HMS Kingston (F64)

HMS "Kingston" (F64) was a K-class destroyer of the Royal Navy laid down by J. Samuel White and Company at Cowes on the Isle of Wight on October 6 1937, launched on January 9 1939 and commissioned on September 14 1939.

In company with the destroyers "Kashmir" and "Icarus", Kingston attacked the German U-boat "U-35" in the North Sea on November 29 1939, resulting in the loss of the submarine, then rescued 12 crewmen [ [http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-3911-08NOV02.htm Naval Events, November 1939 ] ] .

"Kingston" was involved in the evacuation of Greece in April 1941, and "Kingston" took part in the Second Battle of Sirte, March 22, 1942, where she was hit by a 15" shell fired by the Italian battleship "Littorio". Fifteen men of her crew were killed in this incident, which left the destroyer dead in the water, almost broken in two, her whaler torn apart, her antiarcraft guns, searchlight tower and torpedo launchers obliterated by the explosion. With an engine in flames and a flooded boiler, she managed however to recover speed, reaching Malta the next day.

Whilst in dry dock at Malta repairing damage from this encounter, "Kingston" was attacked by German aircraft on April 11 1942 and suffered further damage, this time beyond repair. By a tragic coincidence, twelve of the surviving complement (including her commanding officer, Commander Philip Somerville, DSO) were killed when their rock-carved shelter was demolished by a large German aerial bomb on the same day.She was scrapped at Malta. Although she was finished off by air raid, this was one of the rare examples of a Royal Navy warship destroyed or sunk by Italian Fleet forces in WWII.

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External links

* [http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4461.html uboat.net webpage about HMS "Kingston"]
* [http://www.warlinks.com/memories/davidson.html#prof Memories of a seaman from the HMS "Kingston"]