Allied Warships
HMS Fame (H 78)
Destroyer of the F class
Photograph taken by Charles James Sadler, RCNVR. First Class Stoker, Official number V-4963, serving in the Canadian destroyer HMCS Columbia.
| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | F |
| Pennant | H 78 |
| Built by | Vickers Armstrong (Barrow-in-Furness, U.K.): Parsons |
| Ordered | 17 Mar 1933 |
| Laid down | 5 Jul 1933 |
| Launched | 28 Jun 1934 |
| Commissioned | 26 Apr 1935 |
| End service | |
| History | Sold to the Dominican Navy in February 1949. Renamed Generalisimo. |
Commands listed for HMS Fame (H 78)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | Cdr. Philip Norman Walter, RN | 28 Jul 1938 | 6 Jul 1940 | |
| 2 | Cdr. Cecil Athos Newcome Chatwin, RN | 6 Jul 1940 | late 1940 | |
| 3 | Cdr. Ralph Heathcote, RN | Aug 1942 | 14 Jul 1943 | |
| 4 | Cdr. Robert Alexander Currie, RN | 14 Jul 1943 | Apr 1945 | |
| 5 | Lt.Cdr. John Anthony Luther, RN | Apr 1945 | 12 Jun 1945 | |
| 6 | A/Lt.Cdr. Roland Lindsay Boddy, RN | 12 Jun 1945 | 11 Sep 1945 | |
| 7 | Cdr. John Grant, DSO, RN | 11 Sep 1945 | 31 Oct 1946 | |
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Noteable events involving Fame include:
23 Nov 1939
Sinking of the armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi;
Around midday on 21 November 1939 the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, escorted by the light cruisers K?ln and Leipzig and the destroyers Z 11 / Bernd von Arnim, Z 12 / Erich Giese and Z 20 / Karl Galster, departed Wilhelmshaven for a raid into the North Atlantic, this was to relieve the pressure of the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee operating in the South Atlantic. Late on the 21st the escorts left the battlecruisers.
Just after 1500 hours on 23 November the British armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi (Capt. E.C. Kennedy, (retired), RN) sighted the Scharnhorst. Rawalpindi was part of the British Northern Patrol and was stationed south-east of Iceland in the Iceland-Faroes gap. Captain Kennedy tried to outrun the German ship and reported to the Admiralty that he sighted the German pocket battleship Deutschland, still believed to be operating in the North Atlantic. Just after 1600 hours, Rawalpindi came within range of the Scharnhorst and was quickly reduced to a flaming wreck. During this engagement Scharnhorst was hit by a 6? shell from Rawalpindi causing only light damage. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau together picked up 27 survivors from Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi finally sank around 2000 hours.
The British light cruiser HMS Newcastle (Capt J. Figgins, RN), that was also part of the Northern Patrol, picked up Rawalpindi?s signal and closed the scene. She sighted the Gneisenau but the Germans managed to escape in the fog.
The Admiralty also thought the ship sighted by Rawalpindi and Newcastle was the Deutschland that was trying to return to Germany. In response to the sighting and destruction of the Rawalpindi the Admiralty took immediate action; The battleships HMS Nelson (Capt. G.J.A. Miles, RN with Admiral Forbes aboard) HMS Rodney (Capt. F.H.G. Dalrymple-Hamilton, RN) and the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire (Capt. J.M. Mansfield, DSC, RN) escorted by the destroyers HMS Faulknor (Capt. C.S. Daniel, RN), HMS Fame (Cdr. P.N. Walter, RN), HMS Firedrake (Lt.Cdr. S.H. Norris, RN), HMS Foresight (Lt.Cdr. G.T. Lambert, RN), HMS Forester (Lt.Cdr. E.B. Tancock, RN), HMS Fortune (Cdr. E.A. Gibbs, RN) and HMS Fury (Cdr. G.F. Burghard, RN) departed the Clyde to patrol of Norway to cut off the way to Germany for the Deutschland.
The light cruisers HMS Southampton (Capt. F.W.H. Jeans, CVO, RN), HMS Edinburgh (Capt. F.C. Bradley, RN) and HMS Aurora (Capt. G.B. Middleton, RN) escorted by the destroyers HMS Afridi (Capt. G.H. Creswell, DSC, RN), HMS Gurkha (Cdr. F.R. Parham, RN), HMS Bedouin (Cdr. J.A. McCoy, RN), HMS Kingston (Lt.Cdr. P. Somerville, RN) and HMS Isis (Cdr. J.C. Clouston, RN) departed Rosyth to patrol between the Orkney and Shetland islands.
Light cruiser HMS Sheffield (Capt. E. de F. Renouf, CVO, RN) was sent from Loch Ewe to the last known position of the German ship(s).
On northern patrol, south of the Faroes were the light cruisers HMS Caledon (Capt. C.P. Clark, RN), HMS Cardiff (Capt. P.K. Enright, RN) and HMS Colombo (Capt. R.J.R. Scott, RN). These were joined by HMS Dunedin (Capt. C.E. Lambe, CVO, RN) and HMS Diomede (Capt. E.B.C. Dicken, RN).
Of the ships of the Denmark strait patrol, the heavy cruisers HMS Suffolk (Capt. J.W. Durnford, RN) and HMS Norfolk (Capt. A.G.B. Wilson, MVO, DSO, RN) were ordered to proceed to the Bill Bailey Bank (to the south-west of the Faroes)
The light cruiser HMS Glasgow (Capt. F.H. Pegram, RN) escorted by the destroyers HMS Maori (Cdr. G.N. Brewer, RN) and HMS Zulu (Cdr. J.S. Crawford, RN) were already at sea patrolling north-east of the Shetlands were to be joined by the destroyers HMS Inglefield (Capt. P. Todd, RN), HMS Imperial (Lt.Cdr. C.A.de W. Kitcat, RN), HMS Impulsive (Lt.Cdr. W.S. Thomas, RN) and HMS Imogen (Cdr. E.B.K. Stevens, RN) .
Despite the British effort to intercept the German ships, both German battlecruisers returned to Wilhelmshaven on the 27th.
16 Oct 1942
German U-boat U-353 was sunk in the North Atlantic, in position 53°54'N, 29°30'W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Fame (Cdr. R. Heathcote, RN). (see map)
17 Feb 1943
German U-boat U-69 was sunk in the North Atlantic east of Newfoundland in position 50°36'N, 41°07'W by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Fame (Cdr. R. Heathcote, DSO, RN). (see map)
18 Jun 1944
German U-boat U-767 was sunk in the English Channel south-west of Guernsey, in position 49?03'N, 03?13'W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Fame, HMS Inconstant and HMS Havelock. (see map)
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