HMS ''Zetland'' was a

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 ...

Type II , named after the Zetland Hunt. Built by

Yarrow Shipbuilders Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also op ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and launched on 7 March 1942. She was commissioned on 27 June 1942 with the pennant number L59. ''Zetland'' was given to the

Royal Norwegian Navy The Royal Norwegian Navy ( no, Sjøforsvaret, , Sea defence) is the branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for naval operations of Norway. , the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of approximately 3,700 personnel (9,450 in mobilized state, ...

and commissioned as HNoMS ''Tromsø''. She was sold for breaking up in 1965.

Construction

HMS ''Zetland'' was ordered from Yarrows on 20 December 1939, one of 16 Type II Hunt-class destroyers ordered from various shipbuilders on that date, (including two from Yarrows).English 1987, p. 17. The Hunts were meant to fill the Royal Navy's need for a large number of small destroyer-type vessels capable of both convoy escort and operations with the fleet. The Type II Hunts differed from the earlier ships in having increased beam in order to improve stability and carry the ships' originally intended armament.English 1987, pp. 11–12. ''Zetland'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at Yarrow's Scotstoun,

shipyard on 2 October 1940, was launched on 15 January 1942 and completed on 7 May 1942. ''Zetland'' was long

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...

and

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

. The ship's beam was and draught . Displacement was

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

and under full load. Two Admiralty boilers raising steam at and fed

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 Washingt ...

single-reduction geared

steam turbines 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 ...

that drove two propeller shafts, generating at 380 rpm. This gave a speed of .Lenton 1970, p. 89. of oil were carried, giving a design range of (although in service use, this dropped to ).English 1987, p. 12. The ship's main gun armament was six 4 inch (102 mm) QF Mk XVI dual purpose (anti-ship and anti-aircraft) guns in three twin mounts, with one mount forward and two aft. Additional close-in anti-aircraft armament was provided by a quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" mount and two single

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models em ...

mounted in the bridge wings.Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 47.Lenton 1970, pp. 85, 89. Power-operated twin Oerlikon mounts replaced the single Oerlikons during the war.Whitley 2000, p. 145. Up to 110 depth charges could be carried.Lenton 1970, p. 87.Friedman 2008, p. 319. The ship had a complement of 168 officers and men.

Second World War service

During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, ''Zetland'' saw service in the Atlantic (1942–43),

Malta Convoys The Malta convoys were Allied supply convoys of the Second World War. The convoys took place during the Siege of Malta in the Mediterranean Theatre. Malta was a base from which British sea and air forces could attack ships carrying supplies ...

(1942), north Africa (1942–43), Mediterranean (1943–44), Aegean (1944), Adriatic (1944) and Operation Dragoon, the landings in southern France in 1944.

Air Raid on Bari

''Zetland'' was one of two Hunt-class destroyers that were damaged in the air raid on Bari on 2 December 1943. An ammunition ship was hit and exploded, spreading her cargo of mustard gas over the harbour and town. ''Zetland'' was near-missed by a German bomb, and subject to blast and fragment damage from the explosion of two nearby merchant ships. ''Zetland''s sister ship, was damaged more seriously. ''Zetland'' towed ''Bicester'' to

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label= Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important com ...

for repairs.Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 249.English 1987, pp. 35, 105. There were so many mustard gas casualties that, on arrival in Taranto, the ships had to ask for assistance to enter the harbour as all navigating officers had their vision impaired by this chemical weapon.

Postwar service

Between June and October 1945 ''Zetland'' was in refit in Alexandria, before returning to the UK. On 20 April 1946 she paid off into reserve and was assigned to the Solent Division Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) as a drill ship. On 2 September 1954 she was lent to Norway. She was broken up in 1965 at Sarpsborg shipbreakers.Critchley, Mike, "British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers", Maritime Books: Liskeard, UK, 1982. , page 39

Notes

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External links

H.M.S. ZETLAND L59

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zetland (L59) 1942 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Hunt-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Hunt-class destroyers of the Royal Norwegian Navy World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom