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HMS Acheron (H45)
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HMS Acheron (H45)
HMS Acheron was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. The ship was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at their Woolston, Hampshire shipyard, and was launched on 18 March 1930, completing in October 1931. Acheron differed from other ships of her class in having experimental high pressure machinery, but this caused the ship to suffer mechanical problems throughout her career.
Between 1932 and 1936, Acheron served with the British Mediterranean Fleet, before returning to British waters where she was relegated to training duties. Acheron served during the Second World War in Home waters and off the Norwegian coast, before becoming an early war loss when she sank after hitting a mine off the Isle of Wight on 17 December 1940. The wreck site is designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
The 1927 construction programme for the Royal Navy included orders for a destroyer leader (Codrington) and eight destroyers of the A-class, the first class of destroyers to be built for the Royal Navy since the end of the First World War, and a development of the prototype destroyers Amazon and Ambuscade. John I. Thornycroft & Company's destroyer, Acheron, was to have experimental high pressure machinery.
Acheron was 323 ft (98.45 m) long overall, 320 ft (97.54 m) at the waterline and 312 ft (95.10 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) and a mean draught of 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m). Displacement was 1,350 long tons (1,370 t) standard and 1,773 long tons (1,801 t) full load. Three Thornycroft three-drum boilers fed steam at 500 psi (3,400 kPa) and 750 °F (399 °C; 672 K) to Parsons geared steam turbine, which drove two propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at 34,000 shp (25,000 kW), giving a speed of 35.25 kn (40.56 mph; 65.28 km/h). 345 t of oil was carried, giving a range of 4,080 nmi (4,700 mi; 7,560 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h).
As built, Acheron had a main gun armament of four QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk IX guns in single mounts, in two superfiring pairs in front of the bridge and aft of the superstructure. These guns could only elevate to 30 degrees and so were only useful for surface fire. Anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 40-millimetre (1.6 in) QF 2-pounder Mk II 'pom-pom' autocannons, backed up by four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns. The ship was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes. The A-class were fitted with the Two-Speed Destroyer Sweep minesweeping equipment to allow sweeping ahead of the fleet at high speeds, which meant that the anti-submarine outfit was reduced, with three depth charge racks and six depth charges, The A-class destroyers were given space for an ASDIC system, but it was not initially fitted. The ship had a crew of 138 officers and other ranks.
Acheron was ordered on 29 May 1928 from Thornycroft's Woolston, Hampshire yard under the 1927 Naval Estimates. Acheron was laid down on 29 October 1928 and was launched a year later on 18 March 1930, with Katharine, Lady Parsons as sponsor. The destroyer was commissioned on 12 October 1931 for trials and completed the next day. She was the fifth ship named Acheron to serve with the Royal Navy.
Acheron suffered from a number of mechanical problems associated with her machinery, which persisted throughout the ship's career. These problems convinced the Admiralty not to continue with experiments with high boiler pressures, with later destroyer classes using conservative steam conditions. Trials of the ship and her machinery continued until June 1932, after which the destroyer underwent modifications. On 17 October 1932, five workmen were overcome by fumes when working in Acheron's engine room when the ship was at Portsmouth dockyard. The men were taken to Royal Hospital Haslar for recovery.
On 19 October 1932, Acheron recommissioned, joining the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla serving with the Mediterranean Fleet. The 3rd Flotilla returned to Britain in 1935, with Acheron undergoing defect repair at Portsmouth. Acheron's crew transferred to the old destroyer Wessex which replaced Acheron in the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla while the newer ship was being repaired. Acheron returned to the 3rd Flotilla to replace Wessex when her repairs were complete, again exchanging her crew with Wessex. Acheron's stay in the Mediterranean was short, however, as she returned to British waters in June 1936, undergoing a further series of full power sea trials before undergoing a refit at Portsmouth that lasted from July 1936 to February 1937.
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HMS Acheron (H45)
HMS Acheron was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. The ship was built by John I. Thornycroft & Company at their Woolston, Hampshire shipyard, and was launched on 18 March 1930, completing in October 1931. Acheron differed from other ships of her class in having experimental high pressure machinery, but this caused the ship to suffer mechanical problems throughout her career.
Between 1932 and 1936, Acheron served with the British Mediterranean Fleet, before returning to British waters where she was relegated to training duties. Acheron served during the Second World War in Home waters and off the Norwegian coast, before becoming an early war loss when she sank after hitting a mine off the Isle of Wight on 17 December 1940. The wreck site is designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
The 1927 construction programme for the Royal Navy included orders for a destroyer leader (Codrington) and eight destroyers of the A-class, the first class of destroyers to be built for the Royal Navy since the end of the First World War, and a development of the prototype destroyers Amazon and Ambuscade. John I. Thornycroft & Company's destroyer, Acheron, was to have experimental high pressure machinery.
Acheron was 323 ft (98.45 m) long overall, 320 ft (97.54 m) at the waterline and 312 ft (95.10 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) and a mean draught of 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m). Displacement was 1,350 long tons (1,370 t) standard and 1,773 long tons (1,801 t) full load. Three Thornycroft three-drum boilers fed steam at 500 psi (3,400 kPa) and 750 °F (399 °C; 672 K) to Parsons geared steam turbine, which drove two propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at 34,000 shp (25,000 kW), giving a speed of 35.25 kn (40.56 mph; 65.28 km/h). 345 t of oil was carried, giving a range of 4,080 nmi (4,700 mi; 7,560 km) at 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h).
As built, Acheron had a main gun armament of four QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk IX guns in single mounts, in two superfiring pairs in front of the bridge and aft of the superstructure. These guns could only elevate to 30 degrees and so were only useful for surface fire. Anti-aircraft armament consisted of two 40-millimetre (1.6 in) QF 2-pounder Mk II 'pom-pom' autocannons, backed up by four .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns. The ship was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes. The A-class were fitted with the Two-Speed Destroyer Sweep minesweeping equipment to allow sweeping ahead of the fleet at high speeds, which meant that the anti-submarine outfit was reduced, with three depth charge racks and six depth charges, The A-class destroyers were given space for an ASDIC system, but it was not initially fitted. The ship had a crew of 138 officers and other ranks.
Acheron was ordered on 29 May 1928 from Thornycroft's Woolston, Hampshire yard under the 1927 Naval Estimates. Acheron was laid down on 29 October 1928 and was launched a year later on 18 March 1930, with Katharine, Lady Parsons as sponsor. The destroyer was commissioned on 12 October 1931 for trials and completed the next day. She was the fifth ship named Acheron to serve with the Royal Navy.
Acheron suffered from a number of mechanical problems associated with her machinery, which persisted throughout the ship's career. These problems convinced the Admiralty not to continue with experiments with high boiler pressures, with later destroyer classes using conservative steam conditions. Trials of the ship and her machinery continued until June 1932, after which the destroyer underwent modifications. On 17 October 1932, five workmen were overcome by fumes when working in Acheron's engine room when the ship was at Portsmouth dockyard. The men were taken to Royal Hospital Haslar for recovery.
On 19 October 1932, Acheron recommissioned, joining the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla serving with the Mediterranean Fleet. The 3rd Flotilla returned to Britain in 1935, with Acheron undergoing defect repair at Portsmouth. Acheron's crew transferred to the old destroyer Wessex which replaced Acheron in the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla while the newer ship was being repaired. Acheron returned to the 3rd Flotilla to replace Wessex when her repairs were complete, again exchanging her crew with Wessex. Acheron's stay in the Mediterranean was short, however, as she returned to British waters in June 1936, undergoing a further series of full power sea trials before undergoing a refit at Portsmouth that lasted from July 1936 to February 1937.