HMS Mashona (F59)

HMS Mashona was a Tribal-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service in the Second World War.

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Mashona
Namesake:	Shona people
Ordered:	19 June 1936
Builder:	Vickers Armstrongs
Cost:	£341,108
Laid down:	5 August 1936
Launched:	3 September 1937
Completed:	30 March 1939
Identification:	Pennant number L59, later F59
Fate:	Sunk by aircraft, 28 May 1941
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type:	Tribal-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,891 long tons (1,921 t) (standard) 2,519 long tons (2,559 t) (deep load)
Length:	377 ft (115 m) (o/a)
Beam:	36 ft 6 in (11.13 m)
Draught:	11 ft 3 in (3.43 m)
Installed power:	44,000 shp (33,000 kW) 3 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed:	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range:	5,700 nmi (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	190
Sensors and processing systems:	ASDIC
Armament:	4 × twin QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk XII guns 1 × quadruple QF 2-pounder anti-aircraft guns 2 × quadruple QF .5-inch (12.7 mm) Mk III anti-aircraft machineguns 1 × quadruple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 20 × depth charges, 1 × rack, 2 × throwers

Description

The Tribals were intended to counter the large destroyers being built abroad and to lend gun support to the existing destroyer flotillas and were thus significantly larger and more heavily armed than the preceding I class.[1] The ships displaced 1,891 long tons (1,921 t) at standard load and 2,519 long tons (2,559 t) at deep load.[2] They had an overall length of 377 feet (114.9 m), a beam of 36 feet 6 inches (11.1 m)[3] and a draught of 11 feet 3 inches (3.4 m).[4] The destroyers were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of 44,000 shaft horsepower (33,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph).[3] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 5,700 nautical miles (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[4] The ships' complement consisted of 190 officers and ratings, although the flotilla leaders carried an extra 20 officers and men for the Captain (D) and his staff.[5]

The primary armament of the Tribal-class destroyers was eight quick-firing (QF) 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII guns in four twin-gun mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, they carried a single quadruple mount for the 40-millimetre (1.6 in) QF two-pounder Mk II "pom-pom" AA gun and two quadruple mounts for the 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Mark III machine gun.[6] The ships were fitted with a single above-water quadruple mount for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.[5] The Tribals were not intended as anti-submarine ships, but they were provided with ASDIC, one depth charge rack and two throwers for self-defence, although the throwers were not mounted in all ships;[7] Twenty depth charges were the peacetime allotment, but this increased to 30 during wartime.[8]

Wartime modifications

Heavy losses to German air attack during the Norwegian Campaign demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the Tribals' anti-aircraft suite and the RN decided in May 1940 to replace 'X' mount with two QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mark XVI dual-purpose guns in a twin-gun mount. To better control the guns, the existing rangefinder/director was modified to accept a Type 285 gunnery radar as they became available. The number of depth charges was increased to 46 early in the war, and still more were added later.[9] To increase the firing arcs of the AA guns, the rear funnel was shortened and the mainmast was reduced to a short pole mast.[10]

Construction and career

Mashona was built by Vickers Armstrong, with her machinery supplied by Parsons. She was authorised in the program year 1936. Mashona was laid down on 5 August 1936, launched on 3 September 1937[11] and completed by 30 March 1939.

In September 1939 she was serving with the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla at Scapa Flow. She took part in operations resulting in the sinking of Bismarck on 27 May 1941. She came under heavy air attack from a Junkers Ju 88 aircraft of Kampfgeschwader 77 of the Luftwaffe while returning to port the following day, and was bombed and sunk off the coast of Galway with the loss of 48 men. The destroyer Tartar took the survivors to Greenock.

She was awarded the following battle honours:

• Norway 1940
• "Bismarck" 1941

Notes

1. Lenton, p. 164
2. English, p. 14
3. Lenton, p. 165
4. English, p. 12
5. Whitley, p. 99
6. Hodges, pp. 13–25
7. Hodges, pp. 30–31, 40
8. English, p. 15
9. Friedman, p. 34; Hodges, pp. 41–42
10. Whitley, p. 116
11. The Times (London), Saturday, 4 September 1937, p. 12

References

• Brice, Martin H. (1971). The Tribals. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-0245-2.
• English, John (2001). Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937–43. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
• Friedman, Norman (2006). British Destroyers and Frigates, the Second World War and After. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
• Haarr, Geirr H. (2010). The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-051-1.
• Haarr, Geirr H. (2009). The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-310-9.
• Hodges, Peter (1971). Tribal Class Destroyers. London: Almark. ISBN 0-85524-047-4.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.