 Wheatland during the Second World War | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSWheatland |
| Ordered | 4 September 1939 |
| Builder | Yarrow Shipbuilders |
| Laid down | 30 May 1940 |
| Launched | 7 June 1941 |
| Commissioned | 3 November 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 19 June 1945 |
| Identification | Pennant number: L122 |
| Honours & awards | Arctic 1942, North Africa 1942–43, Sicily 1943, Mediterranean 1943, Salerno 1943, Adriatic 1944 |
| Fate | Scrapped at Bo'ness on 20 September 1957 |
| General characteristics Type II | |
| Class & type | Hunt-classdestroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 85.3 m (279 ft 10 in)o/a |
| Beam | 9.6 m (31 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 2.51 m (8 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | 3,600 nmi (6,700 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h) |
| Complement | 164 |
| Armament |
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HMSWheatland was a Type 2Hunt-classdestroyer of theRoyal Navy that served in theSecond World War.
Wheatland was ordered fromYarrow Shipbuilders,Scotstoun on 4 September 1939, one of 17 Hunt-class destroyers ordered on that day as part of the 1939 Emergency War Programme. The ship waslaid down on 30 May 1940 and was launched on 7 June 1941, commissioning (with thepennant number L122[1]) on 3 November 1941.[2] She was named after "The Wheatland Hunt", an annual fox hunt held inShropshire.[3] DuringWarship Week in 1942 she was adopted by the town of Uttoxeter.
On completion in 1941Wheatland was sent to Scapa Flow as part of the Naval Force to undertake the Commando raid on the Lofoten Islands.[4] The following year she took part in escort duties in support of the Russian Convoys. In 1943 she served in the Mediterranean, including support for the Sicily landings in July of that year. This included shore bombardment of Taormina on Sicily.
In 1944 she continued operations in the Mediterranean on convoy duties, including in July 1944 being nominated for escort duties in the planned landings in the south of France.
While being deployed withHMS Avon Vale, on 1 November 1944,Wheatland engaged German surface craft south of the island ofLussino, sinking the torpedo boatTA20, and the corvettesUJ202 andUJ208, and rescuing some of the survivors inAction of 1 November 1944.[5]
After the warWheatland returned to Devonport and transferred to theReserve Fleet. She stayed there until 1953 when she was towed to Gibraltar where she remained in reserve. In 1955 she was brought back to Harwich before being placed on the disposal list. She remained there until September 1957 when she was sold toBISCO for scrapping by McLennan. She arrived at their breakers yard inBo'ness on 20 September 1957.[4]
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