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HMS Roebuck (H95)
Encyclopedia
HMS Roebuck (H95/F195) was an R-class
Q and R class destroyer
The Q and R class was a class of sixteen War Emergency Programme destroyers ordered for the British Royal Navy in 1940 as the 3rd and 4th Emergency Flotilla. They served as convoy escorts during World War II. Three Q class ships were transferred to the Royal Australian Navy upon completion, with...
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...
of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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...
that saw service during 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...
. She was the fifteenth ship to carry this traditional ship name, after a small deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
native to the British Isles, which was used as far back as the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
.
Construction
Ordered in May 1940 from Scotts shipyard in GreenockGreenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
, construction was delayed and she was not laid down until 19 June 1941. Roebuck then had the dubious honour of being launched prematurely by an air raid on 10 December 1942, her partially complete hulk lying submerged in the dockyard for three months before it was salvaged and completed in May 1943.
1943
After sea trialSea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
s Roebuck was accepted into service on 10 June and assigned to the 11th Destroyer Flotilla of the Eastern Fleet, first taking passage to 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...
to work-up with Home Fleet. In August she was prepared for foreign service and then took passage to Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
, finally joining the Flotilla in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
in September, which was deployed for convoy defence and patrols.
1944
On 12 March Roebuck formed part of the escort for the aircraft carrier and the cruisers and , with the destroyer , during the search in the Indian Ocean for the German U-BoatU-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
supply ship Brake. After being intercepted by aircraft Brake was scuttled by her own crew.
In June Roebuck was deployed with Fleet units off Burma and bombarded Martaban
Mottama
Mottama, formerly Martaban, is a small town in the Thaton district of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the north bank of the Thanlwin river, on the opposite side of Mawlamyaing, Mottama was the first capital of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, and an entrepôt of international...
. On 19 June she formed part of the destroyer screen of Force 60 along with the destroyers , , , , and , providing protection for the aircraft carrier , the battlecruiser , , and cruisers , and .
On 25 July she was deployed with the Flotilla as the screen for Eastern Fleet major units covering operations by the aircraft carriers and against targets at Sabang
Sabang
Sabang is a city consisting of several islands in Aceh, Indonesia. The metropolitan area is located on Weh Island, 17 km north of Banda Aceh. The city covers an area of 118 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 23,654 people...
and Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
in "Operation Crimson".
In August Roebuck took passage to Simon's Town
Simon's Town
Simon's Town , sometimes spelled Simonstown; is a town in South Africa, near Cape Town which is home to the South African Navy. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern side of the Cape Peninsula. For more than two centuries it has been an important naval base and harbour...
for a refit by HM Dockyard, rejoining the Flotilla at Trincomalee in November.
1945
In February Roebuck joined Force 68 for offensive patrols and bombarded the Cocos IslandsCocos (Keeling) Islands
The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka....
with destroyers , and in Operations "Office" and "Training".
On 27 April she was deployed with Force 63 as the screen for major fleet units providing cover for the landings at Rangoon in "Operation Dracula
Operation Dracula
During World War II, Operation Dracula was the name given to an airborne and amphibious attack on Rangoon by British and Indian forces, part of the Burma Campaign. When it was launched, the Imperial Japanese Army had already abandoned the city.-Background:...
", and on the 30th was deployed with Force 62, and bombarded Matapan with the destroyers and in "Operation Gable" which also included the interception of enemy evacuation vessels. On 1 May she took part in bombardments at Car Nicobar
Car Nicobar
Car Nicobar is the northernmost of the Nicobar Islands. It is also one of two local administrative divisions of the Indian district of Nicobar, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands....
with the Flotilla in "Operation Bishop".
On 13 May Roebuck, Redoubt and Racehorse, escorted Nigeria from Trincomalee as Force 63, during a search for Japanese warships evacuating personnel from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and remained with the Fleet screen during the attacks on Japanese ships.
On 18 June she was deployed with the flotilla as a screen for the ships of 21st Aircraft Carrier Squadron, which comprised the escort carriers , and , and the cruisers and , which were carrying out photo-reconnaissance flights over southern Malaya in "Operation Balsam".
On 5 July she was deployed with , and destroyers and to cover minesweeping operations off Malaya and the Nicobar Islands. She then took part in bombardment of Nancowry
Nancowry
Nancowry refers both to a single island and to the group of adjoining islands that make up the central part of the Nicobar Islands chain, located in the northeast Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea....
.
In August Roebuck was preparing for large-scale landings in Malaya in "Operation Zipper
Operation Zipper
During the Second World War, Operation Zipper was a British plan to capture either Port Swettenham or Port Dickson, Malaya as staging areas for the recapture of Singapore. However, due to the end of the war in the Pacific, it was never fully executed. Some of the proposed landings on Penang went...
", but the surrender of Japan
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
brought hostilities to a close before they could be put into effect. She sailed to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to support the re-occupation until sailing to Simon's Town in October to refit.
Post-war
Roebuck sailed from Simon's Town on 15 November 1945 on completion of the refit and arrived at PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
on 7 December. Early in 1946 she was deployed with the Local Flotilla and escorted the battleship during a Royal Visit to the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
in June.
Following the successful conversion of her sister ships and , Roebuck was selected for conversion to an Type 15
Type 15 frigate
The Type 15 frigate was a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were conversions based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers built to the standard War Emergency Programme "utility" design.-History:...
anti-submarine frigate in 1952. She was given the new pennant number
Pennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
F195.
On completion of the conversion in May 1953 she was recommissioned for service in the 5th Frigate Squadron, Mediterranean Fleet, and served abroad till July 1956 when placed in reserve at Plymouth.
During 1957 she refitted for training duties and joined the Dartmouth Squadron. Recommissioned in May 1960 she joined an Escort Squadron and remained on the operational list until returning to pay-off into reserve at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
in 1962.
Before being placed on the Disposal List the ship was de-equipped at HM Dockyard Devonport
HMNB Devonport
Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...
before being used for underwater explosion trials at Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
by the Naval Construction Research Establishment (NCRE).
Roebuck was sold to the British Iron & Steel Company (BISCO) for demolition by T.W. Ward. She was towed to the breaker's yard at Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing
Inverkeithing is a town and a royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, located on the Firth of Forth. According to population estimates , the town has a population of 5,265. The port town was given burgh status by King David I of Scotland in the 12th century and is situated about 9 miles north from...
on 8 August 1968.