 HMSDuke of York in March 1942, while escortingConvoy PQ 12 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSDuke of York |
| Namesake | George VI (previously theDuke of York)[1] |
| Ordered | 16 November 1936 |
| Builder | John Brown and Company,Clydebank |
| Laid down | 5 May 1937 |
| Launched | 28 February 1940 |
| Commissioned | 4 November 1941 |
| Decommissioned | November 1951 |
| Stricken | 18 May 1957 |
| Identification | Pennant number: 17 |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1957 at Shipbreaking Industries, Ltd.,Faslane, Scotland |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | King George V-classbattleship |
| Displacement | 42,076 long tons (42,751 t)deep load |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 103 ft 2 in (31.4 m) |
| Draught | 34 ft 4 in (10.5 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 4 setsParsons gearedturbines |
| Speed | 28.3knots (52.4 km/h; 32.6 mph) |
| Range | 15,600 nmi (28,900 km; 18,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 1,556 (1945) |
| Sensors and processing systems | |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
| Aircraft carried | 4 ×Supermarine Walrusseaplanes |
| Aviation facilities | 1 × double-endedcatapult |
HMSDuke of York was aKing George V-classbattleship of theRoyal Navy.Laid down in May 1937, the ship was constructed byJohn Brown and Company atClydebank, andcommissioned into the Royal Navy on 4 November 1941, subsequently seeing combat service during the Second World War. In mid-December 1941,Duke of York transported Prime MinisterWinston Churchill to the United States to meet PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt. Between March and September 1942Duke of York was involved with convoy escort duties, including as flagship of the Heavy Covering Force ofConvoy PQ-17, but in October she was dispatched toGibraltar where she became theflagship ofForce H.
In October 1942,Duke of York was involved in theAllied invasion of North Africa, but saw little action as her role only required her to protect the accompanyingaircraft carriers. After the invasion,Duke of York was involved in Operations Camera and Governor, which were diversionary operations designed to draw the Germans' attention away fromOperation Husky, the invasion ofSicily. On 4 October,Duke of York operated with hersister shipAnson in covering a force ofAlliedcruisers anddestroyers and the American carrierRanger, duringOperation Leader, which raided German shipping off Norway. The attack sank four merchant ships and badly damaged a further seven.
On 26 December 1943Duke of York was part of a task force which encountered theGerman battleship Scharnhorst off theNorth Cape of Norway. Duringthe engagement that followed,Scharnhorst hitDuke of York twice with little effect, but was herself hit by several ofDuke of York's 14-inch shells, silencing one of her turrets and hitting a boiler room. After temporarily escaping fromDuke of York's heavy fire,Scharnhorst was struck several times by torpedoes, allowingDuke of York to again open fire, contributing to the eventual sinking ofScharnhorst after a running action lasting ten-and-a-half hours. In 1945,Duke of York was assigned to theBritish Pacific Fleet as its flagship, but arrived too late to see any action beforeJapan surrendered. After the war,Duke of York remained active until she waslaid up in November 1951. She was eventuallyscrapped in 1957.
