HMS Fame (H78)
 Fame at anchor, September 1942
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Fame |
| Ordered | 17 March 1933 |
| Builder | Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, Wallsend |
| Cost | £244,216 |
| Laid down | 5 July 1933 |
| Launched | 28 June 1934 |
| Completed | 26 April 1935 |
| Fate | Sold to the Dominican Republic, 4 February 1949 |
 Dominican Republic | |
| Name | Generalisimo |
| Namesake | Generalissimo |
| Acquired | 4 February 1949 |
| Renamed | Sanchez, 1962 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1968 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | F-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 329 ft (100.3 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 33 ft 3 in (10.13 m) |
| Draught | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) (deep) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × Parsons geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph) |
| Range | 6,350 nmi (11,760 km; 7,310 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 145 |
| Sensors and processing systems | ASDIC |
| Armament |
|
HMS Fame was an
North Atlantic
when the repairs were completed in mid-1942.
She sank two German submarines before she was transferred back to British coastal waters in May 1944 to protect the build-up for
paid off. The ship was recommissioned a year later and was then sold to the Dominican Republic in 1949. She was scrapped
in 1968.
Description
The F-class ships were repeats of the preceding
Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of 36,000 shaft horsepower (27,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph). Fame carried a maximum of 470 long tons (480 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 6,350 nautical miles (11,760 km; 7,310 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ships' complement was 145 officers and ratings.[1]
The ships mounted four
21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.[2] One depth charge rack and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 38 shortly after the war began.[3]
Wartime modifications
Fame had her rear torpedo tubes replaced by a
bridge wings were probably replaced by twin mounts.[5]
Construction and career
Fame was ordered on 17 March 1933 from Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, although her hull was sub-contracted to
Non-Intervention Committee until January 1937. She visited Aarhus, Denmark in July before returning to Spanish waters in August–September. The ship then returned home and spent the next two years with the 6th DF. The 6th DF was renumbered the 8th Destroyer Flotilla in April 1939, five months before the start of World War II. Fame remained assigned to it until July 1940, escorting the larger ships of the fleet.[6]
In the Norwegian Campaign, she supported the
troop ships evacuating the troops from the Narvik area on 7 and 8 June.[7]
While searching for the damaged submarine
Chatham Royal Dockyard on 2 February 1941. Heavily overworked, the dockyard took nearly 18 months to repair the ship, although the decision to convert her into an escort destroyer during this time contributed to the time required.[8]
In September 1942, Fame finished her repairs and she was assigned to
captain, Commander R. Heathcote, as the Group's senior officer. Her first Atlantic convoy action was with SC 104, a major convoy battle that saw the loss of 8 ships, with 2 warships damaged, and 2 U-boats destroyed, with 2 more damaged and forced to retire. Fame's ASDIC located German submarine U-353 on 16 October and a shallow-set pattern of 10 depth charges forced her to the surface where she was rammed and sunk by Fame. The impact badly damaged the destroyer and she was forced to leave the convoy for repairs after rescuing 39 survivors.[9] Her repairs were completed in December, and, while escorting Convoy ON 155, was dispatched to the aid of Convoy ON 154, which was under heavy attack. Heathcote was ordered to take command of the escort after the commander of Escort Group C1 collapsed from exhaustion after a five-day battle, during which ON 154 had lost 14 ships for one U-boat destroyed.[10]
In February 1943, Escort Group B6 was escorting
Normandy landings and became the senior ship of the 14th Escort Group. During this time, Fame participated in the sinking of U-767, together with the destroyers Inconstant and Havelock on 18 June.[12] The following month, Fame was transferred to the west coast of Scotland, continuing there until the end of the war.[13]
Post war
Fame began a refit at
40-millimetre (1.6 in) Bofors light AA guns, one quadruple 21-inch torpedo mount, four depth charge throwers and two rails for 70 depth charges.[14] Fame was renamed Generalisimo, but, after the death of Rafael Trujillo, the ship was renamed Sanchez in 1962. The ship was scrapped in 1968.[13]
Notes
- ^ Lenton 1998, p. 158
- ^ Whitley 1988, p. 103
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 236
- ^ English 1993, p. 77; Friedman 2009, p. 241
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 237, 242–44; Lenton 1998, p. 158
- ^ English 1993, pp. 75–77
- ^ Haarr 2010, pp. 246, 248, 254, 266, 300, 312
- ^ English 1993, pp. 77–78; Whitley 1988, p. 106
- ^ Blair 1998, pp. 39–40; English 1993, p. 77; Kemp 1997, p. 92
- ^ Blair 1998, p. 134
- ^ Blair 1998, p. 184; Neistle 1998, p. 43
- ^ Blair 1998, pp. 589–90; Kemp 1997, p. 198; Rohwer 2005, p. 284
- ^ a b c English 1993, p. 78
- ^ English 1993, p. 142
References
- ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- English, John (1993). Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
- Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8.
- Haarr, Geirr H. (2010). The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-057-4.
- Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
- Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- Neistle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses during World War II. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-352-8.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
External links
| E class |
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| F class |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1940 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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