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HMS Berkeley (L17)
HMS Berkeley 1942 IWM FL 1803
Career (United Kingdom) Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom
Name: HMS Berkeley
Namesake: A fox hunt in Hertfordshire, England
Builder: Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Laid down: 8 June 1939
Launched: 29 January 1940
Completed: 6 June 1940
Commissioned: 6 June 1940
Identification: pennant number: L17
Motto: Dieu avec nous
Honours and
awards:

Battle honours for:

Fate: Severely damaged by German bombs, then scuttled by HMS Albrighton (L12) during the Dieppe Raid
Badge: On a Field Gold. Upon a Red roundel, in front of two hunting horns in saltire gold and a cross patee white.
General characteristics
Class & type: Hunt-class destroyer
Displacement: 1,000 t standard
1,340 t full load
Length: 280 ft (85 m)
Beam: 29 ft (8.8 m)
Draught: 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Propulsion: Two x Admiralty 3 drum boilers
Two shaft Parsons geared turbines
19,000 shp
Speed: 27½ kts (26 knots full)
Range: 3,500 nmi (6,480 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) / 1,000 nmi (2,000 km) at 26 knots (48 km/h)
Complement: 146
Armament:
  • 4 x QF 4 in Mark XVI on twin mounts Mk. XIX
  • 4 x QF 2 pdr Mk. VIII on quad mount MK.VII
  • 2 x 20 mm Oerlikons on single mounts P Mk. III
  • 40 depth charges, 2 throwers, 1 rack

HMS Berkeley (L17) was a Type I Hunt class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was a member of the first subgroup of the Hunt class and saw service in World War II before being bombed at Dieppe and then scuttled by HMS Albrighton (L12).[1]

Construction and Commissioning[]

Berkeley was ordered from Cammell Laird in the 1939 Build Program and laid down on 8 June 1939 as No. J3302. She was launched on 29 January 1940 and commissioned on 6 June 1940, Lieutenant Commander Hugh Walters in command.[2]

Career[]

Berkeley participated in Operation Ariel, the evacuation of the remnants of the British Expeditionary Force from ports in western France.She was made available to Paul Reynaud and the French government for conferences with Churchill. After the Fall of France, she evacuated the remaining British embassy staff as well as Władysław Raczkiewicz and Polish and Czech troops.

In August 1940, Berkeley escorted minelayers during minelaying Operation SN32. She spent September in anti-invasion patrols in the English Channel. She escorted convoys in October and November. On 20 December 1940, she was damaged by a mine in the Medway and was repaired at the Chatham Dockyard.

After the repairs were completed, Berkeley resumed convoy escort duties in January 1941. On 22 February, she escorted HMS Icarus (D03) during the minelaying Operation JK off the French coast. For the rest of the year, Berkeley escorted convoys and patrolled the English Channel. In February 1942, she participated in the unsuccessful attempt to intercept the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau during the Channel Dash. Berkeley continued convoy escort duties until July 1942, when she was selected to be part of the naval force supporting Operation Jubilee. On 18 July 1942, Berkeley escorted the Dieppe raiding force. During a 19 July air attack, she was hit by two bombs, which broke her keel and killed 13 ratings.[3] As the damage was beyond control, she was abandoned and then scuttled by torpedoes from the escort destroyer Albrighton.

References[]


External links[]

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