HMS ''Cavalier'' is a retired

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. She was laid down by

J. Samuel White J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915). It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the ...

and Company at

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

on 28 March 1943, launched on 7 April 1944, and commissioned on 22 November 1944. She served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and in various commissions in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

until she was decommissioned in 1972. After decommissioning she was preserved as a museum ship and currently resides at

Chatham Historic Dockyard The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a maritime museum on part of the site of the former royal/naval dockyard at Chatham in Kent, South East England. Chatham Dockyard covered 400 acres (1.6 km²) and was one of the Royal Navy's main faciliti ...

Construction

''Cavalier'' was one of 96

War Emergency Programme destroyers The War Emergency Programme destroyers were destroyers built for the British Royal Navy during World War I and World War II. World War I emergency programmes The 323 destroyers ordered during the First World War belonged to several different cl ...

ordered between 1940 and 1942. She was one of the first ships to be built with the forward and aft portions of her hull welded, with the midsection

rivet A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...

ed to ensure strength. The new process gave the ship additional speed. In 1970 a 64-mile race was arranged between ''Cavalier'' and the frigate , which had the same hull form and machinery. ''Cavalier'' beat ''Rapid'' by after ''Rapid'' lifted a

safety valve A safety valve is a valve that acts as a fail-safe. An example of safety valve is a pressure relief valve (PRV), which automatically releases a substance from a boiler, pressure vessel, or other system, when the pressure or temperature exceeds ...

, reaching an average speed of .

Service history

After commissioning she joined the

6th Destroyer Flotilla The British 6th Destroyer Flotilla, or Sixth Destroyer Flotilla, was a military formation of the Royal Navy from 1911 to 1939 and again from 1947 to 1951 History The flotilla was formed in 1911 at Portsmouth, with its first commander, Captain Mor ...

, part of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

, and took part in a number of operations off

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Most notably in February 1945 she was despatched with the destroyers and to reinforce a convoy from the

Kola Inlet Kola Bay (russian: Кольский залив) or Murmansk Fjord is a 57-km-long fjord of the Barents Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Kola Peninsula. It is up to 7 km wide and has a depth of 200 to 300 metres. The Tuloma River, T ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, which had suffered attacks from enemy aircraft and

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s, and had subsequently been scattered by a violent storm. She and the other escorts reformed the convoy, and returned to Britain with the loss of only three of the thirty-four ships. This action earned ''Cavalier'' a

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

. Later in 1945 ''Cavalier'' was despatched to the Far East, where she provided naval gunfire support during the

Battle of Surabaya The Battle of Surabaya was fought between regular infantry and militia of the Indonesian nationalist movement and British and British Indian troops as a part of the Indonesian National Revolution against the re-imposition of Dutch colonial r ...

. In February 1946 she went to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

to help quell the Royal Indian Navy Mutiny. After some time in the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...

she was paid off in May 1946 and was placed in reserve at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. From 1955 to 1957, ''Cavalier'' was modernised at

Thornycroft Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977. History In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...

Woolston, Southampton Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston. The area has a strong maritime and aviation history. The former ...

shipyard, with the modernisation including removing some of her torpedo tubes and a 4.5-inch gun in favour of two

Squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...

anti-submarine mortars. She recommissioned on 16 June 1957, replacing in the 8th Destroyer Squadron in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. From March to April 1958, ''Cavalier'' took part in the

Operation Grapple Operation Grapple was a set of four series of British nuclear weapons tests of early atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs carried out in 1957 and 1958 at Malden Island and Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in the Paci ...

, the British nuclear weapon tests at

Malden Island Malden Island, sometimes called Independence Island in the 19th century, is a low, arid, uninhabited atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, about in area. It is one of the Line Islands belonging to the Republic of Kiribati. The lagoon is entir ...

and

Kiritimati Kiritimati (also known as Christmas Island) is a Pacific Ocean atoll in the northern Line Islands. It is part of the Republic of Kiribati. The name is derived from the English word "Christmas" written in Gilbertese according to its phonology, ...

. In August 1959, ''Cavalier'' was ordered to the important RAF base at

Gan Island Gan (Dhivehi language, Div: ގަން) is the southernmost island of Addu Atoll (also known as Seenu Atoll), as well as the southernmost island of the Maldives. It is relatively large by Maldive standards. The origin of the word "Gan" is in the S ...

in the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

in response to civil unrest, remaining there until relieved by sister ship on 29 August. In December 1962 she transported 180 troops from Singapore to

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

to help suppress a rebellion that became part of the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. After disembarking the troops she remained in Brunei as a communications centre for several days until other Royal Navy ships arrived to relieve her. On 21 May 1964, ''Cavalier'' was being towed by the tug RFA ''Reward'' to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

for refit when she was in collision with the Liberian tanker ''Burgan'', about south-west of

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

. ''Cavalier''s bows were badly damaged, while one of ''Burgan''s crew suffered head injuries and had to be airlifted to hospital. ''Cavalier'' underwent temporary repairs at

before being fitted with a new bow at Devonport. She finally underwent the planned refit at Gibraltar from August 1964 to April 1966. On 6 July 1971 ''Cavalier'' would participate in a race against a similar ship, . ''Cavalier'' narrowly won the race after a safety valve blew on ''Rapid''. ''Cavalier'' was presented with the 'Cock o' the Fleet' award. The award can be seen on the ship's bridge to this day. ''Cavalier'' was decommissioned in 1972 and is the last surviving British destroyer of World War 2 still in the UK.

