HMS Quality (G62) on 13 May 1944 | |
History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Quality |
Builder | Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson's Limited |
Laid down | 10 October 1940 |
Launched | 6 October 1941 |
Commissioned | 7 September 1942 |
Decommissioned | 8 October 1945 |
Motto | Age Dum Agis (Latin: Do as You Do) |
Honours and awards |
|
Fate | Transferred to RAN |
Australia | |
Name | HMAS Quality |
Acquired | 8 October 1945 |
Commissioned | 28 November 1945 |
Decommissioned | 25 January 1946 |
Fate | Sold for scrap |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Q-class destroyer |
Displacement |
|
Length |
|
Beam | 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m) |
Propulsion | 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons Impulse turbines, 40,000 shp (30,000 kW) |
Speed | 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph) |
Range | 4,680 nautical miles (8,670 km; 5,390 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
Complement | 8 officers, 181 sailors |
Armament |
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HMS Quality (G62/D18) was a Q-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy. Entering service in 1942, the destroyer served in several theatres of World War II. Following the war's conclusion, the ship was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), commissioning as HMAS Quality (G62/D262) in late 1945. Unlike her sister ships, which were refitted as anti-submarine frigates, Quality was not modified, decommissioned after only 59 days of service, and was sold for scrap in 1958.
Quality was one of eight Q-class destroyers constructed as a flotilla under the War Emergency Programme. [1] These ships had a standard displacement of 1,705 tons, and a deep load displacement of 2,424 tons. [1] They were 358 feet 3 inches (109.19 m) long overall, and 339 feet 6 inches (103.48 m) long between perpendiculars, with a beam of 35 feet 8 inches (10.87 m). [1] Propulsion was provided by two Admiralty 3-drum boilers connected to Parsons Impulse turbines, which generated 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW) for the propeller shafts. [1] The destroyers had a maximum speed of 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph), and a range of 4,680 nautical miles (8,670 km; 5,390 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). [1] The ship's company consisted of 8 officers and 181 sailors. [1]
Main armament consisted of four QF 4.7 inch Mk IX guns in single turrets. [1] This was supplemented by a quadruple 2-pounder pom-pom, and six 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns. Four depth-charge throwers were fitted, with a payload of 70 charges carried, and two quadruple 21-inch torpedo tube sets were fitted, although a maximum of eight torpedoes were carried. [1]
Quality was laid down by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Limited at their Wallsend-on-Tyne shipyard on 10 October 1940. [1] The destroyer was launched by the wife of the shipyard overseer on 6 October 1941. [1] The destroyer was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 7 September 1942. [1] [2] Although commissioned as a Royal Navy vessel, a large portion of the ship's company were on loan from the RAN. [3] Like all ships in the class, Quality was given a name starting with "Q": the ship's badge depicts an ingot of gold stamped with the Hallmarks of Quality from the assay offices at London and Edinburgh. [3]
During World War II, the destroyer operated in the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. [3] The destroyer was transferred to the British Pacific Fleet in 1945. [3]
On 25 July 1944 Quality took part in Operation Crimson which was the naval bombardment and aerial strikes on Japanese airfields in the Indonesian cities of Sabang, Lhoknga and Kutaraja. At 0515, Quality along with the destroyers HMS Quilliam, HMS Quickmatch and the Dutch light cruiser HNLMS Tromp entered the harbour at Sabang and subsequently shelled and torpedoed Japanese positions and ships along the coast and quay. [4] Quality was hit at 0711 by 3-inch anti-aircraft shell which exploded in the rigging, causing damage to the after-bridge, mast and HA Director. Quality suffered eight casualties, one of which proved fatal, a British Movietone news cameraman who was filming on board at the time. [5]
Quality was awarded four battle honours for her wartime service: "North Africa 1942–43", "Sabang 1944", "Okinawa 1945", and "Japan 1945". [3]
On 8 October 1945, Quality became one of five Q-class ships transferred to the RAN on loan. [2] [6] The transfer allowed the return of four N-class destroyers to the RN. [6] Quality was transferred on 8 October 1945, and commissioned into the RAN on 28 November. [2] The ship spent most of her short career in Australian waters, apart from visits to Manus Island and New Guinea. [3]
