HMS Racehorse (H11) explained

HMS Racehorse was a R-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

Description

Racehorse displaced 1705LT at standard load and 2425LT at deep load. She had an overall length of 358inchesft3inchesin (ftin), a beam of 33inchesft8inchesin (ftin) and a deep draught of 13inchesft6inchesin (ftin). She was 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. Racehorse carried a maximum of 470LT of fuel oil that gave her a range of 4675nmi at . Her complement was 176 officers and ratings.^[1]

The ship was armed with four 45-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, Racehorse had one quadruple mount for QF 2-pdr Mark VIII ("pom-pom") guns and six single 20mm Oerlikon autocannon. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for 21inches torpedoes. Two depth charge rails and four throwers were fitted for which 70 depth charges were provided.^[2]

Construction and career

She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank and launched in 1942. She was adopted by the civil community of Greater London during Warship Week in 1942.

The ship served in World War II, taking part in operations Balsam and Livery.^[3] She was placed in reserve in Portsmouth in 1946. Used as a target/trials ship in Gareloch. ^[4] She arrived at Troon for breaking up on 8 December 1949.^[5]

Bibliography

• Book: Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Chesneau. Roger. Conway Maritime Press. Greenwich, UK. 1980. 0-85177-146-7.
  • Book: English, John. Obdurate to Daring: British Fleet Destroyers 1941–45. World Ship Society. Windsor, UK. 2001. 978-0-9560769-0-8.
• Book: Friedman, Norman. British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After. Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland. 2006. 1-86176-137-6. Norman Friedman.
• Book: Lenton, H. T.. Henry Trevor Lenton. British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland. 1998. 1-55750-048-7.
• Book: Raven. Alan. Roberts. John . War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. Bivouac Books. London. 1978. 0-85680-010-4. amp.
• Book: Rohwer, Jürgen. Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland. 2005. Third Revised. 1-59114-119-2. Jürgen Rohwer.
• Book: Whitley, M. J.. Destroyers of World War 2. Naval Institute Press. 1988. 0-87021-326-1. Annapolis, Maryland. Michael J. Whitley.

Notes and References

1. Lenton, p. 174
2. English, p. 51
3. Book: Ministry of Defence (Navy). Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Great Britain. Great Britain. The advance to Japan. H.M. Stationery Office. War with Japan. 6, Part 1. 1995. 334. 9780117728219.
4. Web site: Family History - Royal Navy and Naval History.Net . 2024-02-08 . naval-history.net.
5. Critchley, Mike, "British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers", Maritime Books: Liskeard, UK, 1982., page 52