Duke of York had a ship's cat named Whisky.[4]
In the aftermath of the First World War, theWashington Naval Treaty was drawn up in 1922 in an effort to stop anarms race developing between Britain, Japan, France, Italy and the United States. This treaty limited the number of ships each nation was allowed to build and capped thedisplacement ofcapital ships at 35,000 long tons (36,000 t).[5] These restrictions were extended in 1930 through theLondon Naval Treaty, but by the mid-1930s Japan and Italy had withdrawn from both of these treaties and the British became concerned about the lack of modern battleships in the Royal Navy. TheAdmiralty therefore ordered the construction of a new battleship class: theKing George V class. Due to the provisions of both the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Treaty, both of which were still in effect when theKing George Vs were being designed, the main armament of the class was limited to the 14 in (356 mm) guns. They were the only battleships built at that time to adhere to the treaty and even though it soon became apparent to the British that the other signatories to the treaty were ignoring its requirements, it was too late to change the design of the class before they were laid down in 1937.[6]
Duke of York was the third ship in theKing George V class, and waslaid down atJohn Brown & Company'sshipyard inClydebank on 5 May 1937. The title ofDuke of York was in abeyance at that time, having been that held by KingGeorge VI prior to hissuccession to the throne in December 1936. The battleship was launched on 28 February 1940 and completed on 4 November 1941, and joined theHome Fleet atScapa Flow.[7]
Duke of York displaced 36,727long tons (37,316 t) as built and 42,076 long tons (42,751 t) fully loaded. The ship had anoverall length of 740 feet (225.6 m), abeam of 103 feet (31.4 m) and adraught of 29 feet (8.8 m). Her designedmetacentric height was 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) at normal load and 8 feet 1 inch (2.46 m) at deep load.[8][9][10]
She was powered byParsons gearedsteam turbines, driving four propeller shafts. Steam was provided by eightAdmiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers which normally delivered 100,000 shp (75,000 kW), but could deliver 110,000 shp (82,000 kW) at emergency overload.[N 1]This gaveDuke of York a top speed of 28knots (52 km/h; 32 mph).[6][13] The ship carried 3,700 long tons (3,800 t) of fuel oil, which was later increased to 4,030 long tons (4,100 t).[7] She also carried 183 long tons (186 t) of diesel oil, 256 long tons (260 t) of reserve feed water and 430 long tons (440 t) of freshwater.[14] At full speedDuke of York had a range of 3,100 nmi (5,700 km; 3,600 mi) at 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph).[15]
Duke of York mounted 10BL 14 in (356 mm) Mk VII guns, which were mounted in one Mark II twin turret forward and two Mark III quadruple turrets, one forward and oneaft. The guns could be elevated 40 degrees and depressed 3 degrees, while theirtraining arcs varied. Turret "A" was able to traverse 286 degrees, while turrets "B" and "Y" could both move through 270 degrees. Hydraulic drives were used in the training and elevating process, achieving rates of two and eight degrees per second, respectively. A full gunbroadside weighed 15,950 lb (7,230 kg), and asalvo could be fired every 40 seconds.[16] The secondary armament consisted of 16QF 5.25 in (133 mm) Mk Idual purpose guns which were mounted in eight twin turrets.[17] The maximum range of the Mk I guns was 24,070 yd (22,009.6 m) at a 45-degree elevation, the anti-aircraft ceiling was 49,000 ft (14,935.2 m). The guns could be elevated to 70 degrees and depressed to 5 degrees.[18] The normal rate of fire was ten to twelve rounds per minute, but in practice the guns could fire only seven to eightrounds per minute.[17] Along with her main and secondary batteries,Duke of York carried 48QF 2 pdr (40 mm (1.6 in)) Mk.VIII "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns in six octuple, power-driven, mountings. These were supplemented by six20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon light AA guns in single, hand-worked, mounts.[19]
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In mid-December 1941,Duke of York embarked Prime MinisterWinston Churchill for a trip to the United States to confer with PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt. She arrived atAnnapolis,Maryland, on 22 December 1941, made ashakedown cruise toBermuda in January 1942, and departed for Scapa Flow on 17 January with Churchill returning home by air.[20][21]
On 1 March 1942, she provided close escort forConvoy PQ 12 in company with thebattlecruiserRenown, the cruiserKenya, and six destroyers. On 6 March, that force was reinforced with one ofDuke of York's sister-ships,King George V, and theaircraft carrierVictorious, theheavy cruiserBerwick, and six destroyers as a result ofAdmiralJohn Tovey's concerns that the battleshipGerman battleship Tirpitz might attempt to intercept the convoy. On 6 March, the German battleship put to sea and was sighted by a Britishsubmarine around 19:40; no contact was made, however, except for an unsuccessful aerial torpedo attack by aircraft fromVictorious.[20]
