HMS Cavendish (R15)

	Cavendish in 1945
History
United Kingdom
Name	Cavendish
Ordered	February 1942
Builder	John Brown, Clydebank
Laid down	19 May 1943 as Sibyl
Launched	12 April 1944
Completed	12 December 1944
Commissioned	28 July 1944
Out of service	Paid off on 1 January 1965
Renamed	As Cavendish before launch
Identification	Pennant number: R15 initially, but changed to D15 in 1945
Motto	Cavendo tutus: ‘Safe by taking care‘
Fate	Sold for scrap, 2 August 1967
Badge	On a Field Blue, a ring Gold nowed at the base by a snake Proper.
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	C-class destroyer
Displacement	1,730 long tons (1,760 t) (standard)
Length	362 ft 9 in (110.6 m) o/a
Beam	35 ft 8 in (10.9 m)
Draught	14 ft 6 in (4.4 m) (full load)
Installed power	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers ; 40,000 shp (30,000 kW);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	4,675 nautical miles (8,658 km; 5,380 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	222
Armament	4 × single 4.5 in (114 mm) DP guns ; 1 × twin 40 mm (1.6 in) AA gun ; 2 × twin and 2 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns; 2 × quadruple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes ; 4 throwers and 2 racks for 108 depth charges ;

Last updated October 23, 2024

HMS Cavendish was one of eight C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Commissioned in late 1944, she was built as a flotilla leader with additional accommodation for staff officers. The ship was assigned to the Home Fleet in 1945 after working up where she escorted capital ships of the fleet. Cavendish was sold for scrap in 1967.

Design and description

The Ca-class destroyer was a repeat of the preceding Z class. The ships displaced 1,730 long tons (1,760 t ) at standard load and 2,575 long tons (2,616 t) at deep load. They had an overall length of 362 feet 9 inches (110.6 m), a beam of 35 feet 8 inches (10.9 m) and a deep draught of 14 feet 6 inches (4.4 m).^[1]

The ships were powered by a pair of geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of 40,000 indicated horsepower (30,000 kW ) and gave a speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) at normal load.^[2] During her sea trials, Cavendish reached a speed of 32.7 knots (60.6 km/h; 37.6 mph) at a load of 2,336 long tons (2,373 t).^[3] The Ca-class ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 4,675 nautical miles (8,658 km; 5,380 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). As a flotilla leader, Cavendish's complement was 222 officers and ratings.^[4]

The main armament of the destroyers consisted of four QF 4.5-inch (114 mm) Mk IV dual-purpose guns, one superfiring pair each fore and aft of the superstructure protected by partial gun shields. Their anti-aircraft suite consisted of one twin-gun stabilised Mk IV "Hazemeyer" mount for 40-millimetre (1.6 in) Bofors guns amidships and two twin and a pair of single mounts for six 20-millimetre (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns. The ships were also fitted with two quadruple mounts amidships for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes.^[4]^[5] For anti-submarine work, they were equipped with a pair of depth charge rails and four throwers for 108 depth charges.^[6]

Construction and career

Cavendish was laid down by John Brown & Company at their shipyard in Clydebank on 19 May 1943 with the name of Sibyl and was launched on 12 April 1944 by which time she had been renamed. She was commissioned on 13 December^[7] and was allocated to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla for service with the Home Fleet. After a refit in mid-1945 to augment her anti-aircraft armament, she was transferred for service in the Far East in June, but joined the East Indies Fleet at Trincomalee, British Ceylon, in August.^[8]

Post war service

Following the war Cavendish paid off into reserve. She was selected for modernisation and the work was completed in 1955.^[9] She emerged from modernisation in 1955 for service with the 6th Destroyer Flotilla as part of the Home Fleet, including service in the Mediterranean. In 1960 she was deployed for service with the Far Eastern Fleet at Singapore. In 1964 she returned to Portsmouth and received a brief refit. Cavendish was paid off on 1 January 1965 and was sold for scrap to Hughes Bolckow on 2 August 1967. She arrived at the breaker's yard in Blyth for scrapping on 14 August 1967.^[10]

Related Research Articles

The C class was a class of 32 destroyers of the Royal Navy that were launched from 1943 to 1945. The class was built in four flotillas of 8 vessels, the "Ca", "Ch", "Co" and "Cr" groups or sub-classes, ordered as the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Emergency Flotillas respectively. The sub-class names are derived from the initial 2 letters of the member ships' names, although the "Ca" class were originally ordered with a heterogeneous mix of traditional destroyer names. A fifth flotilla, the "Ce" or 15th Emergency Flotilla, was planned but were cancelled in favour of the Weapon-class destroyers after only the first two ships had been ordered. The pennant numbers were all altered from "R" superior to "D" superior at the close of World War II; this involved some renumbering to avoid duplications.

ORP Piorun was an N-class destroyer operated by the Polish Navy in World War II. The word piorun is Polish for "Thunderbolt". Ordered by the Royal Navy in 1939, the ship was laid down as HMS Nerissa before being loaned to the Poles in October 1940 while still under construction.

HMS Penn was a P-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

HMS Nubian was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw much distinguished service in World War II. She won 13 battle honours, a record only exceeded by one other ship, and matched by two others.

HMS Bedouin was a Tribal-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War II.

