Allied Warships
HMS Calpe (L 71)
Escort destroyer of the Hunt (Type II) class
HMS Calpe as completed.Photograph with thanks to the Benham Family and Carrick Watson.
| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Escort destroyer |
| Class | Hunt (Type II) |
| Pennant | L 71 |
| Built by | Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (Wallsend-on-Tyne, U.K.): Wallsend |
| Ordered | 20 Dec 1939 |
| Laid down | 12 Jun 1940 |
| Launched | 28 Apr 1941 |
| Commissioned | 11 Dec 1941 |
| End service | |
| Loss position | |
| History | Sold to the Royal Danish Navy on 28 February 1952 and renamed Rolf Krake. |
Commands listed for HMS Calpe (L 71)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. John Henry Wallace, RN | 21 Aug 1941 | 10 Oct 1942 |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Henry Kirkwood, DSC, RN | 10 Oct 1942 | 31 Jan 1944 |
| 3 | Lt.Cdr. Alfred Thomas Morgan, RNVR | 31 Jan 1944 | 17 Apr 1944 |
| 4 | A/Lt.Cdr. Norman Frederick René Gill, RNR | 17 Apr 1944 | Oct 1945 ? |
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Noteable events involving Calpe include:
Photograph of crewmember Arthur Benham taken during basic traning at HMS Pembroke shortly before being posted aboard HMS Calpe. Photograph with thanks to the Benham Family and Carrick Watson.
13 Dec 1943
The German submarine U-593 was sunk on 13 December 1943 after a 32 hour-chase in the western Mediterranean north of Constantine, in position 37º38'N, 05º58'E, by depth charges from the US destroyer USS Wainwright and the British escort destroyer HMS Calpe (Lt.Cdr. H. Kirkwood, DSC, RN). (see map)