HMAS Duchess (D154)

History
United Kingdom
Name:	Duchess
Builder:	John I. Thornycroft and Company
Laid down:	8 July 1948
Launched:	9 April 1951
Commissioned:	23 October 1952
Motto:	"Duci Non Trahi" (To Be Led But Not Dragged)
Fate:	Loaned to RAN in 1964, sold 1972
Australia
Name:	Duchess
Acquired:	19 April 1964
Commissioned:	8 May 1964
Decommissioned:	23 October 1977
Reclassified:	Training ship (1974)
Nickname(s):	"Her Ladyship"
Honours and awards:	Battle honours: Malaysia 1965–66
Fate:	Sold for scrap, 7 May 1980
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Daring-class destroyer
Displacement:	2,950 tons standard 3,580 tons full load
Length:	390 ft (120 m) overall 366 feet (112 m) between perpendiculars
Beam:	43 ft (13 m)
Draught:	17 ft (5.2 m) maximum
Propulsion:	2 × Forster Wheeler oil-fuelled boilers 2 × English Electric geared turbines 54,000 shaft horsepower (40,000 kW) 2 shafts
Speed:	30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph) maximum 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) cruising
Range:	1,700 nautical miles (3,100 km; 2,000 mi) at 30.5 knots (56.5 km/h; 35.1 mph) 4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km; 5,100 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement:	278 as destroyer 243 as training ship
Armament:	At launch: 6 × QF 4.5 inch /45 (113 mm) Mark V guns in 3 twin mountings UD Mark VI 4 × 40 mm /60 Bofors A/A in 2 twin mounts STAAG Mark II 2 × 40 mm /60 Bofors A/A in 1 twin mount Mark V 10 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (2 x 5-tube mounts) 1 × Squid anti submarine mortar Mark 10 4 × 3-pounder saluting guns Modifications: Aft torpedoe mount removed 1959-60 Midships torpedo mount, Aft 4.5 inch twin mounting, and Squid mortar removed 1974

HMAS Duchess was a Daring-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy as HMS Duchess from 1952 to 1964, and in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1964 to 1980. She was laid down by John I. Thornycroft and Company, and commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1952.

Initially assigned to the Home Fleet, Duchess spent her early career on exercises and port visits. She was involved in celebrations for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II during 1953, and escorted the royal yacht Britannia in 1954. The destroyer was reassigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in late 1954, and was involved in exercises, port visits, and anti-weapons-smuggling patrols of Cyprus. During the 1956 Suez Crisis, Duchess operated as plane guard and escort to the British carrier force, and was the last ship to leave Port Said after the British-French invasion failed. The destroyer was reassigned to the Home Fleet in early 1957, then was sent back to the Mediterranean as leader of the 5th Destroyer Squadron later that year. A modernisation refit ran from late 1958 to the start of 1961, after which, Duchess resumed operations with the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1963, tensions leading to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation resulted in Duchess being assigned to the Far East Fleet as part of a strengthening of British assets in South East Asia.

Following the 1964 Melbourne-Voyager collision, Duchess was loaned to the RAN as a temporary replacement for Voyager. The ship was deployed to the Far East Strategic Reserve throughout the 1960s, and operated as an escort for the Vietnam War troopship Sydney on several occasions. The original four-year loan was extended to 1972, at which point the ship was purchased outright by the Australian government. Duchess was converted into a training ship during 1973 and 1974, and spent the rest of her career operating on midshipman training cruises in Australian, New Zealand, and South Pacific waters. Duchess was replaced in the training role in 1977, and was decommissioned. The destroyer was sold for scrap in 1980.

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