HMS Hesperus (H57) was an H-class

G and H class destroyer

The G- and H-class destroyers were a class of twenty-four destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1935–1939. They served in World War II and sixteen were lost, with a seventeenth being written off as a constructive total loss...

 destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 originally ordered by the Brazilian Navy

Brazilian Navy

The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...

 with the name Juruena in the late 1930s, but was bought by 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...

 after the beginning of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in September 1939.

Description

Hesperus displaced 1350 long tons (1,371.7 t) at standard

Displacement (ship)

A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...

 load and 1883 long tons (1,913.2 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 323 feet (98.5 m), a beam

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...

 of 33 feet (10.1 m) and a draught

Draft (hull)

The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...

 of 12 in 5 in (3.78 m). She was powered by Parsons

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based in Wallsend, North England, on the River Tyne.-History:The company was founded by Charles Algernon Parsons in 1897 with £500,000 of capital, and specialised in building the steam turbine engines that he had invented for...

 geared steam turbine

Steam turbine

A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....

s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 34000 shp and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (19.6 m/s). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boiler

Water-tube boiler

A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...

s. Harvester carried a maximum of 470 long tons (477.5 t) of fuel oil, giving her a range of 5530 nautical miles (10,241.6 km) at 15 knots (8.2 m/s). The ship's complement was 152 officers and men.

The vessel was designed for four 45-calibre

Caliber (artillery)

In artillery, caliber or calibredifference in British English and American English spelling is the internal diameter of a gun barrel, or by extension a relative measure of the length....

 4.7-inch Mk IX guns

4.7 inch QF Mark XII

The 4.7 inch QF Mark IX and Mark XII were 120-mm 45-calibre naval guns which armed the majority of Royal Navy and Commonwealth destroyers in World War II, and were exported to many countries after World War II as the destroyers they were mounted on were sold off.-Description and history:These guns...

 in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear, but 'Y' gun was removed to compensate for the additional depth charges added. For anti-aircraft

Anti-aircraft warfare

NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

 (AA) defence, Hesperus had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III

Vickers .50 machine gun

The Vickers .50 machine gun, also known as the 'Vickers .50' was basically the same as the Vickers machine gun but scaled up to use a larger calibre round.-Mark II, IV and V:...

 machine gun

Machine gun

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....

. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube

Torpedo tube

A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...

 mounts for 21 inches (53 cm)

British 21 inch torpedo

There have been several British 21-inch diameter torpedoes used by the Royal Navy since their first development just before the First World War.They were the largest size of torpedo in common use in the RN...

 torpedoes. One depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...

 rail and two throwers were originally fitted, but this was increased to three sets of rails and eight throwers while fitting-out

Fitting-out

Fitting-out, or "outfitting”, is the process in modern shipbuilding that follows the float-out of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her owners...

. The ship's load of depth charges was increased from 20 to 110 as well.

Wartime modifications

Hesperus had her rear torpedo tubes replaced by a 12-pounder

QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun

The QF 12 pounder 12 cwt gun was a common calibre naval gun introduced in 1894 and used until the middle of the 20th century. It was produced by Armstrong Whitworth, Elswick and used on Royal Navy warships, and exported to allied countries...

 AA gun after the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, but it is not known exactly when this modification was made. During her 1942 conversion to an escort destroyer, the ship's short-range AA armament had been augmented by two Oerlikon 20 mm

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...

 guns on the wings of the ship's bridge. The .50-calibre machine gun mounts were replaced by a pair of Oerlikons later. 'A' gun was replaced by a Hedgehog

Hedgehog (weapon)

The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...

 anti-submarine spigot mortar. The ship's director-control tower and rangefinder

Rangefinder

A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...

 above the bridge were removed in exchange for a Type 271 target indication radar. A Type 286 short-range surface search radar was probably also fitted mid-way through the war. The ship also received a HF/DF radio direction finder

Radio direction finder

A radio direction finder is a device for finding the direction to a radio source. Due to low frequency propagation characteristic to travel very long distances and "over the horizon", it makes a particularly good navigation system for ships, small boats, and aircraft that might be some distance...

 mounted on a pole mainmast.