Quality paid off into reserve on 25 January 1946, 59 days after commissioning. [3] The destroyer was to be converted into an anti-submarine frigate: to facilitate this, Quality and her four sister ships were gifted to the RAN in May 1950. [6] Quality was designated as the last of the five ships to undergo the conversion. [7] While waiting for conversion, the destroyer underwent refits in 1948 and 1950, and had to be docked for repairs to her hull in 1954. [7] On 14 August 1956, one of the reserve fleet shipkeepers noticed that Quality was sitting lower in the water than normal. [7] It was discovered that the hull had become corroded at the waterline, with the ship taking on water. [7] Quality underwent an emergency dry docking that day at Garden Island, with the superstructure cut off to increase the ship's freeboard. [7]
The deterioration of the ship while waiting for modernisation, combined with post-World War II reductions in RAN personnel numbers, the increases in both time and cost for the other four Q-class conversions, and the need for the RAN to cut back spending in order to support the navy's new aircraft carriers, meant that the conversion of Quality was cancelled and the ship was marked for disposal. [7] [8] Quality was sold for scrap to the Mitsubishi Company of Japan on 10 April 1958 for breaking up as scrap. [7] The ship's bell was donated to a school in Nowra, New South Wales. [3]
HMAS Bataan (D9/I91/D191) was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Laid down in 1942 and commissioned in 1945, the destroyer was originally to be named Chingilli or Kurnai but was renamed prior to launch in honour of the US stand during the Battle of Bataan.
HMAS Napier (G97/D13) was an N-class destroyer serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. Built during 1939 and 1940, the destroyer was commissioned into the RAN, although she was ordered and owned by the British government. During 1941, Napier operated in the Mediterranean, before being transferred to the British Eastern Fleet at the start of 1942, then to south Atlantic operations in early 1944. In 1945, Napier was assigned to the British Pacific Fleet, and spent the rest of World War II in the fight against Japan. After the war's end, the destroyer was decommissioned and returned to the British. She was sold off in 1955, and broken up in 1956.
HMAS Nepal (G25/D14) was an N-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Launched in 1941 as Norseman, the ship suffered significant damage during an air raid on the John I. Thornycroft and Company shipyard, and during repairs was renamed to recognise Nepal's contribution to the British war effort. Although commissioned into the RAN in 1942, the ship remained the property of the Royal Navy.
HMAS Nizam (G38/D15) was an N-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The destroyer, named after Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad, was commissioned into the RAN in 1940, although the ship remained the property of the Royal Navy for her entire career.
HMAS Quadrant (G11/D11/F01), named for the navigational instrument, was a Q-class destroyer operated by the Royal Navy as HMS Quadrant (G67/D17) during World War II, and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1945 to 1957. The ship was built during the early 1940s as one of the War Emergency Programme destroyers, and entered service in 1942.
HMAS Quiberon (G81/D20/D281/F03) was a Q-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Although built for the Royal Navy and remaining British property until 1950, Quiberon was one of two Q-class destroyers commissioned into the RAN during World War II. She was passed into full RAN ownership in 1950, and converted into an anti-submarine frigate.
HMAS Quickmatch (G92/D21/D292/F04) was a Q-class destroyer operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Although commissioned into the RAN in 1942, the ship was initially the property of the Royal Navy. Quickmatch served with both the British Eastern Fleet and British Pacific Fleet during World War II. In the 1950s, the destroyer was converted into an anti-submarine frigate. In 1957, Quickmatch operated in support of Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. The ship remained in service until 1963, and after use as an accommodation ship, was sold for scrap in 1972.
HMAS Swordsman (H11) was an Admiralty S-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built for the Royal Navy during World War I, the ship was not completed until 1919, and was transferred to the RAN at the start of 1920. The destroyer's career was uneventful, with most of it spent moored in Sydney. Swordsman was decommissioned in 1929, and scuttled off Sydney in 1939.
HMAS Queenborough (G70/D270/F02/57) was a Q-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
HMAS Stuart was a British Scott-class flotilla leader. The ship was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company for the Royal Navy during World War I, and entered service at the end of 1918. The majority of the destroyer's British service was performed in the Mediterranean, and in 1933 she was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy. Although placed in reserve in 1938, Stuart was reactivated at the start of World War II to lead the Australian destroyer force, nicknamed the "Scrap Iron Flotilla" by German propagandists.