Later that month,Convoy PQ 13 was constituted andDuke of York again formed part of the escort force.[22] In early April,Duke of York,King George V, and the carrierVictorious formed the core of a support force that patrolled between Iceland and Norway to cover several convoys to the Soviet Union.[23] In late April, whenKing George V accidentally rammed and sank the destroyerPunjabi in dense fog, sustaining significant bow damage,Duke of York was sent to relieve her.[24] She continued in these operations through May, when she was joined by the American battleshipUSS Washington.[25] In mid-September,Duke of York escortedConvoy QP 14.[26]
In October 1942,Duke of York was sent toGibraltar as the newflagship ofForce H, and supported theAllied landings in North Africa the following month.[27] During this timeDuke of York came under air attack by Italian aircraft on several occasions, but the raids were relatively small scale and were swiftly dealt with by the "umbrella" provided by the aircraft from the accompanying carriersVictorious,Formidable andFurious. After this action,Duke of York returned to Britain for a refit.[28]
With her refit completed,Duke of York resumed her status as flagship from 14 May 1943 pending the departure ofKing George V andHowe forOperation Husky, the Allied invasion ofSicily. Operation Gearbox in June 1943 involved a sweep byDuke of York andAnson, in company with the US battleshipsUSS Alabama andSouth Dakota, to provide distant cover for minor operations inSpitsbergen and theKola Inlet, while the following month diversionary operations, code-named "Camera" and "Governor of Norway," were carried out to draw the Germans' attention away fromOperation Husky.[28] On 4 October,Duke of York andAnson covered a force of Allied cruisers and destroyers and the American carrierUSS Ranger underOperation Leader, which raided German shipping off Norway. The attack resulted in the sinking of four German merchant ships and damage to seven others, which forced many of them to be grounded.[29]
In 1943 the German battleshipScharnhorst moved to Norway, a position whence she could threaten the Arctic convoys to Russia. WithTirpitz and two armoured ships also in Norwegian fjords, it was necessary for the Royal Navy to provide heavy escorts for convoys between Britain and Russia. One of these was sighted by the Germans in early December 1943, and Allied intelligence concluded that the followingConvoy JW 55B, would be attacked by the German surface ships. Two surface forces were assigned to provide distant cover to JW 55B, which had left Loch Ewe on 22 December. On 25 December 1943,Scharnhorst was reported at sea. The Force 1 cruisersBelfast,Norfolk andSheffield, with four destroyers, made contact shortly after 09:00 on 26 December. A brief engagement occurred around 09:30, butScharnhorst outdistanced her pursuers, and again outran them after a brief skirmish around noon.[30]
Force 2, includingDuke of York, the cruiserHMS Jamaica and four destroyers, was closing, and it was estimated that a night action withScharnhorst would commence around 17:15.Scharnhorst altered course, and contact was made at 16:32, at a distance of 29,700 yards (27,200 m). Force 2 manoeuvred for broadside fire.Belfast, with Force 1, firedstar shells at 16:47 to illuminateScharnhorst. This failed, soDuke of York fired a star shell from one of her 5.25-inch (133 mm) guns, takingScharnhorst by surprise with her main battery trained fore and aft. By 16:50Duke of York had closed to 12,000 yards (11,000 m) and opened fire with a full ten-gun broadside, scoring one hit. Although under heavy fire,Scharnhorst straddledDuke of York a number of times and hit her twice. A 28.3-centimetre (11.1 in) shell passed through the main mast and itsport leg without detonating but fragments from the hit destroyed the cable for the main search radar.[31] A 15-centimetre (5.9 in) shell also pierced the portstrut of the foremast without exploding.[32] At 16:55 a 14-inch (356 mm) shell silenced turrets Anton and Bruno, butScharnhorst maintained speed so that by 18:24 the range had opened to 21,400 yards (19,600 m), whenDuke of York ceased fire after expending fifty-two broadsides.[33] One shell from the final salvos hit and exploded inScharnhorst's number one boiler room, slowing the ship and allowing the pursuing destroyers to overtake her.[34]
Force 2's destroyers then attacked with torpedoes, firing 28 and scoring hits with three. This slowedScharnhorst, and at 19:01Duke of York again opened fire, at a range of 10,400 yards (9,500 m). She ceased fire at 19:30 to allow the cruisers to close onScharnhorst. Ten 14-inch shells had hit the German battleship, causing fires and explosions, and silencing almost all of the secondary battery. By 19:16 all of the main turrets aboardScharnhorst had ceased fire and her speed had been cut to 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).Duke of York ceased fire at 19:30.[32] In the final stages of the battle the destroyers fired a total of 19 torpedoes at her, causingScharnhorst to list badly to port, and at 19:45 she sank after a running action lasting ten-and-a-half hours from the first, taking with her over 1,700 men.[35] Following her sinking, and the retreat of most of the other German heavy units from Norway, the need to maintain powerful forces in British home waters was diminished.[20] Her ship's catWhisky was famously known for supposedly sleeping through the action.
