HMS Cavendish (R15)

HMS Cavendish in 1945
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Cavendish
Ordered:	February 1942
Builder:	John Brown, Clydebank
Launched:	12 April 1944
Completed:	12 December 1944
Commissioned:	28 July 1944
Renamed:	Built as HMS Sibyl Renamed HMS Cavendish before launch
Identification:	Pennant number: R15 initially, but changed to D15 in 1945
Motto:	Cavendo tutus: ‘Safe by taking care‘
Honours and awards:	None
Fate:	Arrived at breaker's yard for scrapping at Blyth on 14 August 1967
Badge:	On a Field Blue, a ring Gold nowed at the base by a snake Proper.
General characteristics
Class & type:	C-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,710 tons (standard) 2,520 tons (full)
Length:	363 ft (111 m) o/a
Beam:	35.75 ft (10.90 m)
Draught:	10 ft (3.0 m) light, 14.5 ft (4.4 m) full
Propulsion:	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons geared steam turbines, 40,000 shp (30,000 kW), 2 shafts
Speed:	37 knots (69 km/h)
Range:	615 tons oil, 1,400 nautical miles (2,600 km) at 32 knots (59 km/h)
Complement:	186
Armament:	3 × QF 4.5 in (114 mm) L/45 guns Mark IV on mounts CP Mk.V 2 × Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns on twin mount "Hazemeyer" Mk.IV, or; 4 × anti-aircraft mountings; Bofors 40 mm, single mount Mk.III QF 2 -pdr Mk.VIII, single mount Mk.XVI Oerlikon 20 mm, single mount P Mk.III Oerlikon 20 mm, twin mount Mk.V 2 × pentuple tubes for 21 in (533 mm) torpedoes Mk.IX 4 throwers and 2 racks for 96 depth charges 6 × Squid anti-submarine mortars

HMS Cavendish was a C-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, ordered in February 1942 from John Brown of Clydebank.^[1] She was originally to be named Sibyl but this was changed to Cavendish before launch to fit her revised class name. She was launched on 12 April 1944.

Wartime service

On commissioning Cavendish joined the Home Fleet and served in the North Atlantic and off Norway. In 1945 she deployed to the Indian Ocean, returning to the UK in 1946.^[1]

Post war service

Following the war Cavendish paid off into reserve. She was selected for modernistion and the work was completed in 1955.^[2] She emerged from modernisation in 1955 for service with the 6th Destroyer Squadron as part of the Home Fleet, including service in the Mediterranean. In 1960 she was deployed for service with the Far Eastern Fleet at Singapore. In 1964 she returned to Portsmouth and was laid up.^[3]

Decommissioning and disposal

She was paid off in 1965 and subsequently sold to BISCO for demolition by Hughes Bolcow at Blyth. She arrived at the breaker's yard for scrapping on 14 August 1967.^[1]

References

1. Mason, Geoffrey B. (2004). Gordon Smith, ed. "HMS Cavendish (R 15) - Ca-class Flotilla Leader including Convoy Escort Movements". naval-history.net. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
2. Warlow, Ben (1990). Channel Sweep. Liskeard: Maritime Books. p. 34. ISBN 0-907771-40-8.
3. Critchley, Mike (1982). British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. p. 92. ISBN 0-95063-239-2.

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 (1989). Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945. Ian Allen Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1817-0.