HMS Hostile (H55)
Encyclopedia
HMS Hostile (H55) was an H-class
destroyer
built for the Royal Navy
in the 1930s. During the Spanish Civil War
of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. She was transferred to Freetown
, Sierra Leone
, in October 1939 to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K
. Hostile participated in the First Battle of Narvik in April 1940 and the Battle of Calabria
in July 1940. The ship was damaged by a mine off Cape Bon in the Strait of Sicily
while on passage from Malta
to Gibraltar
on 23 August 1940. She was then scuttled by .
load and 1883 long tons (1,913.2 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), a beam
of 33 feet (10.1 m), and a draught
of 12 in 5 in (3.78 m). She was powered by Parsons
geared steam turbine
s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 34000 shp and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (19.6 m/s). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boiler
s. Hostile carried a maximum of 470 long tons (477.5 t) of fuel oil
that gave her a range of 5530 nautical miles (10,241.6 km) at 15 knots (8.2 m/s). The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime.
The ship mounted four 45-calibre
4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns
in single mounts. For anti-aircraft
defence Hostile had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III
machine gun
. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube
mounts for 21 inches (53 cm)
torpedoes. One depth charge
rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.
, Scotland
on 27 February 1935, launched on 24 January 1936, and completed on 10 September 1936. Excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament, the ship cost £253,382.Adjusted for inflation to 20 pounds, £. She was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet upon commissioning. Hostile patrolled Spanish waters in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the edicts of the Non-Intervention Committee
. The ship received an overhaul at Gibraltar
between 17 November and 15 December 1937. She resumed patrolling Spanish waters in 1938 and 1939. After the end of the Spanish Civil War, Hostile was refitted in Sheerness Dockyard between 31 May and 26 July 1939. She returned to the Mediterranean and was in Malta when World War II began.
In October the ship was transferred to Freetown to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K. The ship and her half-sisters
, , , and , rendezvoused with the battlecruiser
, the aircraft carrier
, and the light cruiser
on 17 December. They refuelled in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil, before proceeding to the estuary of the River Plate
in case the damaged German pocket battleship attempted to escape from Montevideo
, Uruguay, where she had taken refuge after losing the Battle of the River Plate
. Hostile was overhauled at Chatham Dockyard
between 26 January and 29 March 1940 and then rejoined the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, now assigned to the Home Fleet. During the First Battle of Narvik on 10 April the ship engaged the and badly damaged her, hitting her at least five times. Hostile was only hit once, but the shell did little damage. She escorted her badly damaged sister ship
, , to the repair base set up at Flakstadøya
in the Lofoten Islands. Hostile briefly escorted the battleship
before she returned to Rosyth
for repairs between 27 April and 4 May. The ship briefly returned to Norwegian waters, where she again escorted Warspite, before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in mid-May.
On 9 July Hostile participated in the Battle of Calabria
as an escort for the heavy ships of Force C and unsuccessfully engaged Italian destroyers, suffering no damage. The ship, together with her sister, , and the destroyers and , were ordered to Gibraltar on 22 August where they were to join Force H
. Hostile struck a mine en-route on the early morning of 23 August off Cap Bon
that broke her back. The explosion killed five men and wounded three others. Mohawk took off the survivors while Hero fired two torpedoes to scuttle her.
G and H class destroyer
The G- and H-class destroyers were a class of twenty-four destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1935–1939. They served in World War II and sixteen were lost, with a seventeenth being written off as a constructive total loss...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
built for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
in the 1930s. During the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. She was transferred to Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, in October 1939 to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K
Force K
Force K was the designation for three British Royal Navy task forces during World War II. The first Force K operated from West Africa in 1939. The second and third Force Ks operated from Malta in 1941-1943.-First Force K:...
. Hostile participated in the First Battle of Narvik in April 1940 and the Battle of Calabria
Battle of Calabria
The Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...
in July 1940. The ship was damaged by a mine off Cape Bon in the Strait of Sicily
Strait of Sicily
The Strait of Sicily is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. It is about wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea from the eastern Mediterranean. Its maximum depth is ....
while on passage from Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 23 August 1940. She was then scuttled by .
