HMS Frobisher (D81)
 Frobisher c. 1924–1930
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Frobisher |
| Namesake | Sir Martin Frobisher |
| Ordered | December 1915 |
| Builder | HM Dockyard, Devonport |
| Laid down | 2 August 1916 |
| Launched | 20 March 1920 |
| Commissioned | 20 September 1924 |
| Out of service | 1947 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Identification | Pennant number: 81 (1924);[1] I81 (1938); D81 (1940)[2] |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 26 March 1949 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type | Hawkins-class heavy cruiser |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 604 ft 2 in (184.2 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 65 ft (19.8 m) |
| Draught | 19 ft 3 in (5.9 m) ( deep load ) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 4 × shafts; 4 × geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph) |
| Range | 5,640 nmi (10,450 km; 6,490 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 709 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
HMS Frobisher was one of five
cadet training ship
in 1932 before being returned to reserve in 1937. Two years later she was reactivated to again serve as a training ship.
When the
Operation Neptune, the naval portion of the invasion of Normandy in June. The ship bombarded German coastal defences on 6 June, but was damaged by a torpedo in August. The Royal Navy decided to convert her back into a training ship while she was under repair and that work was completed in 1945. Frobisher served in that role until she was replaced in 1947 and the vessel was sold for scrap
in 1949.
Design and description
Brassey's Naval Annual
1923The Hawkins-class cruisers were designed to be able to hunt down
deep load.[4] The ship displaced 9,860 long tons (10,020 t) at (standard load) and 12,300 long tons (12,500 t) at deep load.[5] Her crew numbered 37 officers and 672 ratings.[6]
The ships were originally designed with 60,000-
propeller shaft using steam provided by 10 Yarrow boilers that were ducted into two funnels. The turbines were rated at 65,000 shp (48,000 kW) for a speed of 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph).[7] Frobisher carried 2,186 long tons (2,221 t) of fuel oil to give her a range of 5,640 nautical miles (10,450 km; 6,490 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[6]
The main armament of the Hawkins-class ships consisted of seven
Frobisher's guns were controlled by a mechanical Mark III Dreyer Fire-control Table. It used data provided by the 15-foot (4.6 m) coincidence rangefinder in the gunnery director positioned under the spotting top at the head of the tripod mast. The ship was also fitted with three 12-foot (3.7 m) rangefinders.[9]
The Hawkins class were protected by a full-length
high-tensile steel.[5]
Construction and career
Frobisher, named after
China Station before Boyle relinquished command[14] on 10 September 1928 to Rear-Admiral Henry Parker.[15] The ship participated in a torpedo exercise on 24 August and then in a fleet exercise in January and a combined exercise with the Atlantic Fleet in March 1929.[16]
In 1927–1928 Frobisher was briefly fitted with a prototype F.I.H
Vice-Admiral Commanding the Reserve.[12] The ship was converted to a cadet training ship in 1932 and the forward quarterdeck 7.5-inch gun and two 4-inch AA guns were removed. By July 1935 she had received her aircraft catapult where the aft superfiring 7.5-inch gun had been located. All of her guns were removed in 1936, as were the above-water torpedo tubes, and a single 4.7-inch (120 mm) was added.[19] Frobisher returned to reserve in 1937 and was stationed at Devonport. The ship was transferred to Portsmouth in early 1939 where she again served as a cadet training ship.[12]
Wartime service
Shortly before the Second World War began in September, the Royal Navy decided to give Frobisher and her sister ship Hawkins limited rebuilds along the lines of their sister Effingham, but with their original armament reinstalled. Work was planned to begin in September, but it did not start until 5 January 1940 at a very low priority.[20]
The original plan was to replace all seven 7.5-inch guns and the above-water torpedo tubes, increase the number of 4-inch AA guns to five, add two quadruple and two single two-pounder mounts, and three
bow.[21]
Frobisher was assigned to the
