Ca-Class
destroyer of the 11th Emergency Programme
ordered from JS White at Cowes, IoW
during November 1942. This ship was originally
ordered from John Brown, Clydebank and to be
named HMS PIQUE but the order was cancelled
later and transferred to JS White. The ship
was laid down on 28th February 1943 but
launching was delayed due to air raid damage
in the shipyard and also to design changes
made by the Admiralty. When launched on 7th
April 1944 she was the 1st RN ship to bear
this name. She replaced HM River Gunboat APHIS
as the adopted ship for the civil community of
Morpeth, Northumberland which had been sold..
Build was completed on 22nd November 1944 and
commissioned for service in the 6th Destroyer
Flotilla.
B
a t t l e H o n o u r s
ARCTIC
1945
H
e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge:
On a Field Red, a lion’s face Gold, langued
Blue
ducally
crowned Gold within a horseshoe reversed,
also
Gold, winged paly bendy Gold and Blue.
D
e t a i l s o f W a
r S e r v i c e
(for more
ship information,
go
to
Naval History Homepage
and
type name in Site Search)
1
9 4 4
November
Contractors trials and commissioning.
22nd
Build completion and commenced acceptance
trials.
December
Passage
to Scapa Flow for work-up with ships of Home
Fleet after
completion of storing and weapon calibration.
1
9 4 5
January
Work-up based at Scapa Flow.
February
On completion of work-up Home Fleet at Scapa
Flow.
11th
Deployed with HM Destroyers CAVENDISH, SCOURGE
and ZEBRA
as escort for HM Cruiser DEVONSHIRE, HM Escort
Aircraft Carriers
PREMIUM and PUNCHER during minelay and
shipping strikes off
Norway as Force 2 (Operation SELENIUM)
13th
Return passage to Scapa Flow.
22nd
Deployed with HM Destroyers MYNGS and SCORPION
as escort for
HM
Cruiser DIDO, HM Escort Aircraft Carriers
PREMIER and
PUNCHER in Force 4 during air minelay in Karm
Sund (Operation
SHRED)
(Note: Force 4 also covered mine clearance by
10th Minesweeping
Flotilla to provide a shorter passage for
future operations off
Norway (Operation GROUNDSHEET)
For
details of minelaying off Norway see Naval
Staff History
(Mining).)
23rd
Detached from Force 4 with HMS MYNGS and HMS
SCORPION to
reinforce escort for return Convoy RA64 on
passage from Kola Inlet.
(Note: This convoy had been subject to violent
weather conditions
causing damage to some escorts.)
25th
Joined RA64.
27th
Detached from RA64 and returned to Scapa Flow.
March
Home Fleet deployment in continuation.
April
Deployed with Home Fleet at Scapa Flow.
Nominated for foreign service.
May
Passage to Clyde for escort of troopship in NW
Approaches.
5th
Deployed in NW Approaches for escort.
6th
After release from escort took passage to
Scapa Flow and carried out
search for German submarines which had been
ordered to surrender.
7th
Deployed at Scapa Flow for exercises with
ships of Flotilla in preparation
for operational service in East Indies Fleet.
During torpedo firing exercises hit by torpedo
fired by another destroyer
and sustained underwater damage to after
structure.
Inspection revealed port propeller and “A”
Bracket unusable and starboard
propeller damaged.
Taken in tow for return to Scapa Flow.
Following further inspection repair arranged
at Rosyth.
June
Passage to Rosyth with tug in attendance.
Docked at Rosyth for repair.
July
Under repair.
August
Post repair trials, storing and preparation
for foreign service.
25th
Took passage from Rosyth for visit to South
Shields.
(Note: This was to allow exchange
of visits with civil community of
Morpeth.)
30th
Sailed from South Shields for Gibraltar on
passage to Trincomalee
for service on East Indies Station.
P
o s t W a r N o t e s
HMS
CAVALIER was deployed for support of military
operations in the Dutch East Indies including
the landings at Sourabaya of the 5th Indian
Division in October 1945. Later in February
1946 she went to Bombay with HM Destroyer
PETARD after the mutiny of some Indian Navy
personnel. The ship was transferred to
Singapore in April that year for service with
the British Pacific Fleet and embarked Chinese
nationals for passage to Hong Kong. On her
return passage to Singapore she carried sick
allied personnel who were to return to UK by
sea. During this period she was again deployed
in the Dutch East Indies in support of allied
troops and escorted US built minesweepers to
Subic Bay in the Philippines for return to the
US Navy. On completion she called at
Singapore before going to Trincomalee from
whence she took passage to Pay-off on 11 May
1946.