Description
Hostile displaced 1350 long tons (1,371.7 t) at standardDisplacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...
load and 1883 long tons (1,913.2 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), a beam
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 33 feet (10.1 m), and a draught
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
of 12 in 5 in (3.78 m). She was powered by Parsons
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company
Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...
geared steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 34000 shp and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (19.6 m/s). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s. Hostile carried a maximum of 470 long tons (477.5 t) of fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
that gave her a range of 5530 nautical miles (10,241.6 km) at 15 knots (8.2 m/s). The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime.
The ship mounted four 45-calibre
Caliber (artillery)
In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....
4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns
4.7 inch QF Mark XII
The 4.7 inch QF Mark IX and Mark XII were 120-mm 45-calibre naval guns which armed the majority of Royal Navy and Commonwealth destroyers in World War II, and were exported to many countries after World War II as the destroyers they were mounted on were sold off.-Description and history:These guns...
in single mounts. For anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
defence Hostile had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III
Vickers machine gun
Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...
machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
mounts for 21 inches (53 cm)
British 21 inch torpedo
There have been several British 21-inch diameter torpedoes used by the Royal Navy since their first development just before the First World War.They were the largest size of torpedo in common use in the RN...
torpedoes. One depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.
Service
Hostile was laid down by Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at GreenockGreenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
on 27 February 1935, launched on 24 January 1936, and completed on 10 September 1936. Excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament, the ship cost £253,382.Adjusted for inflation to 20 pounds, £. She was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet upon commissioning. Hostile patrolled Spanish waters in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the edicts of the Non-Intervention Committee
Non-Intervention Committee
During the Spanish Civil War, several countries followed a principle of non-intervention, which would result in the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in August 1936 and the setting up of the Non-Intervention Committee, which first met in September...
. The ship received an overhaul at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
between 17 November and 15 December 1937. She resumed patrolling Spanish waters in 1938 and 1939. After the end of the Spanish Civil War, Hostile was refitted in Sheerness Dockyard between 31 May and 26 July 1939. She returned to the Mediterranean and was in Malta when World War II began.
In October the ship was transferred to Freetown to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K. The ship and her half-sisters
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
, , , and , rendezvoused with the battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
, the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, and the light cruiser
Light cruiser
A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
on 17 December. They refuelled in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil, before proceeding to the estuary of the River Plate
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
in case the damaged German pocket battleship attempted to escape from Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay, where she had taken refuge after losing the Battle of the River Plate
Battle of the River Plate
The Battle of the River Plate was the first naval battle in the Second World War. The German pocket battleship had been commerce raiding since the start of the war in September 1939...
. Hostile was overhauled at Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
between 26 January and 29 March 1940 and then rejoined the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla, now assigned to the Home Fleet. During the First Battle of Narvik on 10 April the ship engaged the and badly damaged her, hitting her at least five times. Hostile was only hit once, but the shell did little damage. She escorted her badly damaged sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
, , to the repair base set up at Flakstadøya
Flakstadøya
Flakstadøya is an island in Lofoten in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in Flakstad municipality.The island is connected to Moskenesøya in the west by Kåkern Bridge, and to Vestvågøya through the undersea tunnel Nappstraumtunnelen....
in the Lofoten Islands. Hostile briefly escorted the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
before she returned to Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
for repairs between 27 April and 4 May. The ship briefly returned to Norwegian waters, where she again escorted Warspite, before being transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet in mid-May.
On 9 July Hostile participated in the Battle of Calabria
Battle of Calabria
The Battle of Calabria, was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in World War II. It was fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. The battle occurred 30 miles to the east of Punta Stilo, the "toe" of Italy , on 9 July 1940...
as an escort for the heavy ships of Force C and unsuccessfully engaged Italian destroyers, suffering no damage. The ship, together with her sister, , and the destroyers and , were ordered to Gibraltar on 22 August where they were to join Force H
Force H
Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940 to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean that had been removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany....
. Hostile struck a mine en-route on the early morning of 23 August off Cap Bon
Cap Bon
Cap Bon , also Watan el-kibli, is a peninsula in far northeastern Tunisia. It is located at around . It is surrounded by the Gulf of Tunis in the north. Towns located on the peninsula include Nabeul, Kelibia and Menzel Temime. The ruins of the Punic town Kerkouane are located here....
that broke her back. The explosion killed five men and wounded three others. Mohawk took off the survivors while Hero fired two torpedoes to scuttle her.