HMS Kent (54)
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | Kent |
Namesake | Kent |
Builder | Chatham Dockyard |
Laid down | 15 November 1924 |
Launched | 16 March 1926 |
Commissioned | 25 June 1928 |
Identification | Pennant number: 54 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 22 January 1948 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type | County-class heavy cruiser |
Displacement |
|
Length | 630 ft (192.0 m) |
Beam | 68 ft 5 in (20.9 m) |
Draught | 20 ft 6 in (6.2 m) |
Installed power | 80,000 shp (60,000 kW) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph) |
Range | 13,300 nmi (24,600 km; 15,300 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
Complement | 784 |
Armament |
|
Armour |
HMS Kent,
Description
Kent displaced 9,850 long tons (10,010 t) at
The ship mounted eight 50-
Kent was only lightly protected with little more than a single inch of plating protecting vital machinery. Her magazines were the exception and were protected by 2–4.375 inches (50.8–111.1 mm) of armour. Space and weight was reserved for one aircraft catapult and its seaplane, but they were not fitted until after she was completed.[3]
History
Kent was built by
In January 1934, while serving as the flagship of
In 1937, Kent returned to
In November 1939 she joined with the French heavy cruiser Suffren and the Australian destroyers Voyager and Vampire to hunt for the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee in the East Indies and then was reassigned to escort troop convoys in the Indian Ocean in January 1940.[9]
Following the declaration of war by
On 15 September 1940 the battleship
Kent was given temporary repairs at Alexandria from 19 September to 18 October to allow her to return to the United Kingdom. Extensive repairs at Devonport Dockyard followed from 1 January to 20 September 1941. During this time six Oerlikon 20 mm light AA guns were added and the ship received a variety of radars. These included Type 284 radar for surface gunnery control, Type 285 anti-aircraft gunnery radar, and a Type 281 air warning radar.[13] When her repairs were completed in September 1941, she spent several months
The cruiser was assigned to the Home Fleet and escorted convoys to and from North Russia. She briefly escorted Convoy QP 8 on the return leg from Russia in March 1942 and provided distant cover for
After her return from the Soviet Union, the ship was refitted in Liverpool from 18 July to 7 November. Her catapult and quadruple .50-calibre machine guns were removed and six more single 20 mm Oerlikon guns were added.[13] In early January 1943 the cruiser provided cover for Convoy RA 51 and, several weeks later, Convoy JW 52. While on the latter mission, Kent was unsuccessfully attacked by the German submarine U-625.[16] During a brief refit between 22 September and 4 October at Chatham Dockyard, the ship exchanged six single 20 mm guns for three twin 20 mm gun mounts.[13] In November she provided cover to Convoys RA 54A, JW 54A and JW 54B. The ship covered the outbound Convoys JW 56A, JW 56B and the returning Convoy RA 56 in January–February 1944. The following month Kent was part of the covering force for Convoy JW 57.[17]
On 17 July 1944, the ship was formed part of the covering force protecting three British aircraft carriers flying off aircraft to attack the
With the Naval War in the Atlantic winding down, the ship's age and material condition, and a shortage of crews to man her; Kent was paid off in January 1945 and remained in reserve for several years until she was used as a target. The ship was struck off the Naval List (the first of the Countys to go) and allocated to
Footage shot by a crew member in the period 1941-45 was discovered in the archives of the
Footnotes
- ^ Raven and Roberts, pp. 123, 412–13
- ^ Raven and Roberts, p. 412
- ^ Raven and Roberts, pp. 251, 412
- ^ Whitley, pp. 83, 86
- ^ a b Raven and Roberts, p. 251
- ^ "Admiral Dreyer". The Straits Times. Singapore. 15 January 1934. p. 11.
- ^ "Rs & has Saying; When Kent Goes Home". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. Singapore. 26 January 1934. p. 8.
- ^ Raven and Roberts, pp. 244, 251
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 8, 13, 20
- ^ a b Whitley, p. 86
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 36, 38
- ^ Gustavsson and Slongo, pp. 140, 143
- ^ a b c Raven and Roberts, p. 430
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 120, 127–28
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 150, 158, 164–65, 167
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 221, 226
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 286, 300, 307
- ^ Rohwer, pp. 343, 349, 352, 371
- ^ "Cinema Museum Home Movie Database.xlsx". Google Docs. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
References
- Campbell, N.J.M. (1980). "Great Britain". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. New York: Mayflower Books. pp. 2–85. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-078-8.
- Gustavsson, Håkan; Slongo, Ludovico (2010). Desert Prelude: Early Clashes June – November 1940. Sandomierz, Poland: Stratus. ISBN 978-83-89450-52-4.
- 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.