Reduced
to Reserve at Portsmouth this destroyer was
laid up in the Reserve Fleet until selected
for modernisation in 1951. On completion by
Thornycroft at Woolston in 1957 she was
recommissioned for service in the 8th
Destroyer Flotilla and served in the Far East
until 1963 when she again reduced to Reserve
at Chatham. Whilst under tow to Gibraltar
in 1964 she was damaged in a collision with
the Liberian tanker BURGAN and had to
return to UK for repair at Portsmouth. The
work to replace the bow structure was
completed at Devonport. The ship then returned
to Gibraltar on completion in January 1966 and
was refitted before being brought forward for
service the next year. Until 1972 she remained
in commission and deployed initially in the
Far East before return to UK to join the 4th
Frigate Squadron in the Home Fleet.
Before
being paid off at Chatham in 1972 she took
part in a contest with another destroyer to
determine which ship could steam the fastest,
The ship was intended to be preserved and held
in Reserve but instead was sold to the HMS
CAVALIER TRUST for use as a Museum Ship. In
1977 she was towed to Southampton for display
and later sold to South Tyneside Council for
public display in dock at Hebburn. This
project did not succeed and there was fear of
damage due to vandalism. Following
negotiations with the National Lottery Fund,
this destroyer was transferred to the custody
of The Chatham Historic Dockyard who
received a Lottery Grant to enable her
to be available for public display. This
latest move has not received great acclaim and
her state of preservation has been questioned.
Maintenance work is being supported by local
organisations and the ship is open as part of
the Chatham Historic Dockyard.
see
HMS CAVALIER ASSOCIATION for latest
news
Addendum
CONVOY
ESCORT MOVEMENTS of HMS
CAVALIER
by
Don Kindell
These
convoy lists have not been cross-checked
with the text above
|
|
|
|
|
Date
convoy sailed
|
Joined
convoy as escort
|
Convoy No.
|
Left
convoy
|
Date
convoy arrived
|
|
|
|
|
|
17/02/45
|
25/02/45
|
RA
064
|
27/02/45
|
28/02/45
|
28/02/45
|
05/03/45
|
AT
193
|
06/03/45
|
06/03/45
|
08/03/45
|
08/03/45
|
TA
192
|
09/03/45
|
14/03/45
|
09/03/45
|
14/03/45
|
AT
196A
|
15/03/45
|
15/03/45
|
17/03/45
|
17/03/45
|
TA
195A
|
18/03/45
|
24/03/45
|
22/03/45
|
22/03/45
|
TA
197
|
23/03/45
|
28/03/45
|
25/03/45
|
30/03/45
|
AT
200
|
31/03/45
|
31/03/45
|
01/04/45
|
01/04/45
|
TA
199
|
02/04/45
|
08/04/45
|
07/04/45
|
07/04/45
|
TA
200
|
08/04/45
|
13/04/45
|
03/04/45
|
09/04/45
|
AT
201B
|
10/04/45
|
10/04/45
|
18/04/45
|
18/04/45
|
TA
202
|
19/04/45
|
26/04/45
|
14/04/45
|
20/04/45
|
AT
204
|
21/04/45
|
21/04/45
|
26/04/45
|
26/04/45
|
TA
204
|
27/04/45
|
04/05/45
|
26/04/45
|
03/05/45
|
AT
206
|
04/05/45
|
04/05/45
|
01/05/45
|
08/05/45
|
AT
207
|
09/05/45
|
09/05/45
|
14/05/45
|
14/05/45
|
TA
207
|
15/05/45
|
22/05/45
|
09/05/45
|
15/05/45
|
AT
208
|
16/05/45
|
16/05/45
|
21/05/45
|
21/05/45
|
TA
208
|
22/05/45
|
28/05/45
|
27/05/45
|
02/06/45
|
AT
211
|
03/06/45
|
03/06/45
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Note
on Convoys)