HMAS Anzac was a Parker-class destroyer leader that served in the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Launched in early 1917 and commissioned into the Royal Navy, Anzac led the 14th Destroyer Flotilla of the Grand Fleet during the First World War. In 1919, she and five other destroyers were transferred to the RAN, with Anzac commissioning as an Australian warship in 1920. Except for three visits to New Guinea and one to the Solomon Islands, Anzac remained in southern and eastern Australian waters for her entire career. The destroyer was decommissioned in 1931, sold for scrapping four years later, stripped for parts, then towed outside Sydney Heads and sunk as a target ship in 1936.
HMAS Arunta (I30/D5/D130) was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Named for the Arrernte Aboriginal peoples, the destroyer was laid down in 1939 and commissioned into the RAN in 1942.
HMAS Norman (G49/D16) was an N-class destroyer operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) during World War II. Entering service in 1941, the ship was on loan from the Royal Navy.
HMAS Vendetta (D69/I69) was a V-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of 25 V class ships ordered for the Royal Navy during World War I, Vendetta entered service in 1917.
HMAS Torrens, named for the River Torrens, was a River-class torpedo-boat destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The destroyer was built at Cockatoo Island Dockyard and entered service with the RAN in 1916. The destroyer was first deployed to East Asia, then the Mediterranean, where she remained for the rest of World War I. After returning to Australia, the destroyer was decommissioned, but saw use in several ports for reservist training before the decision to sell her for scrap was made. After being stripped, the destroyer was towed outside Sydney Heads, used for gunnery practice, and scuttled.
HMAS Albatross was a seaplane tender of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), which was later transferred to the Royal Navy and used as a repair ship. Albatross was built by Cockatoo Island Dockyard during the mid-1920s and entered service at the start of 1929. The ship experienced problems with the aircraft assigned to her during her career: the amphibious aircraft she had been designed for were retired just before the ship entered service, the replacement aircraft could not be catapult-launched from the ship, and a new plane designed specifically to work with the ship began operations after Albatross was demoted from seagoing status in 1933.
HMAS Waterhen (D22/I22) was a W-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built during World War I, the destroyer was completed in mid-1918, and commissioned into the Royal Navy. In 1933, Waterhen and four other British ships were transferred to the RAN. The ship's early RAN career was uneventful, with periods spent decommissioned in reserve, but she was reactivated in September 1939, and deployed to the Mediterranean as part of the Australian destroyer force: the Scrap Iron Flotilla. During her time in the Mediterranean, Waterhen was involved in escort and patrol duties, performed shore bombardments, and participated in Allied evacuations from Greece and Crete. On 29 June 1941, while operating with the Tobruk Ferry Service, Waterhen was heavily damaged by two Italian Regia Aeronautica's aircraft, dive bombers Ju 87 Stuka of 239 squadriglia, flown by pilots Serg.mag. Ennio Tarantola e Serg. Lastrucci. Attempts to tow the ship to port were unsuccessful, and she sank on 30 June 1941, the first RAN ship lost to combat in World War II.
At the start of World War II, the Royal Navy operated a range of destroyer classes. Some of these were legacies of World War I, some were designed during the inter-war years and the rest were the result of wartime experience and conditions. British-built and -designed vessels were also supplied to and built by allied navies, primarily the Australian and Canadian navies.
HMS Ulster was a U-class destroyer of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom that saw service during World War II. She was later converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, with the new pennant number F83. Ulster was the second vessel in Royal Navy history to have that name.
HMS Albrighton was a Type III Hunt-class destroyer built for the British Royal Navy. She entered service in February 1942, first carrying out an attack on German ships in the English Channel then taking part in the Dieppe Raid, rescuing survivors from the sinking destroyer HMS Broke. Albrighton was next assigned to search for and destroy the German auxiliary cruiser Komet, then escorted a convoy to Gibraltar in prevision of the Allied landings in North Africa. Between December 1942 and April 1943, she participated in the sinking of three more Axis ships with the First Destroyer Flotilla. During the Normandy Landings in June 1944, Albrighton served as a headquarters ship, then sank two German trawlers in the weeks after the invasion. After being converted to a destroyer in early 1945, she was damaged in a collision with a Landing Ship, then was assigned to the British Eastern Fleet. However, the war ended before she was deployed and Albrighton went into reserve.