HMSLauderdale at Algiers Harbour decorated with a 'V', c. 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | HMSLauderdale |
| Ordered | 4 September 1939 |
| Builder | John Isaac Thornycroft |
| Laid down | 12 December 1939 |
| Launched | 5 August 1941 |
| Commissioned | August 1942 |
| Identification | Pennant number: L95 |
| Honours & awards |
|
| Fate | Loaned to theRoyal Hellenic Navy in 1946 |
| Badge | On a Field Red two antlers, suspended from the tines a bugle horn, stringed Gold. |
| Name | Aigaion |
| Namesake | Aegean Sea |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Hunt-classdestroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 85.3 m (279 ft 10 in)o/a |
| Beam | 10.16 m (33 ft 4 in) |
| Draught | 3.51 m (11 ft 6 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 2,350 nmi (4,350 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h) |
| Complement | 168 |
| Armament |
|
HMSLauderdale was aHunt-classdestroyer of theRoyal Navy. Ships of this class were designed as cheap, easily built vessels for convoy escort and antisubmarine duties. She was named like her sisters after afox hunt, in her case one in Berwickshire. War bonds were issued to finance the building of warships. DuringWarship Week held in 1942 the civil community of Berwickshire adopted the ship. She has been the only Royal Navy warship to carry this name.
On commissioning she was allocated for duty in the Western Approaches and crossed the Atlantic to Canada for trials - the only Hunt Class vessel to make the crossing.[1] At the end of March 1942 she returned to Londonderry and undertook North Sea convoy escort duty for the rest of the year.
In 1943 she was allocated for service in the Mediterranean, including support of the allied landings on Sicily in July of that year. In 1944 she continued operations in the Mediterranean and was allocated to support the landings in the South of France. She ended the year in the Adriatic Sea supporting operations there.
In 1945Lauderdale was allocated for service in the Far East and underwent a refit at Simonstown, South Africa.[2]
In 1946 she was transferred to theRoyal Hellenic Navy and renamedAigaion. She was removed from the effective list and returned to British ownership on 12 December 1959 and scrapped in Greece in 1960.[3]