- HMS Finisterre (D55)
HMS "Finisterre" (D55) was a Battle-class destroyer of the
Royal Navy (RN). She was named after one of the battles of Cape Finisterre."Finisterre" was built by Fairfields of
Govan on the Clyde. She was launched on the 22 June 1944 and commissioned on 11 September 1945.She first joined the
Home Fleet upon her commissioning. After being in theFar East for some time, in which she performed a variety of duties there, "Finisterre" returned to the UK via theMediterranean . In January 1950, "Finisterre" took part in the rescue attempt of the submarine HMS|Truculent|P315|6, which had sunk after colliding with a Swedish merchant ship "Divina" in theThames Estuary . ["The Times (London)", Friday, 13 January 1950, p.4] The collision had resulted in the loss of 64 of those on board. The following year "Finisterre" became theGunnery Training Ship , based at Whale Island,Portsmouth as part of HMS|Excellent|shore establishment|6.In 1953, "Finisterre" took part in the 1953 Coronation Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II. The "Finisterre" was positioned adjacent to her sister-ship HMS|St. James|D65|6. ["
The Times (London)", Monday, 15 June 1953, p.15]The following year "Finisterre" was placed in Reserve. After her sister-ship HMS|Hogue|D74|6 collided with an Indian cruiser in 1959, "Finisterre" replaced her in the
1st Destroyer Squadron , based in theFar East . She didn't reach the region until 1960. "Finisterre", as part of that squadron, subsequently saw service with the Home and Mediterranean Fleets. She was one of a number of Royal Navy ships stationed offKuwait to keep the peace as the country gained its independence in 1961. ["The Times (London)", Saturday, 29 July 1961, p.7]She was sold for scrap in 1965, being broken-up two years later at
Dalmuir .References
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