A-class destroyer
 HMS Acheron
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| History |
|---|
 United Kingdom |
|---|
| Name | HMS Acheron |
| Namesake | Acheron, a river in Greek mythology |
| Ordered | 29 May 1928 |
| Builder | John I. Thornycroft & Company, Woolston, Hampshire |
| Laid down | 29 October 1928 |
| Launched | 18 March 1930 |
| Commissioned | 13 October 1931 |
| Motto | "Post tenebras lux" (After darkness light) |
| Fate | Sunk, 17 December 1940 after hitting a mine |
| Badge | On a Field Black, barry wavy of 4 Silver. |
| General characteristics (as built) |
|---|
| Class and type | A-class destroyer |
| Displacement | |
| Length | 323 ft (98 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) |
| Draught | 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m) |
| Installed power | |
| Propulsion | 2 × shafts; 2 × geared steam turbines |
| Speed | 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) |
| Range | 4,800 nmi (8,900 km; 5,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 134; 140 (1940) |
| Armament | |
HMS Acheron was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She 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.
Design
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.[1][2] John I. Thornycroft & Company's destroyer, Acheron, was to have experimental high pressure machinery.[3]
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.[4] Three Thornycroft three-drum boiler 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.[3][5] 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).[4] 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).[6]
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.[7] 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.[6] The ship was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.[4] 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,[8] with three depth charge racks and six depth charges,[9][10] The A-class destroyers were given space for an ASDIC system, but it was not initially fitted.[11] The ship had a crew of 138 officers and other ranks.[4][6]
Construction and commissioning
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,[12] with Katharine, Lady Parsons as sponsor.[13] The destroyer was commissioned on 12 October 1931 for trials and completed the next day.[14] She was the fifth ship named Acheron to serve with the Royal Navy.[15]
Service
Pre-war operations
Acheron suffered from a number of mechanical problems associated with her machinery, which persisted throughout the ship's career.[16] These problems convinced the Admiralty not to continue with experiments with high boiler pressures, with later destroyer classes using conservative steam conditions.[17] Trials of the ship and her machinery continued until June 1932, after which the destroyer underwent modifications.[16] 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.[18]
On 19 October 1932, Acheron recommissioned, joining the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla serving with the Mediterranean Fleet.[16] The 3rd Flotilla returned to Britain in 1935,[16] with Acheron undergoing defect repair at Portsmouth.[19] 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.[16][20][21] 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.[16]
On completion of the refit, Acheron was transferred to second-line duties, replacing Ambuscade as tender to HMS Vernon, the Royal Navy's torpedo school.[22] From June to July 1937, Acheron was fitted with Asdic.[16] On 1 November 1937, Acheron collided with a barge while leaving Portsmouth harbour. The destroyer received a 20 ft (6.1 m) tear above the waterline on her starboard side, and was under repair until 6 December.[16][23] After repair, Acheron replaced Verity as emergency destroyer at Portsmouth.[24] In March 1938, Acheron again returned to Portsmouth Dockyard for another refit and repairs to her turbines, these lasting until December that year. In January 1939, she replaced Windsor as a gunnery training destroyer with HMS Vernon. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, she was under repair at Portsmouth.[16]
Second World War
On completion of repairs, Acheron joined the 18th Destroyer Flotilla, carrying out local duties around Portsmouth until December 1939 when she underwent further machinery repairs.[16] On completion, she joined the 16th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow on 23 March 1940. The flotilla was then deployed in the North Western Approaches and the North Sea. After the German invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940, Acheron was deployed with the flotilla on convoy defence and fleet screening duties in support of the military landings in Norway. On 17 April, she and Arrow were part of the escort for the cruisers Galatea, Arethusa, Carlisle and Curacoa. The cruisers then landed troops at Åndalsnes and Molde. On arrival at Åndalsnes on 18 April, Acheron was detached and deployed on patrol and escort duties. She then escorted the aircraft carrier Glorious from Scapa Flow, before deploying with the destroyers Antelope and Beagle off Namsos.
On 31 May, Acheron, Acasta, Ardent, Highlander and Diana escorted the carriers Glorious and Ark Royal to Norway to cover the final evacuation of British troops from Norway (Operation Alphabet). This was completed by 9 June, whereupon Acheron resumed her normal duties with the flotilla. She then operated in the English Channel to escort convoys and was in dock at Portsmouth on 21 June to have a 3 in (76 mm) AA gun fitted to improve her anti-aircraft defence. Whilst sailing 10 mi (16 km) south off St. Catherine's Point on 20 July, she was attacked by German dive bombers, and was damaged by nine near misses.
She began repairs at Portsmouth Dockyard on 6 August, but on 24 August she was seriously damaged during an air raid which killed two of her crew and injured another three. One bomb hit her aft section and exploded, causing severe damage to her machinery, "Y" gun and superstructure. This caused her repairs to be extended until October, with her "Y" gun being replaced by a mounting from the destroyer Boadicea, which had been damaged in June. In November, Acheron was nominated for service as gunnery training destroyer.
Sinking
Repairs were fully completed by 2 December, and she began post-refit trials. On 17 December, she was sailing off the Isle of Wight. The trial was being conducted at night, in heavy seas and with a strong north-east wind in complete darkness. She was conducting steaming exercises over a measured mile, 8 nmi (9.2 mi; 15 km) west-south-west of St. Catherine's Point. On one of the passes, she struck a mine. The explosion caused major structural damage forward, and her own speed drove her under. She sank within four minutes, taking 196 crewmen and yard workers, who were on board for the trials, to the bottom. There were only 19 survivors. The mine was probably one of those laid by the Luftwaffe along the Channel coast in no apparent pattern.
Her sinking was not made public until 26 December 1940.[25]
The wreck site was designated as a Protected Place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 in 2006.
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