HMS Belvoir (L32)

HMS Belvoir was a Hunt-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was a member of the third subgroup of the class, and saw service in the Second World War. She was adopted by the civil community of Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire during Warship Week in 1942.[1]

HMS Belvoir, 29 May 1945 (IWM)
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Belvoir
Ordered:	4 July 1940
Builder:	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead
Laid down:	14 October 1940
Launched:	18 November 1941
Completed:	29 March 1942
Honours and awards:	Sicily 1943 Salerno 1943 Aegean 1943 South France 1944 Adriatic 1944
Fate:	Scrapped 1957
Badge:	On a Field White, a Peacock's head erased Proper enfiled with a ducal coronet
General characteristics
Class and type:	Type III Hunt-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,050 long tons (1,070 t) standard 1,435 long tons (1,458 t) full load
Length:	85.3 m (279 ft 10 in) o/a
Beam:	10.16 m (33 ft 4 in)
Draught:	3.51 m (11 ft 6 in)
Propulsion:	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers 2 shaft Parsons geared turbines, 19,000 shp (14,000 kW)
Speed:	27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h) 25.5 kn (29.3 mph; 47.2 km/h) full
Range:	2,350 nmi (4,350 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement:	168
Armament:	4 × QF 4 in Mark XVI guns on twin mounts Mk. XIX 4 × QF 2 pdr Mk. VIII on quad mount MK.VII 2 × 20 mm Oerlikons on single mounts P Mk. III 2 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes 110 depth charges, 4 throwers, 3 racks

Service history

On commissioning Belvoir was deployed to Scapa Flow for service with the Home Fleet. She was subsequently allocated to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla and escorted convoys to South Africa, then transferred to the Mediterranean, including service escorting Malta Convoys. In 1943 she took part in escort duties as part of Operation Husky, the allied landings in Sicily and subsequently the landings at Salerno.

In 1944 she was prepared for service as part of the Allied landings in the south of France and subsequently in the Adriatic. In June 1945 she returned to the UK for paying off.

In 1946 she was reduced to reserve status and laid up at Portsmouth. She was placed on the disposal list in 1957 and sold. She was scrapped by McLennan, arriving at their yard at Bo'Ness on 21 October 1957.[2]

References

1. Mason, Geoffrey B. (2004). Gordon Smith (ed.). "HMS Belvoir (L 32) - Type 3, Hunt-class Escort Destroyer". naval-history.net. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
2. Critchley, Mike, "British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers", Maritime Books: Liskeard, UK, 1982. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2, page 40

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.
• English, John (1987). The Hunts: a history of the design, development and careers of the 86 destroyers of this class built for the Royal and Allied Navies during World War II. England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-44-4.