| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | K |
| Pennant | F 37 |
| Built by | Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. (Govan, Scotland) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 5 Oct 1937 |
| Launched | 19 Jan 1939 |
| Commissioned | 27 Nov 1939 |
| End service | |
| History | HMS Kelvin is not listed as an active unit in the October 1945 Navy List Sold to be broken up for scrap on 6 April 1949 and scrapped at Troon, Scotland. |
Commands listed for HMS Kelvin (F 37)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | ||
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. John Lee Machin, RN | 26 Oct 1939 | 23 Jun 1940 | |
| 2 | Cdr. John Hamilton Allison, DSO, RN | 23 Jun 1940 | 24 Apr 1942 | |
| 3 | Cdr. Michael Southcote Townsend, DSC, OBE, RN | 24 Apr 1942 | 24 Mar 1943 | |
| 4 | Lt.Cdr. John Travis Beaufoy Birch, DSO, DSC, RN | 24 Mar 1943 | mid 1943 | |
| 5 | Lt.Cdr. Robert Meryon William MacFarlan, RN | 7 Feb 1944 | mid 1945 | |
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Noteable events involving Kelvin include:
31 Aug 1940
On 31 August 1940 a group of destroyers sailed from Immingham on a mine laying mission off the Dutch coast. The minelayers were from the 20th Destroyer Flotilla and consisted of the destroyers HMS Express (Cdr. J.G. Bickford, DSC, RN), HMS Esk (Lt.Cdr. R.J.H. Couch, DSC, RN), HMS Icarus (Cdr. C.D. Maud, DSC, RN), HMS Intrepid (Cdr. R.C. Gordon, RN) and HMS Ivanhoe (Cdr. P.H. Hadow, RN). The minelayers were escorted by members of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla consisted of the destroyers HMS Kelvin (Cdr. J.H. Allison, DSO, RN), HMS Jupiter (Cdr. D.B. Wyburd, RN) and HMS Vortigern (Lt.Cdr. R.S. Howlett, RN). Aerial reconnaissance detected a German force and the ships of the 20th and 5th DF were ordered to intercept, believing wrongly that the German ships were part of an invasion force. HMS Express struck a mine and was badly damaged, HMS Esk went to her assistance and hit mine and sank immediately, HMS Ivanhoe also went to her assistance and hit a mine and was badly damaged, so much so she had to be sunk by HMS Kelvin. The following day they were joined by the light cruisers HMS Aurora (Capt. L.H.K. Hamilton, DSO, RN) and HMS Galatea (Capt. B.B. Schofield, RN) and while returning to base HMS Galatea struck another mine and was slightly damaged off Cleaner Shoal Buoy near the Humber light vessel.
11 Oct 1940
The battleship HMS Revenge sails from Plymouth with the destroyers HMS Javelin, HMS Jupiter, HMS Kelvin, HMS Kipling, HMS Jackal, HMS Jaguar and HMS Kashmir to shell the French port of Cherbourg.
17 Aug 1942
The Canadian troop transport Princess Marguerite is torpedoed and sunk northwest of Port Said in position 32°03'N, 32°47'E by German U-boat U-83. The British destroyers HMS Hero (Lt. W. Scott, RN) and HMS Kelvin (Cdr. M.S. Townsend, OBE, DSC, RN) together pick up 1074 survivors.
8 Jan 1943
The British destroyers HMS Nubian (Cdr. D.E. Holland-Martin, DSC, RN)
and HMS Kelvin (Cdr. M.S. Townsend, OBE, DSC, RN) intercept three schooners near Kuriat, Tunisia and sink them with gunfire.
9 Jan 1943
The British destroyers HMS Nubian (Cdr. D.E. Holland-Martin, DSC, RN)
and HMS Kelvin (Cdr. M.S. Townsend, OBE, DSC, RN) intercept a sailing vessel near Kuriat, Tunisia and sink it with gunfire.
15 Jan 1943
The British destroyers HMS Nubian (Cdr. D.E. Holland-Martin, DSC, RN)
and HMS Kelvin (Cdr. M.S. Townsend, OBE, DSC, RN) intercept the Italian merchant D'Annuzio (4537 GRT) and it's escort, the Italian torpedo boat Perseo south of Lampedusa. The destroyers sink the D'Annuzio but the Perseo manages the escape.
20 Jan 1943
The British destroyers HMS Kelvin and HMS Javelin intercept a small Italian convoy off Tripoli, Libya and completely destroy it. Some 11 ships were sunk among them the small Italian minesweepers RD 31, RD 36, RD 37 and RD 39.
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