HMS Kelly (F01)
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| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Kelly |
| Ordered: | 24 March 1937 |
| Laid down: | 26 August 1937 |
| Launched: | 25 October 1938 |
| Commissioned: | 23 August 1939 |
| Decommissioned: | N/A |
| Homeport: | HMNB Portsmouth |
| Motto: | Keep on instead of Hold on |
| Fate: | Sunk 23 May 1941, position 34º40'N, 24º10'E |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,760 tons; 2,400 tons full load |
| Length: | 339½ ft p/p; 356½ ft o/a |
| Beam: | 35¾ ft |
| Draught: | 9 ft (2.7 m) ; 12 ft deep |
| Propulsion: | 2 Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers (300 psi, 620 °F), Parsons geared steam turbines on 2 shafts, 40,000 shp |
| Speed: | 36 knots light; 32 knots deep |
| Range: | 484 tons bunkerage, 5,500 nm at 15 knots, 1,050 nm at 32 knots |
| Complement: | 218 |
| Armament: | 6 x 4.7 in L/45 QF Mk.XII guns 3 x twin mount CP Mk.XIX 4 x QF 2 pdr "pom-pom" Mk.VIII quad mount Mk.VII 8 x 0.5 in Vickers machine guns 10 x 21 in tubes for torpedoes Mk.IX |
HMS Kelly (pennant number F01) was a K-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy, and flotilla leader of her class. She served through the early years of the Second World War; in Home Waters, off Norway and in the Mediterranean. Throughout her service, Kelly was commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten. She was lost in action in 1941 during the Battle of Crete. In addition, Mountbatten served as commander (Captain (D)) of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla.
Kelly was built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company at Hebburn on the River Tyne. She was laid down on 26 August 1937, launched on 25 October 1938 and commissioned on 23 August 1939, just 11 days before commencement of hostilities. She was named after Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Kelly.[1]
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[edit] Service
[edit] Home Waters (1939)
On the afternoon of 14 December 1939, the tanker Atheltemplar struck a mine laid by German destroyers off the Tyne Estuary. Kelly and the Tribal-class destroyer HMS Mohawk were dispatched as escorts for the rescue tugs Great Emperor, Joffre and Langton. During the operation, Kelly also struck a mine and sustained damage to her hull. While Mowhawk put a party aboard Atheltemplar, and Joffre and Langton took the tanker under tow, Kelly herself was taken in tow by Great Emperor and returned to the Tyne. Reaching the Tyne just before midnight, Kelly was assisted up river by the tugs Robert Redhead and Washington. She was towed to Hawthorn Leslie's yard for repairs, which took just a little over three months, and were completed in early March 1940. [1]
This was the second of Kelly’s misfortunes, having just returned to active service after a month in dry dock following storm damage. Repairs were completed on 28th February 1940, and Kelly returned to the fray. Astonishingly she was involved in a collision with HMS Gurkha just two days later on the 2nd March, necessitating a further 8 weeks in dry dock, this time on the Thames. She was released on 27th April, in time to assist with the evacuation of allied forces from Namsos.
[edit] Norwegian campaign (1940)
On the night 9 May/10 May 1940, during the Battle of Norway, Kelly was torpedoed amidships by the German E-boat S 31, under command of Oberleutnant zur See Hermann Opdenhoff (for which action Oblt.z.S. Opdenhoff was awarded the Knight's Cross). Severely damaged, she was taken under tow by the tug Great Emperor and for four days she was attacked by E-boats and bombers as she struggled back to port at three knots. The Navy Controller wrote that she survived "not only by the good seamanship of the officers and men but also on account of the excellent workmanship which ensured the watertightness of the other compartments. A single defective rivet might have finished her." She was repaired and returned to service. [2]
Returned to Hebburn shipyard she was de-commissioned before undergoing extensive repairs; she was not fit for active service until December 1940. Her bad luck had seen her on active service for less than two weeks over the previous 14 months.
During this period her captain, Louis Mountbatten, as Captain (D), was forced to lead his flotilla from temporary placement in other ships of the flotilla; for a time he led from HMS Javelin, until she too succumbed to damage.
Kelly re-joined 5th Flotilla after re-commissioning in December 1940; after working-up trials and some service in the Channel, she and 5th Flotilla sailed for the Mediterranean, arriving at Malta in April 1941.
[edit] Mediterranean (1941)
On 23 May 1941, during the evacuation of Crete, Kelly was bombed and sunk, with half her crew killed. The survivors were deeply affected by the loss of their ship; Mountbatten shared their loss and tried to console the ship's company by reminding them all that "we didn't leave the Kelly, the Kelly left us!"
[edit] Legacy
The 1942 film In Which We Serve starring Noel Coward and John Mills and telling the story of "HMS Torrin", is based on the career of Kelly. The HMS Kelly Association hosts reunions and commemorations. Notable supporters of the association have included HRH Prince Charles and Sir John Mills. [3] [4] [5]
[edit] References
- ^ Hough, Richard, Bless Our Ship London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1991 ISBN 978-0340543962
- ^ HMS Kelly (F 01) uboat.net
- ^ British Film Institute BFI Film & TV Database, In Which We Serve
- ^ BBC News Prince commemorates Royal Navy crew
- ^ Navy News Sir John Proves a Tireless Supporter
- Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981, Maurice Cocker, Ian Allan, ISBN 0-7110-1075-7
- British and Empire Warships of the Second World War, H T Lenton, Greenhill Books, ISBN 1-85367-277-7
- Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922-1946, Ed. Robert Gardiner, Naval Institute Press, ISBN 0-87021-913-8
- Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia, M J Whitley, Arms and Armour Press, 1999, ISBN 1-85409-521-8
- Warships of World War II, H. T. Lenton & J. J. Colledge, Ian Allen Ltd
- Mediterranean Maelstrom, G.G.Connell, Kimber (1987).
[edit] See also
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