Fate

After decommissioning at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

, she was laid up in

. As a unique survivor, after a five-year campaign led by

Lord Louis Mountbatten Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British naval officer, colonial administrator and close relative of the British royal family. Mountbatten, who was of Germa ...

, the ship was purchased by the Cavalier Trust for £65,000 and handed over on

Trafalgar Day Trafalgar Day is the celebration of the victory won by the Royal Navy, commanded by Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, over the combined French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. History The formation of the Navy Lea ...

1977 in Portsmouth. By selling the ship to the Trust, the UK Government and the Royal Navy severed all formal connection and responsibility for the ship. A special warrant was issued that allows her to retain the prefix "HMS" (

His Majesty's Ship His (or Her) Majesty's Ship, abbreviated HMS and H.M.S., is the ship prefix used for ships of the navy in some monarchies. Derived terms such as HMAS and equivalents in other languages such as SMS are used. United Kingdom With regard to the s ...

) and fly the

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on ...

, a privilege normally only enjoyed by commissioned ships of the Royal Navy. A similar privilege is enjoyed by another museum ship, the cruiser . Moved to

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, ''Cavalier'' opened as a museum and memorial ship in August 1982. This was not commercially successful, and in October 1983 the ship was moved to

, where she formed the centrepiece of a newly built yacht marina. HMS Cavalier propeller

In 1987, the ship was brought to the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...

to form the centrepiece of a national shipbuilding exhibition centre planned by South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council in the former shipyard of

Hawthorn Leslie and Company R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilder and locomotive manufacturer. The company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982. History The company was formed ...

, builders of many similar destroyers. The plans for the museum came to nothing, and the borough council, faced with annual maintenance costs of £30,000 and a hardening of public opinion against unnecessary expenditure, resolved to sell the ship and wind up the venture in 1996. The ship sat in a dry dock (owing to a previous list) in a rusting condition, awaiting a buyer or scrapping in situ. After the reforming of the Cavalier Trust, and a debate in Parliament, in 1998 ''Cavalier'' was bought by

for display as a museum ship. Arriving on 23 May 1998, ''Cavalier'' now resides in No. 2 dry-dock. On 14 November 2007, ''Cavalier'' was officially designated as a war memorial to the 142 Royal Navy destroyers sunk during World War II and the 11,000 men killed on those ships. The unveiling of a bronze monument created by the artist Kenneth Potts was conducted by

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

. The monument is adjacent to the ship at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent. In the summer of 2009 the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust made available accommodation on board the ship for youth groups who wish to stay on board and experience life on board a Royal Naval destroyer. In September 2010, ''Cavalier'' fired the first full broadside from a ship flying the White Ensign since a firing by the destroyer in December 1981. This was due to the work of the heritage naval gun crew who restored all three 4.5-in guns back to working condition in conjunction with the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust. In April 2014 ''Cavalier'' was added to

Google Maps Business View Google Business Photos (now called "Indoor Street View") is a virtual tour service started by Google. It uses the same photography technique used in Google Street View in order to offer 360˚ interactive panoramas inside businesses. Once the virtu ...

(formerly Google Business Photos) in celebration of the 70th anniversary of her launch. The tour, which includes ''Cavalier''s engine and gear room, was enhanced with interactive audio hotspots to enable visitors with accessibility issues to explore the ship.

Gallery

File:HMS Cavalier (D73).jpg, ''Cavalier'' in 2014 File:HMS Cavalier bridge.jpg, Navigation bridge File:Forward 4.5 inch guns HMS Cavalier.jpg, Forward 4.5in guns File:HMS Cavalier operations room.jpg, Operations room File:HMS Cavalier Seacat launcher.jpg, Seacat launcher File:HMS Cavalier seamen's mess.jpg, Seaman's mess File:HMS Cavalier ship's bell.jpg, Ship's bell File:HMS Cavalier grog tub.jpg, The grog tub

References

Publications

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External links

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Chatham Historic Dockyard

HMS ''Cavalier'' Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalier (R73) World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom Museum ships in the United Kingdom 1944 ships C-class destroyers (1943) of the Royal Navy Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet