HMS Hereward (H93)

Coordinates: 35°20′N 26°20′E / 35.333°N 26.333°E / 35.333; 26.333
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Hereward underway, 20 December 1939
History
United Kingdom
NameHereward
BuilderVickers-Armstrongs, High Walker
Laid down28 February 1935
Launched10 March 1936
Completed9 December 1936
IdentificationPennant number: H93
Motto'Vigila et ora' ('Watch and pray')
FateSunk by aircraft, 29 May 1941
General characteristics as built
Class and typeH-class destroyer
Displacement
  • 1,350
    standard
    )
  • 1,883 long tons (1,913 t) (
    deep load
    )
Length323 ft (98.5 m)
Beam33 ft (10.1 m)
Draught12 ft 5 in (3.8 m)
Installed power
  • 3
    Admiralty 3-drum boilers
  • 34,000 
    kW
    )
Propulsion2 shafts, 2 geared steam turbines
Speed36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range5,530 nmi (10,240 km; 6,360 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement137 (peacetime), 146 (wartime)
Sensors and
processing systems
ASDIC
Armament

HMS Hereward, named after

Germans had invaded
.

The ship was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet later that month, and escorted

prisoners of war
.

Description

Hereward displaced 1,350 long tons (1,370 t) at

deep load. The ship had an overall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), a beam of 33 feet (10.1 m) and a draught of 12 feet 5 inches (3.8 m). She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 34,000 shaft horsepower (25,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers. Hereward carried a maximum of 470 long tons (480 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 5,530 nautical miles (10,240 km; 6,360 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime,[1] but this increased to 146 in wartime.[2]

The ship mounted four 45-

12-pounder AA gun.[4]

Service

The ship was

launched on 10 March 1936 and completed on 9 December 1936. Excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament, the ship cost £249,591.[5] She tested the twin-gun mounting intended for use on the Tribal-class destroyers in January–March 1937 at Gibraltar. It was removed at the end of the trials and her two forward guns were replaced immediately afterwards. The ship was then assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet and began patrolling Spanish waters in the Mediterranean enforcing the Non-Intervention Agreement during the Spanish Civil War. Hereward was refitted in Malta from 30 September to 30 October 1937 and again a year later, this time in Portsmouth Dockyard in June–July 1939 and she returned to the Mediterranean afterwards.[6]

Hereward was transferred to

John Buchan, Governor General of Canada, home. She required further repairs at Portsmouth upon arrival and missed the Battles of Narvik in April.[6]

Hereward escorted ships into

Operation Collar and then fired at retreating Italians in Cyrenaica after the Battle of Sidi Barrani. Together with her sister Hyperion, she sank the Italian submarine Naiade on 13 December. Hereward escorted the battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet as they bombarded Valona on 19 December and then sortied into the North Atlantic when Convoy WS-5A reported that it had been attacked by the German cruiser Admiral Hipper on 25 December. She escorted three of the convoy's ship to Gibraltar on 29 December.[8]

Hereward (foreground) depicted on the day of her sinking in a painting by Rowland Langmaid

The ship took part in

MAS torpedo boats[8][13] and the destroyer Francesco Crispi.[15]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Whitley, p. 109
  2. ^ English, pp. 89, 102
  3. ^ English, p. 141
  4. ^ Whitley, p. 110
  5. ^ English, pp. 102–03
  6. ^ a b English, pp. 106–07
  7. ^ Rohwer, pp. 7–8, 11
  8. ^ a b c d e f English, p. 107
  9. ^ Holland's Queen Barely Escaped, The Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, Florida). 17 May 1940
  10. ISBN 978-1-84486-062-3
    .
  11. ^ Rohwer, p. 61
  12. ^ Kindell, Don. "Naval Events, April 1941 (Part 2 of 2)". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. Naval-History.net. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  13. ^ a b Shores, Cull and Malizi, p. 391
  14. ^ Weal, p. 39
  15. ^ Alexiades, p. 57

References

35°20′N 26°20′E / 35.333°N 26.333°E / 35.333; 26.333

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