HMS Contest (R12)
 HMS Contest on the Solent, 8 November 1945 | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | C-class destroyer |
| 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: | Scrapped |
| Status: | Arrived for breaking up at Grays, Essex on 2 February 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,885 tons (1,915 tonnes) 2,545 tons full (2,585 tonnes) |
| Length: | 362.75 ft (110.57 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 35.75 ft (10.90 m) |
| Draught: | 11.75 ft (3.58 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, 40,000 shp (29.8 MW), 2 shafts |
| Speed: | 36 knots (67 km/h) / 32 knots (59 km/h) full |
| Range: | 4,675 nmi (8,658 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) 1,400 nmi (2,600 km) at 32 knots (59 km/h) |
| Complement: | 186 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Radar Type 275 fire control on director Mk.VI |
| Armament: |
|
HMS Contest was a C-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, built by J. Samuel White, Cowes. She was launched on 1 November 1943 and commissioned on 9 November 1945. She was scrapped in 1960.
Operational service
On commissioning Contest served as part of the 8th Destroyer Squadron in the Far East. She returned to the UK for a refit in 1948.[1] She was given an interim modernization and was fitted for minelaying.[2] In 1951 she was the Torpedo training ship at Portsmouth. She then served as part of the 6th Destroyer Squadron in the Home Fleet.[3] In 1953 she took part in the Coronation Review of the Fleet to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[4]
Decommissioning and disposal
Contest was paid off in the late 1950s. Following her sale she arrived at the breakers yard for scrapping at Grays, Essex on 2 February 1960.
Commanding officers
| From | To | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 1949 | Lieutenant-Commander R A M Hennessy RN |
| 1953 | 1953 | Lieutenant-Commander H P Fleming RN |
| 1956 | 1956 | |
| 1958 | 1960 | |
References
- ↑ Marriott, Leo, Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945. Ian Allen Ltd, 1989, p.65
- ↑ Marriott, Leo, Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945. Ian Allen Ltd, 1989, p.66
- ↑ Critchley, Mike, "British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers", Maritime Books: Liskeard, UK, 1982. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2, page 102
- ↑ Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15 June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
Publications
- 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. OCLC 67375475.
- Marriott, Leo, Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945. Ian Allen Ltd, 1989. 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.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
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