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HMAS ''Duchess'' was a destroyer that served in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Duchess'' from 1952 to 1964, and in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1964 to 1980. She was laid down by John I. Thornycroft and Company, and commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1952. Initially assigned to the Home Fleet, ''Duchess'' spent her early career on exercises and port visits. She was involved in celebrations for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II during 1953, and escorted the royal yacht in 1954. The destroyer was reassigned to the Mediterranean Fleet in late 1954, and was involved in exercises, port visits, and anti-weapons-smuggling patrols of Cyprus. During the 1956 Suez Crisis, ''Duchess'' operated as plane guard and escort to the British carrier force, and was the last ship to leave Port Said after the British-French invasion failed. The destroyer was reassigned to the Home Fleet in early 1957, then was sent back to the Mediterranean as leader of the 5th Destroyer Squadron later that year. A modernisation refit ran from late 1958 to the start of 1961, after which, ''Duchess'' resumed operations with the Mediterranean Fleet. In 1963, tensions leading to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation resulted in ''Duchess'' being assigned to the Far East Fleet as part of a strengthening of British assets in South East Asia. Following the 1964 ''Melbourne''-''Voyager'' collision, ''Duchess'' was loaned to the RAN as a temporary replacement for . The ship was deployed to the Far East Strategic Reserve throughout the 1960s, and operated as an escort for the Vietnam War troopship on several occasions. The original four-year loan was extended to 1972, at which point the ship was purchased outright by the Australian government. ''Duchess'' was converted into a training ship during 1973 and 1974, and spent the rest of her career operating on midshipman training cruises in Australian, New Zealand, and South Pacific waters. ''Duchess'' was replaced in the training role in 1977, and was decommissioned. The destroyer was sold for scrap in 1980. ==Design and construction== (詳細はBattle-class destroyer; larger and with a heavier armament built around three twin turrets.〔McCart, ''Daring Class Destroyers'', pp. ix–x〕 Sixteen ''Daring''s were provisionally ordered on 20 July 1944, as part of the 1944 wartime construction programme.〔McCart, ''Daring Class Destroyers'', p. 219〕 ''Duchess'' was the last of eight to have her order confirmed, on 29 March 1945, the other eight were later cancelled as unnecessary due to the end of World War II.〔McCart, ''Daring Class Destroyers'', pp. ix, 219〕 Their size and capability made the ships capable of performing duties previously restricted to light cruisers, and as the destroyer classification was initially considered inappropriate, they were referred to as "''Daring''-class warships" for the first part of their careers.〔McCart, ''Daring Class Destroyers'', p. x〕 As designed, the ''Daring''-class ships had a standard displacement of 2,950 tons, with a full load displacement of 3,580 tons.〔 Length was overall and between perpendiculars, with a beam of and a maximum draught of .〔 Propulsion machinery consisted of two oil-fuelled boilers (for ''Duchess'', these were supplied by Forster Wheeler), connected to Parsons double reduction geared turbines from English Electric, which supplied to the ship's two propeller shafts.〔 Top speed was , with an effective range of , while a cruising speed of allowed the ship to cover .〔 ''Duchess'', along with three of her sister ships, were fitted with alternating current internal electrics; a break from Royal Navy practice.〔 The intended ship's company for ''Duchess'' was 278.〔 The main armament of a ''Daring''-class destroyer consisted of six QF 4.5-inch Mk I – V naval guns, arranged in three twin turrets, two located forward, the third aft.〔McCart, ''Daring Class Destroyers'', p. ix〕 For anti-aircraft warfare, the ships were fitted with four to six 40 mm Bofors guns: a reduction from the wartime-intended eight.〔McCart, ''Daring Class Destroyers'', pp. 219–20〕 Both main and anti-aircraft guns were radar-controlled.〔 Two 5-tube launchers for 21-inch torpedoes were installed, along with a Squid anti-submarine mortar.〔 ''Duchess'' was laid down by John I. Thornycroft and Company of Woolston at Southampton on 8 July 1948.〔Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 34〕 Construction of the ''Daring'' class was a transition away from riveting as a method of hull fabrication: some ships had a mix of riveting and welding, while ''Duchess''s hull was all-welded.〔McCart, ''Daring Class Destroyers'', p. 220〕 She was launched on 9 April 1951 by the Countess Mountbatten of Burma, and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 23 October 1952.〔Cassells, ''The Destroyers'', p. 35〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMAS Duchess (D154)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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