HMSKandahar with the captured Italian submarineGalileo Galilei, Gulf of Aden, June 1940
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMSKandahar
Ordered	March 1935
Builder	William Denny & Brothers
Laid down	18 January 1938
Launched	21 March 1939
Commissioned	10 October 1939
Identification	Pennant number F28
Honours and awards	Greece 1941 – Crete 1941 – Libya 1941 – Mediterranean 1941 – Malta Convoys 1941
Fate	Mined, 19 December 1941 Scuttled byHMS Jaguar 20 December 1941
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	K-class destroyer
Displacement	1,690 long tons (1,720 t) (standard) 2,330 long tons (2,370 t) (deep load)
Length	356 ft 6 in (108.66 m)o/a
Beam	35 ft 9 in (10.90 m)
Draught	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) (deep)
Installed power	44,000 shp (33,000 kW) 2 ×Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion	2 × shafts; 2 × gearedsteam turbines
Speed	36knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	183 (218 forflotilla leaders)
Sensors and processing systems	ASDIC
Armament	3 × twinQF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk XII guns 1 × quadrupleQF 2-pounderanti-aircraft guns 2 × quadrupleQF 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Mk IIIanti-aircraft machineguns 2 × quintuple21-inch (533 mm)torpedo tubes 20 ×depth charges, 1 × rack, 2 × throwers

HMSKandahar (F28) was aK-classdestroyer built for theRoyal Navy during the 1930s, named after the Afghan city ofKandahar.

The K-class destroyers were repeats of the preceding J class, except that they were not fitted forminesweeping gear. They displaced 1,690 long tons (1,720 t) atstandard load and 2,330 long tons (2,370 t) atdeep load. The ships had anoverall length of 339 feet 6 inches (103.5 m), abeam of 35 feet (10.7 m) and adraught of 9 feet (2.7 m). They were powered byParsons gearedsteam turbines, each driving onepropeller shaft, using steam provided by twoAdmiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of 40,000shaft horsepower (30,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). The ships carried a maximum of 484 long tons (492 t) offuel oil that gave them a range of 5,500nautical miles (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ship's complement was 183 officers and men.^[1]

The ships were armed with six4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII guns in twin mounts, twosuperfiring in front of thebridge and one aft of thesuperstructure. Foranti-aircraft (AA) defence, they had one quadruple mount for2-pounder "pom-pom" guns and two quadruple mounts for the0.5 inch Vickers Mark IIIanti-aircraft machinegun. The K-class ships were fitted with two above-water quintuple mounts for21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.^[2] The ship was fitted with twodepth charge throwers and one rack for 20 depth charges.^[1]

Kandahar was launched on 21 March 1939.^[3]

On 21 February 1940, in company withsister shipKimberley and thecruiserManchester, she captured the German blockade runnerSS Wahehe offIceland.^[4]

On 19 December 1941, she was part of BritishForce K, tasked to intercept an Italian convoy bound forTripoli when she was irreparably damaged by a newly laid Italianmine whilst attempting to rescue the stricken cruiserNeptune. She was scuttled the next day by the destroyerJaguar. 73 men went down with the ship.^[5]

• Caruana, Joseph (2006). "The Demise of Force "K"".Warship International.XLIII (1):99–111.ISSN 0043-0374.
• 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).Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937–43. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society.ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
• Friedman, Norman (2006).British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
• Haarr, Geirr H. (2010).The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-59114-051-1.
• Haarr, Geirr H. (2009).The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 978-1-59114-310-9.
• Langtree, Charles (2002).The Kelly's: British J, K, and N Class Destroyers of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-55750-422-9.
• 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.
• 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 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-326-1.

• HMSNeptune Association, includes information on the sinking of HMS Kandahar

32°57′0″N14°19′0″E / 32.95000°N 14.31667°E /32.95000; 14.31667

• J, K and N-class destroyers of the Royal Navy
• Ships built on the River Clyde
• 1939 ships
• World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
• World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
• Maritime incidents in December 1941
• Ships sunk by mines

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