HMS Valentine (L69)
51°20′N 03°49′E / 51.333°N 3.817°E
HMS Valentine, circa 1917-18
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Valentine |
Owner | Royal Navy |
Ordered | July 1916 |
Builder | Cammell Laird |
Laid down | 7 August 1916 |
Launched | 24 March 1917 |
Commissioned | 27 June 1917 |
Out of service | 15 May 1940 |
Fate | Beached after attack from dive bombers. |
General characteristics As built[1] | |
Class and type | Admiralty V-class leader |
Displacement |
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Length | |
Beam | 29 ft 6 in (8.99 m) |
Draught | 10 feet 8 inches (3.25 m) – 11 ft 7+1⁄2 in (3.54 m) |
Propulsion | 3 Yarrow-type steam turbines , 2 shafts, 27,000 shp (20,134 kW) |
Speed | 34 kn (63 km/h; 39 mph) |
Range | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 115 |
Armament |
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HMS Valentine was a V and W-class destroyer, built in 1917 for the Royal Navy. She fought in both world wars, serving in several capacities. She was heavily damaged by air attack and beached in 1940 near Terneuzen. Her hulk remained there until it was broken up in 1953.
Construction and design
In early 1916, the British Royal Navy had a requirement for a destroyer leader suitable for leading the new, fast, R-class destroyers. To meet this requirement, the Director of Naval Construction prepared the design of a new class of ships, smaller and cheaper than the existing Marksman and Parker-classes, but still capable of accommodating the additional staff required to command the destroyer flotilla and carrying the same armament. Five ships of the new class were ordered in April–July 1916, with Valentine one of two ships ordered from Cammell Laird in July that year at a tender price of £218,000 per ship.[2][3][4] Valentine was laid down at Cammell Laird's shipyard in Birkenhead on 7 August 1916, was launched on 24 March 1917 and completed on 27 June 1917.[5]
The ship's machinery was based on that of the R-class destroyers,[6] with three Yarrow boilers feeding Brown-Curtiss geared steam turbines which drove two propeller shafts. The machinery generated 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,000 kW), giving a design speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph). A maximum of 367 tons of fuel oil could be carried, giving a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[1]
The ship's main gun armament was four
Service
First World War and Baltic campaign
On completion, Valentine served with the Grand Fleet, as part of the 13th Destroyer Flotilla and the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron.[10] When commissioned, Valentine was assigned the pennant number F99, which was changed to F30 in January 1918.[5] In October 1917, Valentine was deployed as part of an elaborate anti-submarine operation, in which destroyers and submarines were to be used to drive German U-boats that were returning to port from operations and passing to the east of the Dogger Bank into a large (several miles long) array of mine nets. Valentine was one of six destroyers whose job was to escort the drifters deploying the nets. The operation lasted for 10 days, and British Intelligence believed that three U-boats were probably sunk in the operation. However, the submarines in question were almost certainly lost in other mine-fields.[11][12] Later that month, Valentine formed part of the destroyer escort to the 6th Light Cruiser Squadron when it was deployed as part of a scheme to attack German minesweepers in the Heligoland Bight. This resulted in the inconclusive Second Battle of Heligoland Bight. An attempt by Valentine and the destroyer Vanquisher to carry out a torpedo attack on German cruisers proved unsuccessful.[11]
On 12 February 1919, Valentine was damaged in a collision with the destroyer
Peacetime service
Although the
Valentine joined the 6th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet in July 1932, where she served until she went into reserve at Devonport in November 1934. Valentine was re-commissioned into the 21st Destroyer Flotilla in September 1935, returning to the reserve in May 1936.[9]
Conversion
In 1936, the Admiralty recognised that the Royal Navy had a shortage of escort ships with good anti-aircraft armament, suitable for operations along the East coast of the Great Britain. As well as building a new class of escort destroyers designed for this role (the
Valentine was selected as one of the destroyers to undergo the Wair conversion, being converted at Devonport Dockyard, Plymouth between June 1939 and 23 April 1940.[21]
Loss
After completing work-up, Valentine joined the Nore Command, responsible for East coast convoys, transferring to Dover Command in May.[4] Valentine was one of four destroyers deployed to the Scheldt estuary to support demolition operations and the evacuation of shipping from Antwerp.[22] While providing AA cover to Allied troops, Valentine was damaged by dive bombers on 15 May 1940, and beached near Terneuzen.[23] 31 of Valentine's crew were killed, with a further 21 injured.[4] Valentine was partly salvaged and broken up in 1953,[24] but part of the ship's hull remains and is sometimes visible at low tide.[25]
References
- Footnotes
- ^ a b c d Preston 1971, pp. 97–98
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 160–162
- ^ Gardiner & Gray 1985, p. 82
- ^ a b Friedman 2009, p. 219
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 160
- ^ Friedman 2009, p. 163
- ^ a b c d e f English 2019, p. 43
- ^ a b "NMM, vessel ID 378193" (PDF). Warship Histories, Vol. IV. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
- ^ Grant 1964, pp. 52–53
- ^ English 2019, pp. 43, 68
- ^ Preston 1971, pp. 31–34
- ^ Dunn 2020, p. 239
- ^ Preston 1971, pp. 50–53
- ^ Halpern 2011, pp. 523–530
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 98
- ^ Whitley 2000, pp. 92–93
- ^ Friedman 2009, pp. 230–231
- ^ Preston 1971, pp. 113–114
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 71
- ^ Brown 1995, p. 32
- ^ Preston 1971, p. 123
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Valentine (i) (L 69)". u-boat.net. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- References
- Brown, David (1995). Warship Losses of World War Two. London: Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-278-2.
- Dunn, Steve R. (2020). Battle in the Baltic: The Royal Navy and the Fight to Save Estonia & Latvia 1918–20. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-4273-5.
- English, John (2019). Grand Fleet Destroyers: Part I: Flotilla Leaders and 'V/W' Class Destroyers. Windsor, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 978-0-9650769-8-4.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link - Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the First World War. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-049-9.
- Gardiner, Robert; Gray, Randal (1985). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5.
- Grant, Robert M. (1964). U-Boats Destroyed. London: Putnam.
- ISBN 9781409427568.
- Preston, Antony (1971). 'V & W' Class Destroyers 1917–1945. London: Macdonald. OCLC 464542895.
- Whitley, M.J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.