Summary
HMS Contest was a C-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, built by J. Samuel White, Cowes. Laid down on 1 November 1943 and commissioned on 9 November 1945, she was the Royal Navy's first all-welded warship.[1][2][3][4] She was scrapped in 1960.
 HMS Contest on the Solent, 8 November 1945
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Contest |
| Builder | White, Cowes |
| Laid down | 1 November 1943 |
| Launched | 16 December 1944 |
| Commissioned | 9 November 1945 |
| Identification | Pennant number: R12 (later D48) |
| Fate | Arrived for breaking up at Thos. W. Ward Grays, Essex on 2 February 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | C-class destroyer |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 362.75 ft (110.57 m) o/a |
| Beam | 35.75 ft (10.90 m) |
| Draught | 11.75 ft (3.58 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h) / 32 knots (59 km/h) full |
| Range |
|
| Complement | 186 |
| Sensors and processing systems | Radar Type 275 fire control on director Mk.VI |
| Armament |
|
Operational service edit
On commissioning Contest served as part of the 8th Destroyer Squadron in the Far East.
In 1947, Contest was ordered to the Solomon Islands as a deterrence against feared violence when the leaders of the Maasina Ruru independence movement were arrested.[5] While on passage back to the UK from the Far East in December 1947, Contest and sister ship Cockade were diverted to Aden in response to anti-Jewish rioting, with men from the two destroyers and the survey ship Challenger being landed to try to restore order.[5] She returned to the UK for a refit in 1948.[6] She was given an interim modernization and was fitted for minelaying.[7] In 1951 she was the Torpedo training ship at Portsmouth. She then served as part of the 6th Destroyer Squadron in the Home Fleet.[8] In 1953 she took part in the Coronation Review of the Fleet to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[9]
Decommissioning and disposal edit
Contest was paid off in the late 1950s. Following her sale she arrived at the breakers yard for scrapping at Thos. W. Ward Grays, Essex on 2 February 1960.
References edit
- ^ Johnstone-Bryden, Richard (2015). HMS Cavalier. Seaforth Publishing.
- ^ "HMS CONTEST (R 12) - Co-class Destroyer". SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2. 2005.
- ^ "Ch/Co/Cr class destroyers (1944-45)". WW2 British Destroyers 1917-1945. 2001.
- ^ "builders of the first all-welded destroyer for the Navy, H.M.S. Contest (1944)". Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 1 June 1955.
- ^ a b Thursfield 1948, p. 510
- ^ Marriott, Leo (1989). Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945. Ian Allan Ltd. p. 65.
- ^ Marriott, 1989. p.66
- ^ Critchley, Mike (1982). British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. p. 102. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.
- ^ Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15 June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
Publications edit
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Marriott, Leo (1989). Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945. Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1817-0.
- Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
- Thursfield, H. G., ed. (1948). Brassey's Naval Annual 1948. New York: The Macmillan Company.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.