HMS Highlander was an H-class destroyer that had originally been ordered by the Brazilian Navy with the name Jaguaribe in the late 1930s, but was bought by the Royal Navy after the beginning of World War II in September 1939 and later renamed. When completed in March 1940, she was assigned to the 9th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet. The ship was assigned to convoy escort duties in June with the Western Approaches Command, sinking one German submarine in October. Highlander was transferred to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in mid-1941 to escort convoys off West Africa, but returned to the United Kingdom in August. She became flotilla leader of Escort Group B-4 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force in early 1942 and continued to escort convoys in the North Atlantic for the rest of the war. The ship became a target ship after the war ended and was sold for scrap in mid-1946.

HMS Pathfinder was a P-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was damaged while serving in the Far East, and was scrapped after the end of the war.

HMS Wolfhound was one of 21 W-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Completed in 1918 the ship only played a minor role in the war before its end. The ship was converted into an anti-aircraft escort destroyer during the Second World War and was badly damaged during the Dunkirk evacuation. Wolfhound survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1948.

HMS Milne was a M-class destroyer of the Royal Navy which served during World War II. She was equipped as a flotilla leader.

HMS Consort was one of thirty-two C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, a member of the eight-ship Co sub-class.

HMS Loyal was a L-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the late 1930s, although she was not completed until after World War II had begun.

The fifth HMS Valorous, ex-HMS Montrose, was a V-class flotilla leader of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War I, the Russian Civil War, and World War II.

The second HMS Vanity was a V-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War I that saw service in World War II.

HMS Carron was one of thirty-two C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, a member of the eight-ship Ca sub-class. Commissioned in late 1944, she was assigned to the Home Fleet and escorted the fleet's larger ships during operations off German-occupied Norway. Carron was sold for scrap in 1967.

HMS Cambrian was one of eight C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. commissioned in mid-1944, she was assigned to the Home Fleet and escorted two Arctic convoys as well as larger elements of the fleet during operations off the German-occupied Norwegian coast.

HMS Caesar was one of thirty-two C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, a member of the eight-ship Ca sub-class. Commissioned in 1944, she was built as a flotilla leader with additional accommodation for staff officers. The ship was assigned to Home Fleet during 1944–1945 and escorted one Arctic convoy as well as the capital ships of the fleet.

HMS Cheviot was one of thirty-two C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, a member of the eight-ship Ch sub-class. Completed after the war, she was sold for scrap in 1962.

HMS Childers was one of thirty-two C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, a member of the eight-ship Ch sub-class. Commissioned in 1945, she was built as a flotilla leader with additional accommodation for staff officers.

HMS Chivalrous was one of thirty-two C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, a member of the eight-ship Ch sub-class. Commissioned in 1946, she was built as a flotilla leader with additional accommodation for staff officers. The ship was loaned to the Pakistani Navy during the late 1950s and was sold for scrap in 1961 after being returned.

HMS Comet was one of thirty-two C-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War, a member of the eight-ship Co sub-class.

References

↑ Chesneau, p. 43
↑ Whitley, p. 135
↑ March, p. 422
1 2 Lenton, p. 179
↑ Preston, p. 185
↑ March, p. 419
↑ Whitley, p. 136
↑ Preston, pp. 185, 199
↑ Warlow, Ben (1990). Channel Sweep. Liskeard: Maritime Books. p. 34. ISBN 0-907771-40-8.
↑ English, p. 125

Bibliography

Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
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.
English, John (2001). Obdurate to Daring: British Fleet Destroyers 1941–45. Windsor, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 978-0-9560769-0-8.
Friedman, Norman (2006). British Destroyers and Frigates, the Second World War and After. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555.
Marriott, Leo (1989). Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945 . Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-1817-0.
Preston, Antony (1973). HMS Cavalier and the 'Ca' Class Destroyers. Warship Profile. Vol. 2. Windsor, UK: Profile Publications. OCLC 53090718.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.

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[1] Chesneau, p. 43

[2] Whitley, p. 135

[3] March, p. 422

[l9-4] 1 2 Lenton, p. 179

[5] Preston, p. 185

[6] March, p. 419

[7] Whitley, p. 136

[8] Preston, pp. 185, 199

[9] Warlow, Ben (1990). Channel Sweep. Liskeard: Maritime Books. p. 34. ISBN 0-907771-40-8.

[10] English, p. 125

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History
Cavendish in 1945
United Kingdom
Name	Cavendish
Ordered	February 1942
Builder	John Brown, Clydebank
Laid down	19 May 1943 as Sibyl
Launched	12 April 1944
Completed	12 December 1944
Commissioned	28 July 1944
Out of service	Paid off on 1 January 1965
Renamed	As Cavendish before launch
Identification	Pennant number: R15 initially, but changed to D15 in 1945
Motto	Cavendo tutus: ‘Safe by taking care‘
Fate	Sold for scrap, 2 August 1967
Badge	On a Field Blue, a ring Gold nowed at the base by a snake Proper.
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	C-class destroyer
Displacement	1,730 long tons (1,760 t) (standard)
Length	362 ft 9 in (110.6 m) o/a
Beam	35 ft 8 in (10.9 m)
Draught	14 ft 6 in (4.4 m) (full load)
Installed power	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers 40,000 shp (30,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	4,675 nautical miles (8,658 km; 5,380 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	222
Armament	4 × single 4.5 in (114 mm) DP guns 1 × twin 40 mm (1.6 in) AA gun 2 × twin and 2 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns 2 × quadruple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 4 throwers and 2 racks for 108 depth charges