HMS Electra (H27)

HMS Electra before the war wearing the single white stripe of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Electra
Ordered:	1 November 1932
Builder:	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn
Cost:	£253,350
Laid down:	15 March 1933
Launched:	15 February 1934
Commissioned:	13 September 1934
Struck:	1 January 1946
Identification:	Pennant number: H27
Motto:	Fulgens ab undis ("Shining from the waves")
Honours and awards:	Atlantic 1939–40; Norway 1940; BISMARCK Action 1941; Arctic 1941; Java Sea 1942
Fate:	Sunk, Battle of the Java Sea, 27 February 1942
General characteristics
Class and type:	E-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,405 long tons (1,428 t) (standard) 1,940 long tons (1,970 t) (deep load)
Length:	329 ft (100.3 m) o/a
Beam:	33 ft 3 in (10.13 m)
Draught:	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) (deep)
Installed power:	36,000 shp (26,800 kW) 3 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts; 2 × Parsons geared steam turbines
Speed:	35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph)
Range:	6,350 nmi (11,760 km; 7,310 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	145
Sensors and processing systems:	ASDIC
Armament:	4 × single QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk IX guns 2 × quadruple 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) machine guns 2 × quadruple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 20 × depth charges, 1 rack and 2 throwers
Service record
Part of:	5th Destroyer Flotilla, Home Fleet (1934–1935) 5th Destroyer Flotilla, Mediterranean Fleet (1935–1936) 12th Destroyer Flotilla (1939–1940) 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, Home Fleet (1940–1941) Force Z (1941–1942) China Force ABDA Area (1942)
Commanders:	Stuart Austen "Sammy" Buss, Cecil Wakeford May
Operations:	Battles of Narvik (1940) Battle of the Denmark Strait (1941) Operation Dervish (1941) Battle of Kuantan (1941) Battle of the Java Sea (1942)

HMS Electra was a one of nine E-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Sunk in the Battle of the Java Sea, Electra was a witness to many naval battles, including the Battle of the Denmark Strait and the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse. The ship's wreck was discovered in 2003 and had been badly damaged by illegal salvagers by 2016.

The E-class ships were slightly improved versions of the preceding D class. They displaced 1,405 long tons (1,428 t) at standard load and 1,940 long tons (1,970 t) at deep load. The ships had an overall length of 329 feet (100.3 m), a beam of 33 feet 3 inches (10.1 m) and a draught of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m). They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of 36,000 shaft horsepower (27,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph). Electra carried a maximum of 470 long tons (480 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 6,350 nautical miles (11,760 km; 7,310 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ships' complement was 145 officers and ratings.