HMS ''Prince Charles'' was a ship taken up from trade in the Second World War. Built as the Belgian cross-channel ferry ''Prince Charles'', she was requisitioned 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 ...

and used as a Landing ship, infantry, before being returned in early 1945.

History

Civilian service

''Prince Charles'' was originally ordered by the Belgian government in 1929 as part of a series of four fast ferries for cross-channel use, and was completed in 1930. The ship was named after

Prince Charles of Belgium nl, Karel Theodoor Hendrik Anton Meinrad , image = Karel van België Charles de Belgique Karl von Belgien.jpg , image_size = 230px , spouse = Jacqueline Peyrebrune , issue = Isabelle , birth_date = , birth_place = Bruss ...

. After the war, ''Prince Charles'' resumed her cross-channel service without incident before being scrapped in December 1960.

Operation Archery

Prior to commencing Operation Archery, the operation's task force assembled at Scapa Flow and travelled from there to Sullom Voe, arriving at 13:30 on 25 December 1941. During the passage both ''Prince Charles'' and another transport, reported several defects, resulting in the forward compartments of ''Charles'' being flooded to a depth of . At 16:15, the decision was taken to delay the operation by 24 hours because of the seaworthiness of ''Prince Charles'', and the expected poor weather en route. ''Prince Charles'' was assisted in having water pumped out by , and as a result all repairs were completed by 14:00 hours on 26 December. The force set sail at 16:00 hours on the same day.

Operation Jubilee

''Prince Charles'' was used in the ill-fated landings at Dieppe in 1942, along with her sister ships, ''Prince Leopold'', ''Prince Albert'' and ''Princess Astrid''. All four ships originally served on the same pre-war

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

– Dover route.

Omaha Beach landings

''Prince Charles'' also took part in the D-Day landings, transporting 300

US Rangers United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

to Omaha Beach, and carrying wounded soldiers back to the UK. During the landings, she lost three of her attached

Landing Craft Assault Landing Craft Assault (LCA) was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. Its primary purpose was to ferry troops from transport ships to attack enemy-held shores. The craft derived from a prototype designed by John I. Thornycroft Ltd. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Charles (1930) 1930 ships Ships built in Belgium Troop ships of the Royal Navy World War II naval ships of the United Kingdom