| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | D |
| Pennant | H 64 |
| Built by | Palmers Shipbuilding & Iron Co Ltd (Jarrow-on-Tyne, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 2 Feb 1931 |
| Laid down | 12 Jun 1931 |
| Launched | 19 Jul 1932 |
| Commissioned | 24 Jan 1933 |
| Lost | 12 Dec 1939 |
| Loss position | 55.19N, 06.06W (See a map) |
| History | On 12 December 1939 HMS Duchess (Lt.Cdr. Robert Charles Meadows White, RN) was arriving in the Clyde (see below) escorting HMS Barham. At 0400 hrs in the North Channel, 9 nautical miles off Mull of Kintyre, at position 55º19'N, 06º06'W, possibly due to fog in the area, the zigzagging pattern of the battleship and destroyer crossed: Barham impacted Duchess, cutting her in half. Sadly, there were only 23 survivors of the crew of 160. |
Commands listed for HMS Duchess (H 64)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. Robert Charles Meadows White, RN | 28 Sep 1938 | 12 Dec 1939 (+) |
You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.
Noteable events involving Duchess include:
1 Sep 1939
HMS Duchess (Lt.Cdr. R.C.M. White, RN) was on China station at the outbreak of the war. Ordered by the Admiralty to return to UK forthwith with her Flotilla, proceeded via Singapore, Colombo, Aden, Suez and Malta. At Malta, HMS Duchess, HMS Dainty (Cdr. F.M. Walton, RN) and HMS Delight (Cdr. M. Fogg-Elliot, RN) were detached to escort the battleship HMS Barham (Capt. H.T.C. Walker, RN) to the Clyde, leading directly to her loss, see above.
Media links
|
|
