HMS Petersfield
History | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Builder | Lobnitz, Renfrew |
Launched | 3 March 1919 |
Fate | Wrecked 11 November 1931 |
Notes | Pennant T.8 / T.21 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Hunt-class minesweeper, Aberdare sub-class |
Displacement | 800 long tons (813 t) |
Length | 213 ft (65 m) o/a |
Beam | 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m) |
Draught | 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) |
Installed power |
|
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
Range | 1,500 nmi (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 74 |
Armament |
|
HMS Petersfield (ex-Portmadoc) was a
Design and description
The Aberdare sub-class were enlarged versions of the original Hunt-class ships with a more powerful armament. The ships displaced 800 long tons (810 t) at normal load. They had a length between perpendiculars of 220 feet (67.1 m)[1] and measured 231 feet (70.4 m) long overall. The Aberdares had a beam of 26 feet 6 inches (8.1 m) and a draught of 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m). The ships' complement consisted of 74 officers and ratings.[2]
The ships had two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Yarrow boilers. The engines produced a total of 2,200 indicated horsepower (1,600 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). They carried a maximum of 185 long tons (188 t) of coal[2] which gave them a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[1]
The Aberdare sub-class was armed with a
First commander
Her first commander was Stuart Bonham Carter, who went on to become an admiral.[3]
Loss
The minesweeper with the Commander-in-Chief of the China Station, Vice-Admiral Sir William Kelly aboard, ran ashore on the night of Wednesday 11 November 1931 on the north side of Tungyung Island while on a passage from Shanghai to Fuzhou; it was a total loss. The SS Derflinger and the Canadian Pacific liner RMS Empress of Asia went to the Petersfield's assistance, and the county-class cruisers Suffolk and Cornwall proceeded rapidly to the scene. The north-east monsoon was understood to have been raging at the time. The Petersfield was a tender to the cruiser Kent, of the Fifth Cruiser Squadron. Admiral Kelly and 73 officers and men on board were rescued by the Derflinger.
See also
Notes
References
- Cocker, M. P. (1993). Mine Warfare Vessels of the Royal Navy: 1908 to Date. Shrewsbury, England: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-328-4.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1985). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- dreadnought project
- naval-history.net
- wrecksite
- LOSS ON CHINA STATION EVENING POST, VOLUME CXII, ISSUE 118, 14 NOVEMBER 1931