- Yes
- No
- Minelayer
- Minesweeper
- Escort Destroyer 1941/42
- All of the Above
- I voted no on the first question.
Brief Summary:
The HMS Skate is an example of an R Class destroyer which served in both world wars and is the oldest class of destroyers in use in the second world war. Only the HMS Skate would survive into the second world war (Other than the HMS Radiant which would serve as the Phra Ruang until 1959 being the last of the first world war Royal Navy destroyers to be decommissioned and remains as a hulk ship) and would be sold for scrap just after the war in 1947.
History:
During the first world war the British admiralty was in an arms race against the German Empire which at the time alongside the British Empire had a large fleet of ships. In the case of destroyers the Empire was producing hundreds upon hundreds of ships with the R class itself if all of the sub classes where added together would be 62 ships. the majority of these R class destroyers would remain in service into the interwar years. HMS Skate herself being commissioned on the 19th of February 1917 would be torpedoed early into her career by German submarine SM UC-69.
During the interwar years Skate would be reduced to a tender for the torpedo school however this allowed her to remain in service and be brought back into the action for the second world war. Skate would be converted multiple times in the 1930’s and early 40’s first being converted into a minelayer then a minesweeper and lastly in mid 1941 she was converted into an escort destroyer.
During the second world war she would see not much action other than cases of loosing funnels in bad weather, she would escort ships on many routes wit h the first being the escort of minelayers during the 1940 minelaying in the Northern Barrage. She would then see the majority of her roles being escorting in the Atlantic and occasionally in the Artic. However by 1940 her age had been showing clear signs as she was reduced to costal operations as the more modern destroyers would be more suited to deal with the more advanced U-boats of the last years of war. By 1945 she was placed in the reserve fleet where she would remain until being scrapped in mid July ending the service of the oldest class of destroyer used by the Royal Navy during the second world war.
HMS Skate, Liverpool 1942
HMS Skate as a Minelayer
Technical:
As a Minelayer, late 1930’s:
Hull:
Max Speed, Knots, KN: 36
Displacement Standard, T: 975
Displacement Full, T: 1200-1244
Power, HP: 27000
Length, M: 81 pp, 84.1 oa
Breadth, M: 8.16
Draught, M: 2.75
Complement: 82
fuel, T: Oil 296
Electronic Equipment: None
Armament:
2x1 - 102/40
1x1 40/39 2pdr QF Mk II
1x2 - 533 TT
40 Mines
As an Minesweeper, 1940:
Armament:
1x1 - 102/40
1x4 - 40.39 2pdr QF Mk VIII
2x4 - 12.7/62
magnetic minesweeping gear
As an Escort Destroyer, 1941:
Hull changes:
Displacement Full, T: 1360
Electronic Equipment: Type 286 radar, type 133 sonar
Armament:
1x1 102/40
1x1 - 76/40 12pdr 12cwt QF I/II/V
2x1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV
8 DCT
2 DCR (70 DC)
As an Escort Destroyer, 1942:
1x1 102/40
1x1 - 76/40 12pdr 12cwt QF I/II/V
4x1 - 20/70 Oerlikon Mk II/IV
8 DCT
2 DCR (70 DC)
- Radar Type 271
Sources:
“R” destroyers (ROMOLA) (51, 1916 - 1917) (navypedia.org)
R-class destroyer (1916) - Wikipedia
HMS Skate, destroyer (naval-history.net)
HMS Skate (H 39) of the Royal Navy - British Destroyer of the Admiralty R class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net
HMS Skate | Imperial War Museums (iwm.org.uk)