History

She was originally laid down as Juruena for the Brazilian Navy

Brazilian Navy

The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America...

 by John I. Thornycroft and Company at Woolston, Hampshire on 6 July 1938, launched on 1 August 1939, purchased in September 1939 and named Hearty. Commissioned on 22 January 1940 under command of former Fleet Air Arm pilot Commander Donald Macintyre RN Hearty was renamed Hesperus on 27 February, after the Hesperus of mythology.

The six Havant class destroyers initially formed the 9th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet assigned to anti-submarine protection of Scapa Flow

Scapa Flow

right|thumb|Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern endScapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay and Hoy. It is about...

. Upon the German occupation of Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Hesperus and Havant were assigned to cover British occupation of the Faroe Islands

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...

. Hesperus was damaged by Junkers Ju-87 dive-bombers off Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 in May 1940, and was under repair at Dundee during the evacuation of Dunkirk.

In late 1940 the 9th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet was transferred to the Western Approaches Command

Western Approaches Command

Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsible for the safety of British shipping in the Western...

 and re-designated the 9th Escort Group. In January, 1941, Hesperus and Hurricane were damaged by a storm at sea. In the spring of 1941, Hesperus was attached to Force H

Force H

Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940 to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean that had been removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany....

 at Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, under command of Lieutenant-Commander A.A. "Harry" Tait RN while Macintyre left Hesperus to form the 5th Escort Group. Hesperus made a single trip escorting aircraft carriers ferrying fighter-planes to Malta with Force H before joining the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck

German battleship Bismarck

Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...

 in May, 1941. Hesperus was unable to keep up with the battleships pursuing Bismarck

German battleship Bismarck

Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...

 and was sent to Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 for a short refit.

In August, 1941, Hesperus escorted the battleship HMS Prince of Wales carrying Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...

 to the Atlantic Charter

Atlantic Charter

The Atlantic Charter was a pivotal policy statement first issued in August 1941 that early in World War II defined the Allied goals for the post-war world. It was drafted by Britain and the United States, and later agreed to by all the Allies...

 meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

. Hesperus was structurally damaged by heavy swells; and was repaired first by tender in Iceland and then at Immingham

Immingham

Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...

.

On 25 October 1941, Hesperus and the destroyers HMS Electra

HMS Electra (H27)

HMS Electra was a Royal Navy 'E' class destroyer . She was ordered on 1 November 1932 as part of the 1931 Naval Build Programme; launched on 15 February 1934 at the Hawthorn Leslie Shipyard at Hebburn, Tyneside...

 and HMS Express

HMS Express (H61)

HMS Express was an E class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She was one of 18 'E' and 'F' class destroyers to be built.She was launched on 29 May 1934. She had an overall length of 100 m, displacement of 1,375 tons, and a maximum speed of 35.5 knots...

 escorted the HMS Prince of Wales for the first part of her journey to the Far East. The destroyers refuelled from the Prince of Wales south of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Two days later the destroyer, HMS Legion was detached from a convoy to cover the Prince of Wales with Hesperus while Electra and Express refuelled from a tanker in Ponta del Garda in the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

. After Electra and Express returned the following day, Hesperus and Legion departed for Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

. Hesperus returned to anti-submarine work from November, 1941.

Hesperus was one of the leading submarine hunters in the war. The ship attacked and sank the enemy German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 submarine

Submarine

A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

s U-208 while in company with the destroyer HMS Harvester

HMS Harvester (H19)

HMS Harvester was an H-class destroyer originally ordered by the Brazilian Navy with the name Jurua in the late 1930s, but was bought by the Royal Navy after the beginning of World War II in September 1939. Almost immediately after commissioning, in May 1940, the ship began evacuating Allied troops...

 in the Atlantic west of Gibraltar on 7 December 1941, U-93 in the North Atlantic on 15 January 1942 while reinforcing the escort of convoy HG-78, U-357 while in company with the destroyer Vanessa while escorting convoy HX-219 in the Atlantic north-west of Ireland on 20 December 1942, U-191

German submarine U-191

German submarine U-191 was a Type IXC/40 U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine built for service during World War II.She was ordered on 4 November 1940 from AG Weser, Bremen laid down on 2 November 1941 and launched on 23 July 1942. She was commissioned under Kptlt...

 while escorting convoy ONS-4 in the North Atlantic south-east of Cape Farewell

Cape Farewell, Greenland

Cape Farewell , is a headland on the southern shore of Egger Island, Greenland. Located at it is the southernmost extent of Greenland, projecting out into the North Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea on the same latitude as Stockholm and the Scottish Shetland Islands. Egger and the associated...

 in Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

 on 23 April 1943 and U-186 while escorting convoy SC-129 in the Atlantic north of the Azores on 12 May 1943.

