HMS Venus (R50)

Venus in August 1943
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Venus
Ordered:	1 September 1941
Builder:	Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan, Scotland
Laid down:	12 January 1942
Launched:	23 February 1943
Commissioned:	28 August 1943
Identification:	Pennant number:R50 Later F50
Honours and awards:	Arctic 1943-44 Normandy 1944 Malaya 1945 Burma 1945
Fate:	Sold for scrap in 1972
Badge:	On a Field Blue, the symbol of the planet Venus Gold.
General characteristics V-class destroyer
Class & type:	V-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,777 long tons (1,806 t) standard 2,058 long tons (2,091 t) full load
Length:	363 ft (111 m)
Beam:	35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
Draught:	10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers Geared steam turbines, 40,000 shp (29,828 kW) 2 shafts
Speed:	37 knots (43 mph; 69 km/h)
Range:	4,860 nmi (9,000 km) at 29 kn (54 km/h)
Complement:	180 (225 in flotilla leader)
Armament:	Original configuration : 4 × QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) Mk XII guns in single mountings CP Mk.XXII 2 × QF 40 mm Bofors guns in twin mount Mk.IV 6 × QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns; 2 × twin mounts Mk.V, 2 × single mounts Mk.III 2 × quadruple tubes for 21 in (533 mm) torpedo Mk.IX
General characteristics Type 15 frigate
Class & type:	Type 15 frigate
Displacement:	2,300 long tons (2,337 t) standard
Length:	358 ft (109 m) o/a
Beam:	37 ft 9 in (11.51 m)
Draught:	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, steam turbines on 2 shafts, 40,000 shp
Speed:	31 knots (36 mph; 57 km/h) (full load)
Complement:	174
Sensors and processing systems:	Radar Type 293Q target indication (later Type 993) Type 277Q surface search Type 974 navigation Type 262 fire control on director CRBF Type 1010 Cossor Mark 10 IFF Sonar: Type 174 search Type 162 target classification Type 170 attack
Armament:	1 × twin 4 in gun Mark 19 1 × twin 40mm Bofors Mk.5; 2 × Squid A/S mortar or; 2 × Limbo Mark 10 A/S mortar

HMS Venus was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, of Govan, Scotland and launched on 23 February 1943.

Service history

Second World War service

She participated in the Battle of the Malacca Strait with the destroyers Saumarez, Verulam, Vigilant, and Virago which culminated in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser Haguro on 16 May 1945.

Post war service

Between 1946 and 1949 Venus was part of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, based in the Mediterranean. This included work as part of the Royal Navy patrols preventing illegal Jewish immigration into Mandatory Palestine. In June 1946 she intercepted Josiah Wedgewood. In the same year Venus and Virago participated in the rescue of crew from the British Tanker Empire Cross, which caught fire, exploded and sank at Haifa, Palestine,^[1] with the loss of up to 25 lives.^[2]

Between 1949 and 1951 she was held in reserve at Devonport Dockyard. Between 1951 and 1952 she was converted at Devonport into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, with the new pennant number F50. Following conversion she became leader of the 6th Frigate Squadron. In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.^[3] In 1955 she was refitted for work as part of the Dartmouth Training Squadron.^[4]

Decommissioning and disposal

In 1964 Venus went to reserve and in October 1969 was in use as a target to measure the effects of ship to ship use of the Sea Dart missile system. She was sold to Thomas W. Ward Ltd for scrapping and arrived at their Briton Ferry yard on 20 December 1972 to be broken up.

Commanding officers

From	To	Captain
1943	1944	Cdr J S M Richardson DSO RN
1944	1945	Cdr H G D de Chair DSO RN[5]
1951	1952	Under conversion to Type 15 Frigate
1952	1954	Captain Colin C Martell RN
1955	1956
1957	1958

1958 - 1960 Captain P N Howes DSC ^[6]

References

1. Mitchell, W.H.; Sawyer, L.A. (1995). The Empire Ships. London, New York, Hamburg, Hong Kong: Lloyd's of London Press Ltd. p. not cited. ISBN 1-85044-275-4.
2. "Haifa Tanker Explosion" The Times (London). Monday, 5 August 1946. (50521), col E, p. 3.
3. Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
4. Critchley, Mike (1982). British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. p. 72. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.
5. "HMS Venus (R 50)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
6. BRNC Blue Book January 1960

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.