HMS Whirlwind (R87)

Whirlwind in 1944
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Whirlwind
Builder:	Hawthorn Leslie
Launched:	30 August 1943
Reclassified:	Antisubmarine frigate (F187) 1953
Fate:	Foundered while in use as target 29 October 1974
General characteristics
Class and type:	W-class destroyer Type 15 frigate (from 1953)
Displacement:	1,710 tons
Length:	339 ft 6 in (103.48 m)
Beam:	36 ft (11 m)
Armament:	Originally: 4 × 4.7-inch (120-mm) guns 5 × 40-millimeter guns 8 × torpedo tubes

The second HMS Whirlwind (R87) was an W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy and was built by Hawthorn Leslie and was launched on 30 August 1943.^[1] She saw service during World War II and the Cold War.

Royal Navy service

Following service in the Second World War, Whirlwind was based at Rosyth in 1947 and 1948 as a boys training ship.^[2] Between 1952 and 1953 she was converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate by Palmers, with the new pennant number F187.

Whirlwind after conversion to Type 15 Frigate, c1965 (IWM)

She re-commissioned on 28 July 1953 and was allocated to the 5th Frigate Squadron for service in the Mediterranean. In 1954 she participated in the recovery of the wreckage of the crashed de Havilland Comet off the island of Elba. In 1956 she was part of the Royal Navy force deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean as part of the Suez Crisis. At this time she was part of the 5th Frigate Squadron. She also undertook patrols off the Cyprus coast. Between June 1959 and May 1961 she underwent a refit at Rosyth.

In 1961 Whirlwind re-commissioned to the 8th Frigate Squadron for service at Home and in the West Indies.^[3] In 1964, along with HMS Rothesay, Whirlwind deployed for patrol off Bahamas to intercept illegal traffic from Cuba.^[4]

Decommissioning and disposal

In 1966 Whirlwind was placed on the disposal list. On 12 August 1969 she was towed from Portsmouth to Pembroke Dock for use as a target. She foundered at her moorings in Cardigan Bay on 29 October 1974 while in use as a target.^[5]

Commanding officers

^[6]

References

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. 
• 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. 

Coordinates: 52°16′47″N 04°40′41″W / 52.27972°N 4.67806°W / 52.27972; -4.67806