HMS ''Ithuriel'' was an built for the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

, but was purchased by 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 ...

in 1939.

Description

The I-class ships were improved versions of the preceding H-class. They displaced at

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 ...

load and at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

. The ships had an

overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...

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 draught of . They were 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 Washingt ...

geared steam turbines, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

, using steam provided by three Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of and were intended to give a maximum speed of . ''Ithuriel'' reached a speed of from during her

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s. The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of at . Their crew numbered 145 officers and ratings.Lenton, p. 163 The ships mounted four 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X' and 'Y' from bow to stern. While under construction, their anti-aircraft (AA) armament was augmented by a single 12-pounder () AA gun that replaced the planned aft set of

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s. In addition the intended pair of quadruple mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

were replaced by a pair of Oerlikon light AA guns. The Turkish ships were fitted with a single above-water quadruple torpedo tube mount

amidships This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th ...

for torpedoes. One depth charge rack and two throwers were fitted for 35 depth charges. The Turkish ships were fitted with the

ASDIC Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...

sound detection system to locate submarines underwater and a Type 286

search radar This is a list of different types of radar. Detection and search radars Search radars scan great volumes of space with pulses of short radio waves. They typically scan the volume two to four times a minute. The waves are usually less than a meter ...

Construction and career

''Ithuriel'' 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 ...

as ''Gayret'' for the

Vickers Armstrong Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, wi ...

at their

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...

shipyard on 24 May 1939, but taken over by the

on the outbreak of 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 ...

whilst still under construction. She was launched on 15 December 1940 and commissioned on 3 March 1942. In the Second World War, she took part in Operation Harpoon and Operation Pedestal, the escorting of convoys to Malta in June and August 1942. During Operation Pedestal, she depth charged and rammed the , causing the submarine to sink.Hastings, p. 230 ''Ithuriel'' was attacked by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

aircraft at

Bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

on night of 27–28 November 1942 and damaged beyond repair. On 29 November she was beached and temporary repairs were started. In January 1943 repairs proceeded enough to allow towing. On 27 February the destroyer was towed to Algiers for survey. In March ''Ithuriel'' was declared beyond local repair and laid up at Algiers. In August, she was prepared for tow 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 ...

. On 18 August, she sailed under tow from Algiers to Gibraltar. That September ''Ithuriel'' was placed in Care and maintenance for use at Gibraltar. In October, she was deployed at Gibraltar for accommodation and training duties. In July 1944 the vessel was prepared for tow to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. On 1 August, ''Ithuriel'' began her passage to Plymouth under tow by the tug ''Prosperous''. On 8 August, she was paid off on arrival at Plymouth. and placed on the Disposal List. The destroyer was sold to the British Iron & Steel Corporation for demolition by P & W McLellan. On 11 August ''Ithuriel'' made her final voyage to

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Fal ...

, near

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. She arrived on 13 August at the breaker's yard. (Discrepancy in records as to whether sold for scrap in 1944 or 1945.)

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ithuriel (H05) Demirhisar-class destroyers I-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness 1940 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Destroyers sunk by aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Maritime incidents in November 1942 Ships sunk by German aircraft