HMAS Napier (G97)
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 HMAS Napier in 1944 |
|
| Career (Royal Australian Navy) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Admiral Sir Charles Napier |
| Ordered: | 1939 |
| Builder: | Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering |
| Laid down: | 26 July 1939 |
| Launched: | 22 May 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 11 December 1940 |
| Decommissioned: | 25 October 1945 |
| Motto: | "Nesico Desperare" |
| Fate: | Returned to Royal Navy |
| Career (Royal Navy) | |
| Name: | HMS Napier |
| Acquired: | 25 October 1945 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | N class destroyer |
| Displacement: | 1,760 tons (standard), 2,550 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 356 ft 6 in (108.7 m) |
| Beam: | 35 ft 8 in (10.9 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft 4 in (5.0 m) (maximum) |
| Propulsion: | Parsons geared turbines, 40,000 hp |
| Speed: | 36 knots |
| Complement: | 226 |
| Armament: | 6 x 4.7-inch guns 1 x 2-pounder 4 barrel Pom Pom 1 x 40 mm Bofors 3 x 20 mm Oerlikons 2 x .5-inch machine guns 2 x .303 Lewis machine guns 10 x 21-inch torpedo tubes (2 pentad mounts) Depth charges |
HMAS Napier (G97) was an N class destroyer serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Navy (RN). Although commissioned and primarily crewed by the RAN during World War II, the ship was ordered and owned by the British government.
[edit] Construction
Napier was laid down on the instructions of the RN by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan in Scotland on 26 July 1939.[1] The destroyer, named after Admiral Sir Charles Napier RN (1786-1860), was launched on 22 May 1940 and commissioned into the RAN on 11 December 1940.[1]
Napier was one of eight N class destroyers ordered and constructed by the Royal Navy during World War II, although the ships were commissioned into the RAN, Royal Netherlands Navy, or Polish Navy.[1]
[edit] Operating history
During her Australian service, Napier served with the British Eastern Fleet between February 1942 and February 1945.[1] She was present in Tokyo Bay on Victory over Japan Day (2 September 1945), when the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed.[2]
Her Australian crew left on 25 October 1945 and she was returned to the RN.[1]
Napier was sold for scrap to Thomas W. Ward and arrived at Briton Ferry on 17 January 1956 where she was broken up.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e HMAS NAPIER. HMA Ship Histories. Sea Power Centre - Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved on 2008-02-29.
- ^ Allied Ships Present in Tokyo Bay During the Surrender Ceremony, 2 September 1945. Naval Historical Center - U.S. Navy (27 May 2005). Retrieved on 2007-01-13. “Taken from Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPAC/CINCPOA) A16-3/FF12 Serial 0395, 11 February 1946: Report of Surrender and Occupation of Japan”
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