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HMS Duke of York (17)

HMS Duke of York during an Arctic convoy.jpg
HMS Duke of York in March 1942, while escorting Convoy PQ 12
History
UK
Name: HMS Duke of York
Namesake: George VI (previously the Duke of York)
Ordered: 16 November 1936
Builder: John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland
Yard number: 554
Laid down: 5 May 1937
Launched: 28 February 1940
Commissioned: 4 November 1941
Decommissioned: November 1951
Struck: 18 May 1957
Identification: Pennant number: 17
Fate: Scrapped in 1957 at Shipbreaking Industries, Ltd., Faslane, Scotland
General characteristics
Class and type: King George V-class battleship
Displacement: 42,076 long tons (42,751 t) deep load
Length:
  • 745 ft 1 in (227.1 m) (overall)
  • 740 ft 1 in (225.6 m) (waterline)
Beam: 103 ft 2 in (31.4 m)
Draught: 34 ft 4 in (10.5 m)
Installed power: 110,000 shp (82,000 kW)
Propulsion:
Speed: 28.3 knots (52.4 km/h; 32.6 mph)
Range: 15,600 nmi (28,900 km; 18,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement: 1,556 (1945)
Sensors and
processing systems:
Armament:
Armour:
  • Main Belt: 14.7 inches (370 mm)
  • Lower belt: 5.4 inches (140 mm)
  • Deck: 5–6 inches (127–152 mm)
  • Main turrets: 12.75 inches (324 mm)
  • Barbettes: 12.75 inches (324 mm)
  • Bulkheads: 10–12 inches (254–305 mm)
  • Conning tower: 3–4 inches (76–102 mm).
Aircraft carried: 4 × Supermarine Walrus seaplanes
Aviation facilities: 1 × double-ended catapult (removed early 1944)

HMS Duke of York was a King George V-class battleship of the Royal Navy. Laid down in May 1937, the ship was constructed by John Brown and Company at Clydebank, Scotland, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 4 November 1941, subsequently seeing combat service during the Second World War.

In mid-December 1941, Duke of York transported Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the United States to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Between March and September 1942 Duke of York was involved with convoy escort duties, but in October she was dispatched to Gibraltar where she became the flagship of Force H.

In October 1942, Duke of York was involved in the Allied invasion of North Africa, but saw little action as her role only required her to protect the accompanying aircraft carriers. HMS Duke of York stopped the Portuguese vessel Gil Eannes on 1 November 1942 and a commando arrested Gastão de Freitas Ferraz. The British had picked up radio traffic indicating naval espionage, possibly compromising the secrecy of the upcoming Operation Torch.

After Operation Torch, Duke of York was involved in Operations Camera and Governor, which were diversionary operations designed to draw the Germans' attention away from Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. On 4 October, Duke of York operated with her sister-ship Anson in covering a force of Allied cruisers and destroyers and the American carrier Ranger,during Operation Leader, which raided German shipping off Norway. The attack sank four merchant ships and badly damaged a further seven.


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