HMS Achates (H12)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Achates |
| Ordered: | 6 March 1928 |
| Builder: | John Brown & Company, Clydebank |
| Yard number: | 526 |
| Laid down: | 11 September 1928 |
| Launched: | 4 October 1929 |
| Commissioned: | 27 March 1930 |
| Motto: | Fidus Achates (Latin: "Faithful Achates") |
| Fate: |
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| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type: | A-class destroyer |
| Displacement: | |
| Length: | 323 ft (98 m) (o/a) |
| Beam: | 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) |
| Draught: | 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: | 2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines |
| Speed: | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range: | 4,080 nmi (7,560 km; 4,700 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement: | 138 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Achates was an A-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy launched on 4 October 1929 and commissioned on 27 March 1930. She was sunk on 31 December 1942 in the Battle of the Barents Sea.
In early May 1941, the British Admiralty was on the alert that the German battleship Bismarck might attempt to break out into the North Atlantic, so Achates was ordered to Scapa Flow for possible deployment against the Germans. On 22 May, just after midnight, Achates sailed along with the destroyers Electra, Antelope, Anthony, Echo, and Icarus, escorting the battlecruiser Hood and the battleship Prince of Wales to cover the northern approaches. The intention was that the force would refuel in Hvalfjord, Iceland, and then sail again to watch the Denmark Strait.
On the evening of 23 May, weather started getting bad. At 2055 hrs., Admiral Lancelot Holland aboard Hood signaled the destroyers "If you are unable to maintain this speed I will have to go on without you. You should follow at your best speed." At 0215 on the morning of 24 May, the destroyers were ordered to spread out at 15 mi (24 km) intervals to search to the north. At about 0535, the German forces were sighted by Hood, and shortly after, the Germans sighted the British ships. Firing commenced at 0552. At 0601, Hood suffered a massive explosion, sinking the ship within two minutes.
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Wikipedia