| Career (Belgium) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Prince Charles |
| Owner: | Regie voor Maritiem Transport |
| Builder: | Cockerill (Hoboken, Belgium) |
| Launched: | 12 March or April 1930 |
| Career (United Kingdom) | |
| Name: | HMS Prince Charles |
| Commissioned: | 21 September 1941 |
| Decommissioned: | 1945 |
| Career (Belgium) | |
| Name: | Prince Charles |
| Owner: | Regie voor Maritiem Transport |
| In service: | 1945 |
| Out of service: | 21 December 1960 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap and broken up at Willebroek |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 2,950 t (3,250 short tons) |
| Length: | 360 ft (110 m) |
| Propulsion: | 6 boilers, 2 shafts, geared steam turbines, producing 15,400 shp (11.5 MW) |
| Speed: | 24 kn (44 km/h) |
| Complement: | 207 crew 250 embarked forces |
| Armament: | 2 × 12 pdr AA guns (single), 2 × 2 pdr AA (single), 6 × 20 mm guns (single) |
| Notes: | Carried 8 × LCA's/LCS(M)s or LCP(L)s |
HMS Prince Charles was a ship taken up from trade in the Second World War. Built as the Belgian cross-channel ferry Prince Charles, it was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and used as a Landing Ship, Infantry, before being returned in early 1945.
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Prince Charles was originally ordered by the Belgian government in 1929 as part of a series of four fast ferries for cross-channel use, and was completed in 1930. The ship was named after Prince Charles of Belgium.
After the war, Prince Charles resumed her cross-channel service without incident before being scrapped in December 1960.
Prince Charles was used in the ill-fated landings at Dieppe in 1942, along with her sister ships, Prince Leopold, Prince Albert and Princess Astrid. All four ships originally served on the same pre-war Ostend–Dover route.
Prior to commencing Operation Archery, the operation's task force assembled at Scapa Flow and travelled from there to Sullom Voe, arriving at 13:30 on 25 December 1941.[1] During the passage both Prince Charles and another transport, Prince Leopold reported several defects, resulting in the forward compartments of Charles being flooded to a depth of 14 feet (4.3 m).[1] At 16:15, the decision was taken to delay the operation by 24 hours because of the seaworthiness of Prince Charles, and the expected poor weather en route.[1] Prince Charles was assisted in having water pumped out by Chiddingfold, and as a result all repairs were completed by 14:00 hours on 26 December.[1] The force set sail at 16:00 hours on the same day.[1]
Prince Charles also took part in the D-Day landings, transporting 300 US Rangers to Omaha Beach, and carrying wounded soldiers back to the UK.[2] During the landings, it lost three of its attached landing craft.[3]