Construction
HMS Zetland was ordered from Yarrows on 20 December 1939, one of 16 Type II Hunt-class destroyers ordered from various shipbuilders on that date, (including two from Yarrows). [1] The Hunts were meant to fill the Royal Navy's need for a large number of small destroyer-type vessels capable of both convoy escort and operations with the fleet. The Type II Hunts differed from the earlier ships in having increased beam in order to improve stability [lower-alpha 1] and carry the ships' originally intended armament. [3]
Zetland was laid down at Yarrow's Scotstoun, Glasgow shipyard on 2 October 1940, was launched on 15 January 1942 and completed on 7 May 1942. [1] [lower-alpha 2]
Zetland was 264 feet 3 inches (80.54 m) long between perpendiculars and 280 feet (85.34 m) overall. The ship's beam was 31 feet 6 inches (9.60 m) and draught 7 feet 9 inches (2.36 m). Displacement was 1,050 long tons (1,070 t ) standard and 1,490 long tons (1,510 t) under full load. Two Admiralty boilers raising steam at 300 pounds per square inch (2,100 kPa) and 620 °F (327 °C) fed Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines that drove two propeller shafts, generating 19,000 shaft horsepower (14,000 kW) at 380 rpm. This gave a speed of 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). [6] 277 long tons (281 t) of oil were carried, giving a design range of 2,560 nautical miles (4,740 km; 2,950 mi) (although in service use, this dropped to 1,550 nautical miles (2,870 km; 1,780 mi)). [7]
The ship's main gun armament was six 4 inch (102 mm) QF Mk XVI dual purpose (anti-ship and anti-aircraft) guns in three twin mounts, with one mount forward and two aft. Additional close-in anti-aircraft armament was provided by a quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" mount and two single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon mounted in the bridge wings. [8] [9] Power-operated twin Oerlikon mounts replaced the single Oerlikons during the war. [10] Up to 110 depth charges could be carried. [11] [12] [lower-alpha 3] The ship had a complement of 168 officers and men. [6] [8]
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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.
HMS Atherstone was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was launched in late 1939 as the first of her class but was found to be unstable, and had to undergo significant modifications before entering service in March 1940.
HMS Zephyr was a Z-class destroyer. She was launched on 13 July 1942 at Vickers-Armstrongs' High Walker shipyard and commissioned on 6 September 1944. She was 'adopted' by the civil community of Doncaster, replacing the destroyer HMS Lightning, which had originally been adopted during Warship Week in 1942.
HMS Brocklesby was a Type I Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War, spending much of the time in the English Channel and Mediterranean, taking part in the Dieppe Raid in 1942, and the Allied landings in Sicily and at Salerno in 1943. After the war, she was used as a sonar trials ship until 1963, and was sold for scrap in 1968.
HMS Eggesford was a Type III Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She entered service in January 1943, carrying out convoy escort, patrol and anti-shipping attacks for most of the rest of the Second World War. In 1957, she was sold to the West German Navy, serving as a training ship for the submarine weapons school until 1968.
HMS Oakley was a Type II Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was originally to have been named Tickham, however she was renamed after her sister ship Oakley was transferred to Poland and was renamed ORP Kujawiak (L72). She entered service in May 1943, carrying out convoy escort, patrol and anti-shipping attacks for most of the rest of the Second World War. She was adopted by the Civil community of Leighton Buzzard in Bedforshire as part of Warship Week in 1942. In 1957, she was sold to the West German Navy, serving as a training ship for the German Naval Gunnery school until scrapped in 1972.
HMS Talybont was a Type III Hunt-class escort destroyer who served in the Royal Navy. She was launched in February 1943 and completed in May that year, serving for the rest of the Second World War. She took part in the Normandy Landings in June 1944, supporting the landings at Omaha Beach and the Pointe du Hoc. Post war she served in the Mediterranean before being reduced to reserve at the end of 1947. She was sold for scrap in 1961, with disposal completed by 1962.
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HMS Limbourne (L57) was a Hunt-class escort destroyer, operated by the Royal Navy. She was sunk in action, off German-occupied Guernsey, on 23 October 1943.
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HNoMS Eskdale was an escort destroyer of the Type III Hunt class. The destroyer served with the Royal Norwegian Navy. It was sunk by enemy action in 1943.
United Kingdom
Norway
