HMS Hostile underway on completion, October 1936
|
|
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name: | HMS Hostile |
Ordered: | 13 December 1934 |
Builder: | Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Greenock, Scotland |
Cost: | £253,382 |
Laid down: | 27 February 1935 |
Launched: | 24 January 1936 |
Completed: | 10 September 1936 |
Identification: | Pennant number: H55 |
Fate: | damaged by a mine off Cape Bon 23 August 1940, scuttled by HMS Hero |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Class and type: | H-class destroyer |
Displacement: | |
Length: | 323 ft (98.5 m) |
Beam: | 33 ft (10.1 m) |
Draught: | 12 ft 5 in (3.8 m) |
Installed power: |
|
Propulsion: | 2 shafts, Parsons geared steam turbines |
Speed: | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
Range: | 5,530 nmi (10,240 km; 6,360 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement: | 137 (peacetime), 146 (wartime) |
Sensors and processing systems: |
ASDIC |
Armament: |
|
HMS Hostile (H55) was an H-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. She was transferred to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in October 1939 to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K. Hostile participated in the First Battle of Narvik in April 1940 and the Battle of Calabria in July 1940. The ship was damaged by a mine off Cape Bon in the Strait of Sicily while on passage from Malta to Gibraltar on 23 August 1940. She was then scuttled by HMS Hero.
Hostile displaced 1,350 long tons (1,370 t) at standard load and 1,883 long tons (1,913 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), a beam of 33 feet (10.1 m), and a draught of 12 feet 5 inches (3.8 m). She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 34,000 shaft horsepower (25,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers. Hostile carried a maximum of 470 long tons (480 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 5,530 nautical miles (10,240 km; 6,360 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime.