HMS ''Terpsichore'' was a
T-class destroyer
The S and T class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1942–1943. They were built as two flotillas, known as the 5th and 6th Emergency Flotilla, and they served as fleet and convoy escorts in World War II.
Des ...
built for the
Royal Navy during the Second World War.
Description
''Terpsichore,'' named after
Terpsichore of Greek mythology, displaced at
standard load and at
deep load. She had an
overall length of , a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a deep
draught of . She was powered by two
Parsons
Parsons may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Parsons, Kansas, a city
* Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Parsons, Tennessee, a city
* Parsons, West Virginia, a town
* Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingto ...
geared
steam turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s, each driving one
propeller shaft, using steam provided by two
Admiralty three-drum boiler
Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...
s. The turbines developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . ''Terpsichore'' carried a maximum of of
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
that gave her a range of at . Her complement was 170 officers and
ratings.
The ship was armed with four 45-
calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII guns in
dual-purpose mounts. For
anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
(AA) defence, ''Terpsichore'' had one twin mount for
Bofors 40 mm gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors:
*Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s
...
s and four twin
Oerlikon autocannon
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for
torpedoes. Two
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
rails and four throwers were fitted for which 70 depth charges were provided.
Construction and career
In August 1945 ''Terpsichore'' was sent to Japan, under the command of Commander R. T. White D.S.O.** (later
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
R. T. White D.S.O.**, 2nd son of
Sir Archibald White, Bt., of
Wallingwells
Wallingwells is a small civil parish and hamlet in the Bassetlaw district of Nottinghamshire, England, with a population at the 2001 census of 22. The population remained less than 100 at the 2011 census. Details are included in the civil pa ...
), as the lead destroyer in the escort group of the into
Tokyo Bay. Commander White witnessed the surrender of the Japanese Forces and received a surrendered Samurai sword from the Japanese.
Between 1946 and 1953 ''Terpsichore'' was held in reserve at
Devonport. Between 1953 and 1954 she was converted to a
Type 16 fast
anti-submarine
An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
, by Thornycroft, Woolston, with the new
pennant number
In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
F19.
[Critchley, p. 62.] In 1955 she was placed in reserve in Devonport, undergoing a refit there in December 1957. Between 1960 and 1966 ''Terpsichore'' was held in reserve at Lisahally. She was subsequently sold for scrap and arrived at Troon on 17 May 1966.
References
Bibliography
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External links
HMS ''Terpsichore'' on uboat.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terpsichore (R33)
S and T-class destroyers
Ships built on the River Clyde
1943 ships
World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom
Type 16 frigates
Cold War frigates of the United Kingdom