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HMS Sikh (F82)

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
HMS Sikh (F82).jpg
Sikh underway after completion
History
United Kingdom
NameSikh
NamesakeSikh
Ordered19 June 1936
BuilderAlexander Stephen and Sons, Linthouse
Cost£337,704
Laid down24 September 1936
Launched17 December 1937
Commissioned12 October 1938
IdentificationPennant numbers: L82/F82/G82
MottoSicut leonis: 'Be like the lions'
Honours and
awards
  • Norway 1940
  • Atlantic 1940–41
  • Bismarck Action 1941
  • Cape Bon 1941
  • Libya 1941
  • Malta Convoys 1941–42
  • Sirte 1942
  • Mediterranean 1942
FateSunk, 14 September 1942
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeTribal-class destroyer
Displacement
Length377 ft (114.9 m) (o/a)
Beam36 ft 6 in (11.13 m)
Draught11 ft 3 in (3.43 m)
Installed power
Propulsion2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines
Speed36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range5,700 nmi (10,600 km; 6,600 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement190
Sensors and
processing systems		ASDIC
Armament
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Sikh.

HMS Sikh was a Tribal-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. The ship entered service in 1938 and served during the Second World War, participating in the sinking of Bismarck and the Battle of Cape Bon. In 1942, while participating in a commando raid, Sikh was sunk by a combination of shore artillery, anti-aircraft guns and aerial bombs.

Discover more about HMS Sikh (F82) related topics

Tribal-class destroyer (1936)

Tribal-class destroyer (1936)

The Tribal class, or Afridi class, were a class of destroyers built for the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Navy that saw service in World War II. Originally conceived during design studies for a light fleet cruiser, the Tribals evolved into fast, powerful destroyers, with greater emphasis on guns over torpedoes than previous destroyers, in response to new designs by Japan, Italy, and Germany. The Tribals were well admired by their crews and the public when they were in service due to their power, often becoming symbols of prestige while in service.

Destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or battle group and defend them against powerful short-range attackers. They were originally developed in 1885 by Fernando Villaamil for the Spanish Navy as a defense against torpedo boats, and by the time of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, these "torpedo boat destroyers" (TBDs) were "large, swift, and powerfully armed torpedo boats designed to destroy other torpedo boats". Although the term "destroyer" had been used interchangeably with "TBD" and "torpedo boat destroyer" by navies since 1892, the term "torpedo boat destroyer" had been generally shortened to simply "destroyer" by nearly all navies by the First World War.

Royal Navy

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 France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Battle of Cape Bon (1941)

Battle of Cape Bon (1941)

The naval Battle of Cape Bon took place on December 13, 1941 during the Second World War, between two Italian light cruisers and an Allied destroyer flotilla off Cape Bon in Tunisia.

Commando

Commando

A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines.

Description

The Tribals were intended to counter the large destroyers being built abroad and to improve the firepower of 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 (11.13 m)[3] and a draught of 11 feet 3 inches (3.43 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] During her sea trials Sikh made 36.3 knots (67.2 km/h; 41.8 mph) from 44,428 shp (33,130 kW) at a displacement of 2,015 long tons (2,047 t).[5] 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 consisting of the Captain (D) and his staff.[6]

The primary armament of the Tribal-class destroyers was eight quick-firing (QF) 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII guns in four superfiring twin-gun mounts, one pair each fore and aft of the superstructure, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' from front to rear. The mounts had a maximum elevation of 40°. 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" gun and two quadruple mounts for the 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) Mark III machine gun.[7] Low-angle fire for the main guns was controlled by the director-control tower (DCT) on the bridge roof that fed data acquired by it and the 12-foot (3.7 m) rangefinder on the Mk II Rangefinder/Director directly aft of the DCT to an analogue mechanical computer, the Mk I Admiralty Fire Control Clock. Anti-aircraft fire for the main guns was controlled by the Rangefinder/Director which sent data to the mechanical Fuze Keeping Clock.[8]

The ships were fitted with a single above-water quadruple mount for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.[6] 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;[9] Twenty depth charges was the peacetime allotment, but this increased to 30 during wartime.[10]

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.[11] To increase the firing arcs of the AA guns, the rear funnel was shortened and the mainmast was reduced to a short pole mast.[12]

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Flotilla

Flotilla

A flotilla, or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet.

I-class destroyer

I-class destroyer

The I-class destroyers were a group of nine destroyers, including a flotilla leader, built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. Four similar ships were ordered by the Turkish Navy, of which two were purchased for the Royal Navy, bringing the number of these ships British service to 11—although three of the original ships had been lost by the time Inconstant and Ithuriel were commissioned. The I-class served in World War II and six were lost, with a seventh ship being written off.

Long ton

Long ton

The long ton, also known as the imperial ton or displacement ton, is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois system of weights or Imperial system of measurements. It was standardised in the 13th century. It is used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth of Nations countries alongside the mass-based metric tonne defined in 1799, as well as in the United States for bulk commodities.

Displacement (ship)

Displacement (ship)

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 weight. Traditionally, various measurement rules have been in use, giving various measures in long tons. Today, tonnes are more commonly used.

Length overall

Length overall

Length overall is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also used for calculating the cost of a marina berth.

Beam (nautical)

Beam (nautical)

The beam of a ship is its width at its widest point. The maximum beam (BMAX) is the distance between planes passing through the outer extremities of the ship, beam of the hull (BH) only includes permanently fixed parts of the hull, and beam at waterline (BWL) is the maximum width where the hull intersects the surface of the water.

Draft (hull)

Draft (hull)

The draft or draught of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull (keel). The draught of the vessel is the maximum depth of any part of the vessel, including appendages such as rudders, propellers and drop keels if deployed. Draft determines the minimum depth of water a ship or boat can safely navigate. The related term air draft is the maximum height of any part of the vessel above the water.

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a British engineering company based on the River Tyne at Wallsend, North East England.

Knot (unit)

Knot (unit)

The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, exactly 1.852 km/h. The ISO standard symbol for the knot is kn. The same symbol is preferred by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), while kt is also common, especially in aviation, where it is the form recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The knot is a non-SI unit. The knot is used in meteorology, and in maritime and air navigation. A vessel travelling at 1 knot along a meridian travels approximately one minute of geographic latitude in one hour.

Fuel oil

Fuel oil

Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum. Such oils include distillates and residues. Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bunker fuel, furnace oil (FO), gas oil (gasoil), heating oils, diesel fuel and others.

Nautical mile

Nautical mile

A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute of latitude. Today the international nautical mile is defined as exactly 1,852 metres. The derived unit of speed is the knot, one nautical mile per hour.

Naval rating

Naval rating

In a navy, a rate, rating or bluejacket is a junior enlisted sailor who is not a warrant officer or commissioned officer. Depending on the country and navy that uses it, the exact term and the range of ranks that it refers to may vary.

Construction and career

Authorized as one of nine Tribal-class destroyers under the 1936 Naval Estimates,[13] Sikh was the second ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.[14] The ship was ordered on 19 June 1936 from Alexander Stephen and Sons and was laid down on 24 September at the company's Linthouse shipyard. Launched on 8 June 1937, Sikh was commissioned on 12 October 1938 at a cost of £337,704 which excluded weapons and communications outfits furnished by the Admiralty.[15] The ship entered service as part of the 4th Destroyer Flotilla of the Royal Navy.

In 1941, while under the command of Commander Stokes, she took part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. The night before Bismarck was sunk, she fired a salvo of four torpedoes and claimed a hit after hearing underwater explosions, but actually there were no hits.

Sikh transferred to the Mediterranean serving as part of Force H. On 13 December 1941, Sikh – together with Legion, Maori and the Dutch vessel HNLMS Isaac Sweers – sank the Italian cruisers Alberico da Barbiano and Alberto di Giussano in the Battle of Cape Bon.

On 4 August 1942, Sikh together with Zulu, Croome and Tetcott sank the German submarine U-372 off Haifa.

On 14 September, Sikh and Zulu landed and then covered Operation Agreement, a commando raid on Tobruk. Sikh was hit repeatedly, apparently principally by 152 mm, 145 mm and 120 mm Italian coastal artillery (though British sources sometimes attribute the fire entirely to German 88 mm guns),[16] and may have also been bombed by a Macchi C.200, and hit by scuttling fire from HMS Croome[17] – 115 men were lost and many more were taken prisoner, the majority of them when the Royal Marine landing craft that had rescued them was captured by an Italian MZ lighter.[18] Zulu was damaged and sunk by aerial bombing the following day.

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Alexander Stephen and Sons

Alexander Stephen and Sons

Alexander Stephen and Sons Limited, often referred to simply as Alex Stephens or just Stephens, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based in Linthouse, Glasgow, on the River Clyde and, initially, on the east coast of Scotland.

Linthouse

Linthouse

Linthouse is a neighbourhood in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated directly south of the River Clyde and lies immediately west of Govan, with other adjacent areas including Shieldhall and the Southern General Hospital to the west, and Drumoyne to the south. Although it is currently located within the Govan ward of Glasgow City Council, it was in fact a distinct area separate from Govan until 1901 when it willfully became part of the Burgh of Govan in turn both areas were annexed to Glasgow in 1912.

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching involves the performance of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back thousands of years, to accompany the physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself.

4th Destroyer Flotilla

4th Destroyer Flotilla

The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951.

Commander

Commander

Commander is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title or "billet" in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.

Kriegsmarine

Kriegsmarine

The Kriegsmarine was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war Reichsmarine (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches, along with the Heer and the Luftwaffe, of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945.

