HMS Camperdown (D32)

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Camperdown
Builder	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
Laid down	30 October 1942
Launched	8 February 1944
Commissioned	18 June 1945
Identification	Pennant number D32
Fate	Scrapped 1970
General characteristics
Class and type	Battle-class destroyer
Displacement	2,325 tons standard 3,430 tons full load
Length	379 ft (116 m)
Beam	40 ft (12 m)
Draught	15.3 ft (4.7 m)
Propulsion	2 steam turbines, 2 shafts, 2 boilers, 50,000 shp (37 MW)
Speed	35.75 knots (66.21 km/h)
Range	4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement	268
Armament	2 × dual 4.5-inch (114 mm) gun 1 × single 4-inch (102 mm) gun 14 × Bofors 40 mm gun 10 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 1 × Squid mortar
Service record
Part of:	British Pacific Fleet 19th Destroyer Flotilla 3rd Destroyer Flotilla 1st Destroyer Squadron

HMS Camperdown was a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Navy (RN). She was named after the Battle of Camperdown, a naval engagement between the British and Dutch that took place in 1797, and which resulted in a British victory.

She was built by Fairfields and launched on 8 February 1944 and commissioned on 18 June 1945.

Service[]

Camperdown subsequently joined the British Pacific Fleet, though she did not see action during the Second World War. In 1946, she deployed to the Far East as part of the , visiting a variety of ports, as well as performing a number of naval exercises on the way. The following year, Camperdown, along with the rest of the 19th Flotilla, after visits to many Far East ports, and a trip through the Mediterranean, returned to the United Kingdom. She was subsequently placed in Reserve.^[1]

She was put back into service in 1953 and formed part of the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II^[2] on the Solent, a record of which can be found displayed on board the royal yacht Britannia.

In 1953, at Plymouth, Camperdown was accidentally rammed by Coreopsis, a Flower-class corvette (renamed Compass Rose for her role in the film The Cruel Sea), causing damage. In 1957, the ship joined the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet, and just the following year, suffered a fire. In 1960, Camperdown joined the 1st Destroyer Squadron, with spells with the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. In 1962, Camperdown was placed on the disposal list and in 1970, she was finally scrapped at Faslane.

References[]

Publications[]

• 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.
• Hodges, Peter (1971). Battle Class Destroyers. London: Almark Publishing. ISBN 0-85524-012-1.