View source for HMS Whirlwind (R87)

{{short description|W-class destroyer converted to Type 15 frigate of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Whirlwind}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Whirlwind (D30).jpg
|Ship caption=''Whirlwind'' in 1944
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Whirlwind''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Hawthorn Leslie]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=30 August 1943
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship reclassified=[[Antisubmarine]] [[frigate]] (F187) 1953
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Foundered while in use as target 29 October 1974
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=as W class
|Ship class=[[W and Z-class destroyer|W-class]] [[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*1,710 [[long ton|tons]] (1,730 [[tonne]]s)
*2,530 tons full (2,570 tonnes)
|Ship length={{convert|362.75|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam={{convert|35.75|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers,
*Parsons single-reduction geared [[steam turbine]]s,
*{{convert|40000|shp|MW|lk=in|abbr=on}}, 2 shafts
|Ship speed={{convert|36|kn|lk=in}} / {{convert|32|kn}} full
|Ship range={{convert|4675|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|20|kn}}
|Ship complement=179 (225 as [[flotilla leader|leader]])
|Ship sensors=
* [[Radar Type 272]] target indication
* [[Radar Type 291]] air warning
* [[Radar Type 285]] fire control on director Mk.III(W)
* [[Radar Type 282]] fire control on 40 mm mount Mk.IV
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
* 4 × [[QF 4.7-inch Mk IX & XII naval gun|QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) L/45 Mk.IX]], single mounts CP&nbsp;Mk.XXII
* 2 × QF&nbsp;[[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40&nbsp;mm Bofors]], twin mount "Hazemeyer" Mk.IV
*4 × ** twin [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon]] Mk.V
*8 (4x2) tubes for [[British 21-inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo]]es Mk.IX
*2 racks & 4 throwers for 70 [[depth charge]]s
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Header caption=Type 15 frigate
|Ship class=[[Type 15 frigate]]
|Ship type=
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement=2,300 tons (standard)
|Ship length={{convert|358|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam={{convert|37.75|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught={{convert|14.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=*2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers,
*[[steam turbine]]s on 2 shafts,
*{{convert|40000|shp|MW|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|31|kn}} (full load)
|Ship range=
|Ship endurance=
|Ship test depth=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=174
|Ship crew=
|Ship time to activate=
|Ship sensors=*Radar
* [[Type 293 radar|Type 293Q]] target indication.
* [[Type 277 radar|Type 277Q]] surface search
* Type 974 navigation
* [[List of World War II British naval radar#Type 262|Type 262]] fire control on director ''CRBF''
* Type 1010 Cossor Mark 10 IFF
*Sonar:
* Type 174 search
* Type 162 target classification
* Type 170 attack
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*1 × twin 4&nbsp;in gun Mark 19
*1 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40mm&nbsp;Bofors]] Mk.5;
*2 × [[Squid (weapon)|Squid A/S mortar]] or;
*2 × [[Limbo (weapon)|Limbo Mark 10 A/S mortar]]
|Ship armour=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The second '''HMS ''Whirlwind'' ''' was a [[W and Z class destroyer|W-class]] [[destroyer]] of the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Navy]] and was built by [[Hawthorn Leslie]] and was [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 30 August 1943.<ref name=Collp379>{{Harvnb|Colledge|Warlow|2006|p=379}}</ref> She saw service during [[World War II]] and the [[Cold War]].

==Design and construction==
''Whirlwind'' was one of eight [[W and Z-class destroyer|W-class]] destroyers ordered as the 9th Emergency Flotilla on 3 December 1941.<ref name="friedp90-1,328">{{Harvnb|Friedman|2008|pp=90–91, 328}}</ref> The W-class were [[War Emergency Programme destroyers]], intended for general duties, including use as anti-submarine escort, and were to be suitable for mass-production. They were based on the hull and machinery of the pre-war [[J-, K- and N-class destroyer|J-class]] destroyers, but with a lighter armament (effectively whatever armament was available) in order to speed production.<ref name="friedp53-5,86-7">{{Harvnb|Friedman|2008|pp=53–55, 86–87}}</ref><ref name="whitp124-7">{{Harvnb|Whitley|2000|pp=124–127}}</ref> The W-class were almost identical to the U-class ordered as the 7th Emergency Flotilla and the V-class ordered as the 8th Emergency Flotilla earlier in the year, with the major difference the fitting of a new dual-purpose fire control director, capable of directing both anti-aircraft and anti-aircraft fire.<ref name="whitp134">{{Harvnb|Whitley|2000|p=134}}</ref><ref name="lenv2p33">{{Harvnb|Lenton|1970|p=33}}</ref>

''Whirlwind'' was [[Keel laying|laid down]] at [[Hawthorn Leslie]]'s [[Hebburn]], [[Tyneside]] shipyard on 31 July 1942, was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 30 August 1943 and was completed on 20 July 1944.<ref name="whitp134"/>

The W-class were {{convert|362|ft|9|in|m}} [[length overall|long overall]], {{convert|348|ft|0|in|m}} [[waterline length|at the waterline]] and {{convert|339|ft|6|in|m}} [[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|35|ft|8|in|m}} and a [[Draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|10|ft|3|in|m}} mean and {{convert|14|ft|3|in|m}} full load.<ref name="whitp134"/><ref name="lenv2p33"/> [[Displacement (ship)|Displacement]] was {{convert|1710|LT|t}} standard and {{convert|2530|LT|t}} full load.<ref name="lenv2p33"/> Two [[Admiralty boiler|Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers]] supplied steam at {{convert|300|psi|kPa}} and {{convert|630|F|C}} to two sets of [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] single-reduction geared [[steam turbine]]s, which drove two propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at {{convert|40000|shp|kW}} giving a maximum speed of {{convert|36|kn|mph km/h}}  ({{convert|32|kn|mph km/h}} at full load). 615 tons of oil were carried, giving a range of {{convert|4675|nmi|mi km}} at {{convert|20|kn|mph km/h}}.<ref name="lenv2p33"/>

