.gif)
HMAS Duchess (D154)
Encyclopedia
HMAS Duchess was a Daring-class
Daring class destroyer (1949)
The Daring class was a class of eleven destroyers built for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy . Constructed after World War II, and entering service during the 1950s, eight ships were constructed for the RN, and three ships for the RAN. Two of the RN destroyers were subsequently sold to and...
destroyer that served in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as HMS Duchess from 1952 to 1964, and in the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
(RAN) from 1964 to 1980.
Commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1952, Duchess operated with the British Home Fleet
British Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which operated in the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967.-Pre–First World War:...
and in the Mediterranean, was involved in the 1956 Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
, and served as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve
Far East Strategic Reserve
The British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve was a joint military force of the British, Australian, and New Zealand armed forces...
. Following the Melbourne-Voyager collision
Melbourne-Voyager collision
The Melbourne-Voyager collision, also referred to as the "Melbourne-Voyager incident" or simply the "Voyager incident", was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy ; the aircraft carrier and the destroyer...
, Duchess was loaned to the RAN in 1964 as a temporary replacement for HMAS Voyager. The destroyer was purchased by Australia in 1972, converted into a training ship over the next two years, and continued to operate with the RAN until her paying off in 1977, and her sale for scrap in 1980.
Construction
Duchess was laid down by John I. Thornycroft and Company of Woolston at SouthamptonSouthampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
on 8 July 1948. She was launched on 9 April 1951 by Countess Edwina Mountbatten
Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma
Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma,, GBE, DCVO, CI, DStJ was an English heiress, socialite, relief-worker, wife of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, and last Vicereine of India.- Lineage and wealth :Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma...
, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 23 October 1952.
Royal Navy
Duchess was initially assigned to the British Home FleetBritish Home Fleet
The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which operated in the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967.-Pre–First World War:...
in early 1953. In September 1954 and July 1955, the destroyer was deployed to the Mediterranean, and near the end of the year escorted the Royal Yacht Britannia
HMY Britannia
Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia is the former Royal Yacht of the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. She was the 83rd such vessel since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. She is the second Royal yacht to bear the name, the first being the famous racing cutter built for The Prince of Wales...
during the final leg of Queen Elizabeth's
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and the Duke of Edinburgh's
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
world tour. Duchess continued to operate in the Mediterranean until July 1955, and was involved in the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...
in 1956. Sometime between 1956 and 1964, the destroyer operated with the Far East Strategic Reserve
Far East Strategic Reserve
The British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve was a joint military force of the British, Australian, and New Zealand armed forces...
.
Transfer
Following the loss of the Daring-class destroyer in a collisionMelbourne-Voyager collision
The Melbourne-Voyager collision, also referred to as the "Melbourne-Voyager incident" or simply the "Voyager incident", was a collision between two warships of the Royal Australian Navy ; the aircraft carrier and the destroyer...
with the aircraft carrier on 10 February 1964, both the United Kingdom and the United States of America offered to loan ships to the RAN as a replacement; the Royal Navy offering Duchess while the United States Navy offered two Fletcher-class
Fletcher class destroyer
The Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
destroyers: US Ships and . Duchess was accepted on a four-year loan and modernised, while two modified River-class
River class destroyer escort
The River class was a class of six destroyer escorts operated by the Royal Australian Navy . Plans to acquire four vessels, based on the British Type 12M frigate, began in the 1950s. The first two vessels had some slight modifications to the design, while the next two underwent further changes...
frigates ( and ) were constructed as permanent replacements. Duchess was acquired by the RAN on 8 May 1964, and commissioned on the same day.
Royal Australian Navy
During 1965 and 1966, Duchess operated in Malaysian waters during the Indonesia-Malaysia ConfrontationIndonesia-Malaysia confrontation
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation during 1962–1966 was Indonesia’s political and armed opposition to the creation of Malaysia. It is also known by its Indonesian/Malay name Konfrontasi...
. This was later recognised with the battle honour
Battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
"Malaysia 1965–66".
Although she had been loaned to the RAN for only four years, Duchess remained in RAN service after this time, and was purchased outright by the Australian Government in 1972.
At the start of 1973, Duchess underwent a refit that removed several of her weapons and installed a classroom, for future service as a training ship. Re-entering service in August 1974, the ship performed her first training cruise in early 1975, visiting ports in south-west Australia and New Zealand. Training cruises also occurred in late 1975, 1976, and 1977.