On 29 March 1944,Duke of York and the bulk of the Home Fleet left Scapa Flow to provide a support force forConvoy JW 58.[36] The ship operated in theArctic and as cover for carriers conducting theGoodwood series ofair strikes onTirpitz in mid to late August.[37] In September, when she was overhauled and partially modernized atLiverpool, radar equipment and additionalanti-aircraft guns were added. She was then ordered to join theBritish Pacific Fleet and sailed in company with hersister-shipAnson on 25 April 1945. A problem with the ship's electrical circuitry delayed her while she was atMalta and, as a result, she did not reach Sydney until 29 July, by which time it too late for her to take any meaningful part in hostilities against the Japanese.[7]
Nevertheless, in early August,Duke of York was assigned toTask Force 37, along with four aircraft carriers and her sister-shipKing George V. From 9 August, TF 37 and three American carrier task forces conducted a series ofair raids on Japan, which continued until 15 August when a surrender came into effect.[38] After the conclusion of hostilities,Duke of York, alongside her sister-ship,King George V, participated inthe surrender ceremonies that took place inTokyo Bay. The following monthDuke of York sailed for Hong Kong, to join the fleet that assembled there to accept the surrender of the Japanese garrison.[7] She was the flagship of the British Pacific Fleet when the Japanese surrendered, and remained so until June 1946, when she returned toPlymouth for anoverhaul.[39]
Duke of York was flagship of the Home Fleet following the end of the war and remained in active service until April 1949.[39] She was laid up in November 1951, and on 18 May 1957, she was ordered scrapped. She was broken up by Shipbreaking Industries, Ltd., inFaslane.[40] The ship's bell was salvaged and given to the Duke of York School (since renamed theLenana School) inNairobi, Kenya.
During her career,Duke of York was refitted on several occasions to bring her equipment up-to-date. The following are the dates and details of the refits undertaken.[41]
| Dates | Location | Description of Work |
|---|---|---|
| April 1942 | Rosyth | 8 × singleOerlikon 20 mm cannon added.[42] |
| December 1942 – March 1943 | Rosyth | 14 × single 20 mm added.[43] |
| Early 1944 | 2 × single 20 mm removed; 2 × twin 20 mm added.[43] | |
| September 1944 – April 1945 | Liverpool | 2 × 4-barrelled40 mm Bofors guns added, 2 × 8-barrelled 2-pdr pom-pom added, 6 × 4-barrelled 2-pdr pom-pom added, 14 × twin 20 mm added, 18× single 20 mm removed, Aircraft facilities removed.[42]Type 273 radar removed,Type 281 radar replaced byType 281B radar,Type 284 radar replaced by 2 ×Type 274 radar; 2 ×Types 277,282 and293 radars added.[43] |
| 1946 | 4 × 4-barrelled 2-pdr pom-pom added, 25 × single 20 mm removed.[43] |
