 HMSCalpe departing Malta for the United Kingdom, 6 November 1945 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSCalpe |
| Ordered | December 1939 |
| Builder | Swan Hunter (Wallsend) |
| Laid down | 12 June 1940 |
| Launched | 28 April 1941 |
| Commissioned | 11 December 1941 |
| Identification | Pennant number: L71 |
| Fate | Sold to theRoyal Danish Navy in 1952 |
 Denmark | |
| Name | HDMSRolf Krake |
| Acquired | 1952 |
| Commissioned | 1954 |
| Decommissioned | 1962 |
| Identification | Pennant number: F342 |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1966 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Type II Hunt-classdestroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 85.34 m (280.0 ft) |
| Beam | 9.62 m (31.6 ft) |
| Draught | 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 shaft Parsons geared turbines; 19,000 shp |
| Speed | 25.5 knots (47.2 km/h; 29.3 mph) |
| Range | 3,600 nmi (6,670 km) at 14 knots (26 km/h) |
| Complement | 164 |
| Armament |
|
HMSCalpe (pennant number L71) was a BritishRoyal Navy Type IIHunt-class destroyer escort. Built as a result of the outbreak ofWorld War II,Calpe escorted convoys during the war and participated in theDieppe Raid. Calpe is an old name forGibraltar. Collaborating withUSS Wainwright on 13 December 1943, she assisted in the sinking of GermanU-boatU-593.Calpe was loaned and then sold to theDanish Navy, remaining active until she was scrapped in Sweden in 1966.
Calpe was ordered in December 1939 fromSwan Hunter Wallsend as part of the 1939 emergency program. She was not the first ship of this name asHMS Calpe had been a ship in the Royal Navy from 1800 to 1802. Thekeel was laid the following year and it was launched and completed in 1941. Following her acceptance on 11 December 1941, the ship set sail forScapa Flow.[1] The ship was adopted in February 1942 byAbingdon-on-Thames in Berkshire as part of aNational Savings campaign calledWarship Week.[1]
In 1942 she sailed under the Spanish Ensign as she approachedSt Jean de Luz. To keep up the pretense, all the crew remained below deck. It was not until before the bombardment took place on 4–5 April that the British Ensign replaced the Spanish jack.[2] On 28 July,Calpe andHMS Cottesmore shelled and sunk theVorpostenbootV 202Hermann Bösch in theEnglish Channel offLa Hague,Manche, France.[3]
On 18 and 19 August 1942Calpe was involved in theDieppe Raid. Her primary function was to act as the command ship for the raid and was used by Major-General Roberts (OC, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division) and Captain John Hugues-Hallet RN (Naval Commander for the raid). She acted as a hospital ship and sustained casualties, losing nearly a quarter of the crew. Despite this,Calpe managed to take on and care for 278 casualties.[4]
In October 1942,Calpe was included in the ships that would take part in action in North Africa. She was sent to guard a convoy to her namesakeGibraltar. In November she became part ofOperation Torch as she was included in the Central Task Force for allied landings.[1]
Calpe identified the submarineU-593 in the Mediterranean, and together with USSWainwright, managed to sink the U-boat on 13 December 1943.[5] The U-boat had already sunk two sister Hunt-class destroyers,Tynedale andHolcombe that month.[5] The captain ofWainwright, Commander Strohbehn, noted in his account that "it was a pleasure" to work with the British ship.[6]
Calpe was active in the Indian Ocean until 1946. She was sent back to Britain in the November and was put in "reserve". She was laid up in Sheerness and moved to Portsmouth in 1947. During 1952 she was placed on loan with theRoyal Danish Navy for nine years becoming HDMSRolf Krake.[7] Then Denmark bought her outright.[1]Rolf Krake remained active until October 1966 when she was scrapped atYstad in Sweden.[8]
The Government of Gibraltar issued both a 5p and a 22p stamp to celebrateCalpe.[9] The nameCalpe was reused in 1965 when theRoyal Navy Reserve formed its only HQ reserve unit in Gibraltar.[10]
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