Battleship

Battleship

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

German battleship Bismarck

German battleship Bismarck

Bismarck was the first of two Bismarck-class battleships built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. Work was completed in August 1940, when she was commissioned into the German fleet. Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz were the largest battleships ever built by Germany, and two of the largest built by any European power.

Force H

Force H

Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place within the naval chain of command. Normal British practice was to have naval stations and fleets around the world, whose commanders reported to the First Sea Lord via a flag officer. Force H was based at Gibraltar but there was already a flag officer at the base, Flag Officer Commanding, North Atlantic. The commanding officer of Force H did not report to this Flag Officer but directly to the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound.

HMS Legion (G74)

HMS Legion (G74)

HMS Legion was an L-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She entered service during the Second World War, and had a short but eventful career, serving in Home waters and the Mediterranean. She was sunk in an air attack on Malta in 1942. The ship had been adopted by the British civil community of the Municipal Borough of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire in November 1941.

HMS Maori (F24)

HMS Maori (F24)

HMS Maori was a Tribal-class destroyer named after the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. She served with the United Kingdom Mediterranean Fleet during World War II until she was bombed and sunk by German aircraft while at Malta in 1942. Her wreck was later raised and scuttled outside the Grand Harbour. The wreck is now a dive site.

HNLMS Isaac Sweers (1940)

HNLMS Isaac Sweers (1940)

HNLMS Isaac Sweers was one of four Gerard Callenburgh-class destroyer built for the Royal Netherlands Navy during World War II.

Source: "HMS Sikh (F82)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 2nd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sikh_(F82).

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Further Reading

HMS Maori (F24)

HMS Cossack (F03)

A- and B-class destroyer

C and D-class destroyer

HMS Afridi (F07)

HMS Gurkha (F20)

Tribal-class destroyer (1936)

HMS Zulu (F18)

HMS Eskimo (F75)

HMS Mohawk (F31)

ORP Piorun (G65)

HMS Ashanti (F51)

HMS Amazon (D39)

J-, K- and N-class destroyer

HMS Punjabi

HMS Nubian (F36)

HMS Matabele (F26)

HMS Mashona
References
  1. ^ Lenton, p. 164
  2. ^ English, p. 14
  3. ^ a b Lenton, p. 165
  4. ^ a b English, p. 12
  5. ^ March, p. 323
  6. ^ a b Whitley, p. 99
  7. ^ Hodges, pp. 13–25
  8. ^ Friedman, p. 32
  9. ^ Hodges, pp. 30–31, 40
  10. ^ English, p. 15
  11. ^ Friedman, p. 34; Hodges, pp. 41–42
  12. ^ Whitley, p. 116
  13. ^ Brice, p. 11
  14. ^ Colledge & Warlow, p. 321
  15. ^ English, pp. 13, 16
  16. ^ Mattesini 2013, pp. 114-116. The attribution to German guns was believed by British participants such as Lieutenant Colonel Unwin of the Royal Marines, who was aboard Sikh at the time, and by the historian Peter C. Smith (Smith, pp. vii, 133.), but the Italian historian Francesco Mattesini now argues that the German batteries were not plausibly positioned to have inflicted most of the damage on the British destroyer (Mattesini 2020, pp. 82-84). The coastal defences consisted, from west to east, of the Italian batteria "Belotti" with four 145mm guns of unspecified type, batteria "Tordo" with four 120/50 naval guns, batteria "Dandolo" with a twin-mounted pair of older 120/45 [it] guns of the same calibre, a German battery from Flak-Regiment 46 with six 88mm, positioned at the entrance to the inner harbour, and batteria "Grasso" with three Italian 152/45s. An additional 88mm battery from Flak-Regiment 60 was placed inland in an anti-aircraft role.
  17. ^ Mattesini 2013, pp. 117, 122; Mattsini 2020, pp. 81-82.
  18. ^ Landsborough, Gordon (2015). Tobruk Commando: The Raid to Destroy Rommel's Base. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-84832-245-5.
Sources
  • 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.
  • Mattesini, Francesco (March 2013). "L'Operazione "Daffodil" nel Piano "Agreement". Il fallito sbarco britannico a Tobruch del 14 settembre 1942". Bollettino d'Archivio dell'Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare. 27: 81–143. (Archived 27 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine)
  • Mattesini, Francesco (2020). Il disastro di Tobruk. Zanica, Italy: Soldiershop Publishing. ISBN 978-8-8932-7628-3.
  • 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.
  • Smith, Peter C. (2008). Massacre at Tobruk. The British Assault on Rommel, 1942 (Paperback ed.). Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-5163-6.
  • Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
Further reading

Coordinates: 32°5′52″N 24°0′0″E / 32.09778°N 24.00000°E / 32.09778; 24.00000

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