Eastern Fleet after the refit was completed and began escorting convoys and the fleet's capital ships in the Indian Ocean.[22] The ship took over the tow of the French light cruiser Le Triomphant in December 1943 after she had been badly damaged in a typhoon; they arrived in Diego Suarez, Madagascar, on 19 December.[23] Frobisher returned to the UK in March 1944 to prepare for Operation Neptune;[24] the ship had her anti-aircraft armament augmented by a dozen single Oerlikons and her four quadruple two-pounder mounts were replaced by a pair of octuple mounts during a refit that lasted from 5 April to May.[25]
On 6 June Frobisher was assigned to Gunfire Bombardment Support Force D which initially targeted the defenses at
Baie de la Seine.[29]
While Frobisher was under repair at
HM Dockyard, Chatham, the Royal Navy decided to reconvert her into a training ship for 150 cadets. After her repairs were completed in September, the ship steam north to Rosyth, Scotland, to begin the conversion. The two superfiring and the aft quarterdeck 7.5-inch guns were removed as were the four amidships 4-inch AA guns, the octuple two-pounder mounts, some of the single Oerlikons and the depth-charge rails. The directors for the two-pounder guns were also removed. A 6-inch (150 mm) gun was added in the forward superfiring position and a quadruple 21-inch torpedo mount where the aft quarterdeck 7.5-inch gun had been located. Her Type 281 radar was probably replaced by a Type 291 early-warning radar at this time. When her conversion was completed in May 1945, her armament consisted of three 7.5-inch guns, one 6-inch gun, a 4-inch AA gun, 11 or 13 Oerlikons and the quadruple torpedo mount.[30] By July 1946, Frobisher's 4-inch high-angle directors had been removed.[31] The ship was replaced as a cadet training ship by the heavy cruiser Devonshire in 1947. She was sold for scrap to John Cashmore Ltd on 26 March 1949 and arrived at their facility in Newport, Wales, to be broken up on 11 May of that year.[32]
Notes
- ^ Dittmar, F J; Colledge, J J (1972). British Warships 1914–1919. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 49.
- ^ Lenton, H T (1973). British Cruisers. London: Macdonald. p. 151.
- ^ Raven & Roberts, pp. 51, 404
- ^ Preston, p. 63
- ^ a b Raven & Roberts, p. 404
- ^ a b Friedman, p. 390
- ^ Friedman, p. 69; Raven & Roberts, pp. 52–53
- ^ Friedman, pp. 66–67; Raven & Roberts, pp. 61, 404
- ^ a b Raven & Roberts, p. 405
- ^ Raven & Roberts, p. 51
- ^ Colledge & Warlow, p. 134
- ^ a b c d Morris, p. 169
- ^ Halpern, pp. 493–494
- ^ Heathcote, p. 32
- ^ "Henry Wise Parker". Dreadnought Project.org. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ Halpern, pp. 519–520, 531, 536, 540, 556
- ^ Friedman, p. 89; Raven & Roberts, p. 61
- ^ Friedman, p. 68
- ^ Friedman, p. 69; Raven & Roberts, p. 225
- ^ Friedman, pp. 73–74; Raven & Roberts, pp. 229, 430
- ^ Friedman, pp. 66, 74
- ^ Morris, p. 169; Rohwer, p. 299; Whitley, p. 80
- ^ Jordan & Moulin, p. 250
- ^ Whitley, p. 80
- ^ Raven & Roberts, p. 430
- ^ Buffetaut, p. 59
- ^ Ford, p. 91
- ^ Brown, p. 8
- ^ Rohwer, p. 346
- ^ Friedman, pp. 66, 74–75
- ^ Raven & Roberts, pp. 366–367
- ^ Whitley, pp. 80, 89
References
- ISSN 0043-0374.
- Buffetaut, Yves (1994). D-Day Ships: The Allied Invasion Fleet, June 1944. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-152-1.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Ford, Ken (2002). D-Day (3): Sword Beach & the British Airborne Landings. Campaign. Vol. 105. Botley, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-366-7.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
- Halpern, Paul, ed. (2011). The Mediterranean Fleet 1920–1929. Navy Records Society Publications. Vol. 158. Farnham, Surrey, UK: Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-4094-2756-8.
- Heathcote, Tony (2002). The British Admirals of the Fleet 1734 – 1995. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword. ISBN 0-85052-835-6.
- Jordan, John & Moulin, Jean (2015). French Destroyers: Torpilleurs d'Escadre & Contre-Torpilleurs 1922–1956. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-198-4.
- Morris, Douglas (1987). Cruisers of the Royal and Commonwealth Navies Since 1879. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-907771-35-1.
- ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1980). British Cruisers of World War Two. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-922-7.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- ISBN 1-86019-874-0.
External links
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