HMS Pathfinder was a P-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She was damaged while serving in the Far East, and was scrapped after the end of the war.
The P-class destroyers were repeats of the preceding O class, except that they were armed with 4-inch (102 mm) anti-aircraft guns. They displaced 1640LT at standard load and 2250LT at deep load. The ships had an overall length of 345feet, a beam of 35feet and a deep draught of 12feet. They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of 40000shp and gave a maximum speed of 36kn. The ships carried a maximum of 500LT of fuel oil that gave them a range of 3850nmi at . The ships' complement was 176 officers and men.[1]
Pathfinder was armed with four QF 4-inch Mark V guns in single mounts, two pairs [superfiring] fore and aft. Her light anti-aircraft suite was composed of one quadruple mount for 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns and four single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. The ship was fitted with two above-water quadruple mount for 21inches torpedoes.[2] The ship was fitted with four depth charge throwers and two racks for 70 depth charges.[1]
The ship was built by Hawthorn Leslie & Co, and was launched on 10 April 1941, and commissioned in April 1942. During the war, Pathfinder was active in a number of theatres, and helped to sink several enemy submarines.
Pathfinder was commanded by Commander Edward Albert Gibbs from January 1942 to November 1943, during which time she assisted the destroyer in sinking the, assisted the destroyers and to sink the, assisted in the rescue of nearly 5,000 survivors from the troopship after it was torpedoed off Oran, Algeria. She also sank the with assistance from Swordfish aircraft flying off the aircraft carrier .
On 11 February 1945, Pathfinder was hit by an Imperial Japanese army fighter-bomber Ki-43 off Ramree, and was taken out of service. She sailed back to the UK using her starboard engine. On arrival at Devonport she was placed in reserve. She was then sold to the ship breakers Howells and scrapped in November 1948 at Milford Haven.[3]
. Henry Trevor Lenton. British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland. 1998. 1-55750-048-7.