HMS Duncan (D99)
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| Career | 
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|---|---|
| Ordered | |
| Laid Down | 7 July 1931 |
| Launched | July 1932 |
| Commissioned | March 1933 |
| Decommissioned | 1945 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap in February 1945 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,400 tons |
| Length: | 329 ft (100 m) |
| Beam: | |
| Draught: | |
| Propulsion: | Geared turbines on two shafts, 38,000 hp (28.3 MW) |
| Speed: | 36 knots (67 km/h) |
| Range: | ? |
| Complement: | ? |
| Armament: | Four 4.7 inch (120 mm) guns and eight 21 inch (530 mm) torpedo tubes. Later reduced to 3 main guns and four torpedo tubes, to make way for additional anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weaponry. |
| Motto: | Secundis dubusque rectus (Upright in prosperity and peril) |
HMS Duncan was a D-class destroyer launched in 1931 that served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Duncan was the fourth of five Duncans all named after Admiral Adam Duncan. On 7 July 1931 she was laid down . She was launched in July 1932 and commissioned in March 1933.
Her first commission was as Leader of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla (DF) of the Mediterranean Fleet between May 1933 and September 1934. After refitting, the flotilla sailed for the Far East, arriving at Hong Kong in January 1935. The next few years were spent "Flying the flag" around the Far East, and visiting Japan, the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Singapore, Thailand and Malaya.
Duncan was in Shanghai during the Japanese invasion of 1937 and took part in the evacuation of British civilians to Woosong.
Second World War
At the start of the Second World War in September 1939 Duncan, accompanied by Dainty, Diana and Daring were sent to the Mediterranean. After some repairs, she arrived at the Clyde in December 1939, joining the 3rd DF.
She was damaged in a collision whilst escorting Convoy ON8 in January 1940, and repairs took until July. She returned to 3rd DF for three months before escorting Ark Royal to Gibraltar. The next few years was spent escorting convoys through the Mediterranean against the Italian Navy.
In March 1941 the battlecruiser Repulse and the aircraft carrier Furious. Transferred to India.
Returned to Britain in 1942 as an escort for Royal Sovereign.
On May 19 1943, while escorting Convoy SC 130 Duncan and the corvette Snowflake sank the German U-boat U-258.
She was put in reserve in May 1945; by that stage she was worn out and leaking 5 tons of water per day. She was sold for scrap in July 1945
See HMS Duncan for other ships of this name.
External links
- MOD news item (http://news.mod.uk/news/press/news_headline_story.asp?newsItem_id=1475)