 Roebuck in June 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSRoebuck |
| Ordered | May 1940 |
| Builder | Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. |
| Laid down | 19 June 1941 |
| Launched | 10 December 1942 (premature) |
| Commissioned | 10 June 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 1962 |
| Identification | Pennant number H95/F195 |
| Honours & awards |
|
| Fate | Scrapped, 1968 |
| Badge | On a Field White, a Roebuck guardant proper. |
| General characteristics As R-class destroyer | |
| Class & type | R-classdestroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 358.25 ft (109.19 m)o/a |
| Beam | 35.75 ft (10.90 m) |
| Draught | 9.5 ft (2.9 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 x Admiralty 3-drumwater-tube boilers,Parsons geared steam turbines, 40,000 shp (30,000 kW) on 2 shafts |
| Speed | 36 kn (67 km/h) |
| Range | 4,675 nmi (8,658 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Complement | 176 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| General characteristics AsType 15frigate | |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 358 ft (109 m)o/a |
| Beam | 37.75 ft (11.51 m) |
| Draught | 14.5 ft (4.4 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 31 kn (57 km/h) (full load) |
| Range | 4,675 nmi (8,658 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) |
| Complement | 174 |
| Sensors & processing systems | |
| Armament |
|
HMSRoebuck was anR-classdestroyer of theBritishRoyal Navy that saw service duringWorld War II. She was the fifteenth ship to carry this traditional ship name, after asmall deer native to the British Isles, which was used as far back as the reign ofQueen Elizabeth I.
Ordered in May 1940 fromScotts shipyard inGreenock, construction was delayed and she was not laid down until 19 June 1941.[2]Roebuck then had the dubious honour of being launched prematurely by an air raid[clarification needed] on 10 December 1942, her partially complete hulk lying submerged in the dockyard for three months before it was salvaged and completed in May 1943.[3]
Aftersea trials,Roebuck was accepted into service on 10 June and assigned to the11th Destroyer Flotilla of theEastern Fleet, first taking passage toScapa Flow to work-up withHome Fleet. In August, she was prepared for foreign service and then took passage toFreetown, finally joining the Flotilla in theIndian Ocean in September, which was deployed for convoy defence and patrols.[2]
On 12 March,Roebuck formed part of the escort for theaircraft carrierBattler and the cruisersSuffolk andNewcastle, with the destroyerQuadrant, during the search in the Indian Ocean for the GermanU-boat supply shipBrake. After being intercepted by aircraftBrake was scuttled by her own crew.[2]
In JuneRoebuck was deployed with Fleet units offBurma and bombardedMartaban. On 19 June, she formed part of the destroyer screen of Force 60 along with the destroyersQuality,Quickmatch,Rotherham,Racehorse,Relentless andRaider, providing protection for the aircraft carrierIllustrious, the battlecruiserRenown,Richelieu, and cruisersNigeria,Kenya andCeylon.[2]
On 25 July, she was deployed with the Flotilla as the screen for Eastern Fleet major units covering operations by the aircraft carriersVictorious andIndomitable against targets atSabang andSumatra in "Operation Crimson".[2]
In AugustRoebuck took passage toSimon's Town for a refit by HM Dockyard, rejoining the Flotilla at Trincomalee in November.[2]
In FebruaryRoebuck joined Force 68 for offensive patrols and bombarded theCocos Islands with destroyersRocket,Rapid andRotherham in Operations "Office" and "Training".[2]
On 27 April, she was deployed with Force 63 as the screen for major fleet units providing cover for the landings atRangoon in "Operation Dracula", and on the 30th was deployed with Force 62, and bombarded Matapan with the destroyersRacehorse andRedoubt in "Operation Gable" which also included the interception of enemy evacuation vessels. On 1 May she took part in bombardments atCar Nicobar with the Flotilla in "Operation Bishop".[2]
On 13 May,Roebuck,Redoubt andRacehorse, escortedNigeria from Trincomalee as Force 63, during a search for Japanese warships evacuating personnel from theAndaman and Nicobar Islands, and remained with the Fleet screen during theattacks on Japanese ships.[2]
On 18 June, she was deployed with the flotilla as a screen for the ships of 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron, which comprised theescort carriersStalker,Khedive andAmeer, and the cruisersRoyalist andSuffolk, which were carrying out photo-reconnaissance flights over southern Malaya in "Operation Balsam".[2]
On 5 July, she was deployed with the cruiserNigeria, and destroyersEskimo andVigilant to cover minesweeping operations off Malaya and the Nicobar Islands. She then took part in bombardment ofNancowry.[2]
In August,Roebuck was preparing for large-scale landings in Malaya in "Operation Zipper", but thesurrender of Japan brought hostilities to a close before they could be put into effect. She sailed toSingapore to support the re-occupation until sailing to Simon's Town in October to refit.[2]
Following the successful conversion of her sister shipsRocket andRelentless,Roebuck was selected for conversion to aType 15 anti-submarine frigate in 1952.[2] She was given the newpennant number F195.[4]
On completion of the conversion in May 1953 she was recommissioned for service in the5th Frigate Squadron.[2] In 1953, she took part in theFleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[5]
In 1957, she refitted for training duties and joined theDartmouth Training Squadron, replacing HMSCarron. She went into refit again in 1959.[6] Recommissioned in May 1960, she joined the 17th Escort Squadron and remained on the operational list until returning to pay-off into reserve atPlymouth in 1962.[2]
Before being placed on the Disposal List the ship was de-equipped atHM Dockyard Devonport.Roebuck was sold to theBritish Iron & Steel Corporation (BISCO) for demolition byThos. W. Ward. She was towed to the breaker's yard atInverkeithing on 8 August 1968.[2]
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 Royal Navy | |
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 Royal Australian Navy | |
| Royal Canadian Navy | |
 South African Navy |
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