HMS Vigilant was a V-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during World War II.
 Vigilant on the River Tyne, September 1943
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Vigilant |
| Ordered | 1 September 1941 |
| Builder | Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom |
| Laid down | 31 January 1942 |
| Launched | 22 December 1942 |
| Commissioned | 10 September 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 1963 |
| Identification | Pennant number R93/F93 |
| Honours and awards |
|
| Fate | Scrapped 6 June 1965 |
| General characteristics V-class destroyer | |
| Class and type | V-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 363 ft (111 m) |
| Beam | 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m) |
| Draught | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 37 knots (43 mph; 69 km/h) |
| Range | 4,860 nmi (9,000 km) at 29 kn (54 km/h) |
| Complement | 180 (225 in flotilla leader) |
| Armament |
|
| General characteristics Type 15 frigate | |
| Class and type | Type 15 frigate |
| Displacement | 2,300 long tons (2,337 t) standard |
| Length | 358 ft (109 m) o/a |
| Beam | 37 ft 9 in (11.51 m) |
| Draught | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 31 knots (36 mph; 57 km/h) (full load) |
| Complement | 174 |
| Sensors and processing systems | |
| Armament |
|
Second World War service
editOn 26 March 1945 she, along with the destroyers Saumarez, Volage, and Virago, intercepted a Japanese supply convoy east of Khota Andaman, Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean. She and Virago sank CH-63. Also part of the escorting destroyers of the 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron involved in Operation Dracula from April to May 1945. She participated in the Battle of the Malacca Strait with the destroyers Saumarez, Verulam, Venus, and Virago which culminated in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser Haguro on 16 May 1945.
Post-War service
editIn January 1946 Vigilant was part of the Londonderry Flotilla and in September 1946 went to the Mediterranean. Between 1947 and 1951 she was held in reserve at Portsmouth.
In 1951 she began conversion into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, by Thornycroft at Woolston. She was also allocated the new pennant number F93. Between 1953 and 1955 she was part of the 6th Frigate Squadron as part of the Home Fleet. In October 1954 she collided with another Type 15 Frigate HMS Relentless and was repaired at Devonport Dockyard.[1]
In 1955 she had been converted for use as a training frigate and became leader of the Dartmouth Training Squadron. In 1956 this consisted of Vigilant, Venus, Carron and the minesweepers Jewel and Acute.
Decommissioning and disposal
editVigilant was paid off in 1963 and arrived at Faslane for breaking up on 4 June 1965.[2]
Notes
edit- ^ Critchley, Mike (1982). British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. p. 70. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.
- ^ Mason, Geoffrey B. (2004). Gordon Smith (ed.). "HMS Vigilant (R 93) - V-class Destroyer". naval-history.net. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
Publications
edit- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Marriott, Leo (1994). Royal Navy Destroyers since 1945. Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1817-0.
- Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
External links
edit- Naval-History.net HMS Vigilant
- "Japanese Sub Chasers". Combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
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