

Yarrow and Co. Ltd. (Yard No 1846 ), laid down 3 April 1947 and launched Thursday 8 May 1952 by Lady McGrigor, wife of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Rhoderick McGrigor

, and first commissioned 29 March 1954. Originally the name was to be Druid but this changed to Diana during construction.

At the time Diana was considered a large destroyer, being nearly as big as a pre-war light cruiser. The Daring class was a logical outcome of the Pacific War, where the ability to stay at sea for long periods was of prime importance.

Armament

The main armament consisted of six 4.5-inch (110 mm) dual purpose guns in three totally enclosed turrets, two forward, one aft. At the time of building the control system for the guns was the most advanced in the Royal Navy, being completely radar controlled. The guns were considered, at the time, highly accurate with a high rate of fire.

In summary her armament was: (1960)

Six 4.5 inch guns
Two 40 mm Bofors Guns
Five torpedo tubes
One triple
Squid anti-submarine mortar

Electrical supply

The ship's electrical power was produced by two turbine generators and three diesel generators. The current used was 440 volts, 60 cycle alternating current (AC) power.

Of the eight Darings, four ships were designed to operate on direct current (DC) for their electrical supply and four to operate on AC. The object was a practical test to determine which form of electrical supply was the most practical. Diana was an AC ship, as were all Royal Navy ships following this 'test'.

Propulsion

Engines by Parsons
Propulsion: geared turbine, 2 shaft

Name, goddess and crest

"This Diana of ours is a very demanding person, goddesses tend to be that way"

Diana (goddess) as having a distinctly complex personality. Apart from being the huntress

, by the light of the sun she was pure and chaste; by the light of the moon, however, she became abandoned and dark.

Career

Diana saw action during the Suez Crisis, when on 31 October 1956, she sank the Domiat, which was engaged in a one-sided gun duel with the cruiser HMS Newfoundland in the Red Sea, marking the last time a ship was sunk by another in conflict using gunfire alone.

South Pacific atomic tests controversy

In 1956 Diana was ordered into the

SSGt

Garvie, who claims his father was a crew member at that time.

On 26 January 1968, Diana was on passage from Gibraltar to Malta when she was ordered to divert to the search for the Israeli submarine Dakar, which had gone missing on her delivery trip from Britain to Israel. After calling at Malta to pick up a medical officer and diving experts, Diana was on course to the search zone when she picked up a distress signal from the Spanish tanker MV Bahia Blanca, which was on fire. After helping Bahia Blanca's crew to extinguish the fire, Diana continued to the search area, taking part in the search operations until 31 January.^[2]

Sale to the Peruvian Navy

HMS Diana was acquired by the Peruvian Navy in 1969 together with sister ship Decoy. Renamed BAP Palacios (DM-73), the ship was refitted at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead. The refit comprised enclosing the foremast and installing a Plessey AWS-1 radar. The destroyer's armament was further increased with the addition of eight Exocet surface-to-surface missiles in two quadruple mountings.^[3]

Palacios was commissioned in April 1973. In 1975, a helicopter landing area was installed which was expanded with the addition of a hangar in 1977-78. This necessitated the removal of the aft 4.5 in gun. The gun was later re-installed and the hangar removed. The refit in 1977-78 also saw the streamlining of the funnel which was also raised, the installation of a Selenia NA-10 director aft for the upgraded twin Breda Bardo 40mm gun mounts and the removal of the Squid mortar and sonar.^[3] Palacios served until 1993 when she was stricken.