In March, 1942, the remaining five Havant class destroyers were designated leaders of Escort Groups B-1 through B-5. Commander Tait was transferred to Harvester; and Commander A.F.St.G. Orpen assumed command of Hesperus and B-2 Escort Group when Hesperus completed repairs in April. Commander Macintyre returned to Hesperus when Orpen was promoted to captain in June. Hesperus lead B-2's team of V and W class destroyer

V and W class destroyer

The V and W class was an amalgam of six similar classes of destroyer built for the Royal Navy under the War Emergency Programme of the First World War and generally treated as one class...

s Vanessa and Whitehall and Flower class corvette

Flower class corvette

The Flower-class corvette was a class of 267 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic...

s Campanula, Clematis, Gentian

HMS Gentian (K90)

HMS Gentian was a Royal Navy Flower-class corvette that served in the Battle of the Atlantic, during World War II.One of the first batch of wartime corvettes laid down, she served most of the time in the Western Approaches, escorting convoys across the North Atlantic with Escort Group B2 and was...

, Heather

HMS Heather (K69)

HMS Heather was a of the Royal Navy....

, Mignonette, and Sweetbriar.

Commander G.V. Legassick RNVR assumed command of Hesperus in March 1944. Hesperus transported the remains of Captain Frederic John Walker

Frederic John Walker

Captain Frederic John Walker, CB, DSO and three Bars, RN was a British Royal Navy officer noted for his exploits during World War II...

 RN for burial at sea in July 1944. Hesperus was reassigned to the 19th Escort Group in the autumn of 1944. In January 1945, Commander R.A. Currie RN assumed command of Hesperus as leader of the all-destroyer 14th Escort Group.

Hesperus last official act was escorting the exiled Norwegian government back to Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

. The ship was sold for scrap on 26 November 1946 and broken up at Grangemouth

Grangemouth

Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...

. Hesperus ensign was preserved in Yeovil Parish Church.

Equipment

Completed with "Y" gun position replaced by three depth charge traps, two depth-charge-throwers, and increased depth charge stowage. The number of depth charge throwers was increased to eight in 1940. Completed with no Director Control Tower (DCT) so the three remaining 4.7-inch (12-cm) low-angle guns (in "A", "B" and "X" positions) fired in local control.

Completed with two four-barreled .50-calibre (12.7 mm) anti-aircraft machine-guns. One of the two quadruple torpedo tube mounts was replaced by a single high-angle 3-inch (76 mm) gun while under repair at Dundee

Dundee

Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...

 in mid-1940. Two Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon

The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original design by Reinhold Becker of Germany, very early in World War I, and widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others...

 were added to the bridge wings during repair at Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....

 in early 1942, and two more were added during repair of ramming damage in early 1943.

Received High-Frequency-radio-Direction-Finding (HF/DF of Huff-Duff

Huff-Duff

High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF is the common name for a type of radio direction finding employed especially during the two World Wars....

) antenna and early fixed-antenna RADAR

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 during Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 refit in mid-1941. Received DCT at Immingham

Immingham

Immingham is a town in North East Lincolnshire, located on the south bank of the Humber Estuary...

 in September, 1941. DCT was replaced by 10-cm band Resonant Cavity Magnetron SW RADAR

Radar

Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...

 with surface warning capability in early 1942, while Hesperus was under repair at Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....

 for damage received when ramming U-93.

Gun mount 'A' was replace by a hedgehog

Hedgehog (weapon)

The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...

 in early 1943 while Hesperus was under repair from ramming U-357. Additional depth charge stowage replaced the 3-inch high-angle gun and Hesperus received the one-ton Mk X depth charge and four Mk IV depth charge throwers during the same refit