The ship had a main gun armament of four [[QF 4.7-inch Mk IX & XII naval gun|4.7 inch (120 mm) QF Mk. IX]] guns, capable of elevating to an angle of 55 degrees, giving a degree of anti-aircraft capability.<ref name="conways22 p42-3">{{Harvnb|Gardiner|Chesneau|1980|pp=42–43}}</ref><ref name="fried p94-5">{{Harvnb|Friedman|2008|pp=94–95}}</ref> The close-in anti-aircraft armament for the class was one Hazemayer stabilised twin mount for the [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm gun]] and four twin [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]]s.<ref name="lenv2p33"/><ref name="friedp98-9">{{Harvnb|Friedman|2008|pp=98–99}}</ref> Two quadruple mounts for [[British 21-inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm) torpedoes]] were fitted, while the ship had an depth charge outfit of four depth charge mortars and two racks, with a total of 70 charges carried.<ref name="lenv2p33"/>

''Whirlwind'' was fitted with a Type 276 surface warning [[radar]] on the ship's lattice [[foremast]], together with a [[high-frequency direction finding]] (HF/DF) aerial, with a [[Type 291 radar|Type 291]] air warning radar on a pole mast aft. A Type 285 fire control radar integrated with the ship's high-angle gun director, while the Hazemayer mount had an integrated Type 282 radar.<ref name="lenv2p33"/> ''Whirlwind'' had a crew of 179 officers and other ranks.<ref name="lenv2p33"/>

==Royal Navy service==
On commissioning, when the ship was assigned the [[pennant number]] R87,<ref name="lenv2p32">{{Harvnb|Lenton|1970|p=32}}</ref> ''Whirlwind'' was allocated to serve with the [[Eastern Fleet]], and left Britain in October 1944. While on passage, she was briefly diverted to operations in the Mediterranean, escorting the battleship {{HMS|King George V|41|2}} during a bombardment of the island of [[Milos]] in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] on 13 November 1944, before continuing to the Eastern Fleet's base at [[Trincomalee]] in Ceylon (now [[Sri Lanka]]).<ref name="navhist">{{cite web|last=Mason|first=Geoffrey B.|title=HMS Whirlwind (ii) (R 87) - W-class Destroyer|work=Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2|publisher=Naval-history.com|url=https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-63W-HMS_Whirlwind.htm|date=26 September 2010|access-date=23 October 2018}}</ref> ''Whirlwind'' joined the [[British Pacific Fleet]] when it formed on 22 November 1944,<ref name="hobbsp61-3">{{Harvnb|Hobbs|2017|pp=61–63}}</ref> and took part in the fleet's first operation, [[Operation Robson]], a strike by carrier-borne aircraft from {{HMS|Indomitable|92|2}} and {{HMS|Illustrious|87|2}} against targets in [[Sumatra]] on 17–23 December 1944.<ref name="hobbsp63-5">{{Harvnb|Hobbs|2017|pp=63–65}}</ref> On 16 January 1945, the British Pacific Fleet, including ''Whirlwind'', left Trincomalee for the Pacific.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|p=329}}</ref><ref name="hobbsp73–4">{{Harvnb|Hobbs|2017|pp=73–74}}</ref> The task force's carriers launched two raids against oil refineries in Sumatra, [[Operation Meridian]] on 24 January and 29 January before completing passage to the Pacific when the Fleet reached [[Fremantle]] in Australia on 4 February 1945.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|1992|pp=329–330}}</ref><ref name="navhist"/>

Following service in the Second World War, ''Whirlwind'' was based at Rosyth in 1947 and 1948 as a boys training ship.<ref name="critv3p76">{{Harvnb|Critchley|1982|p=76}}</ref> Between 1952 and 1953 she was converted into a [[Type 15 frigate|Type 15]] fast [[anti-submarine warfare|anti-submarine]] [[frigate]] by Palmers, with the new [[pennant number]] '''F187'''.
[[File:HMS Whirlwind, c1965 (IWM).jpg|left|thumb|''Whirlwind'' after conversion to Type 15 Frigate, c1965 (IWM)]]
She recommissioned on 28 July 1953 and was allocated to the [[5th Frigate Squadron (United Kingdom)|5th Frigate Squadron]] for service in the Mediterranean.  In 1954 she participated in the recovery of the wreckage of the crashed de Havilland Comet off the island of Elba. In 1956 she was part of the Royal Navy force deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean as part of the [[Operation Musketeer (1956)|Suez Crisis]].  At this time she was part of the [[5th Frigate Squadron (United Kingdom)|5th Frigate Squadron]]. She also undertook patrols off the Cyprus coast.  Between June 1959 and May 1961 she underwent a refit at Rosyth.

In 1961 ''Whirlwind'' recommissioned to the [[8th Frigate Squadron (United Kingdom)|8th Frigate Squadron]] for service at Home and in the West Indies.<ref name="critv3p76"/> In December 1962 ''Whirlwind'' was at [[Bermuda]] during the talks between [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Harold Macmillan]] and American [[President of the United States|President]] [[John F. Kennedy]] that resulted in the [[Nassau Agreement]] which allowed Britain to purchase [[UGM-27 Polaris|Polaris]] nuclear-armed missiles. ''Whirlwind''{{'}}s crew provided security for the meeting while the ship formed a communications link for the [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]].<ref>{{cite news|title=H.M.S. Whirlwind provided security guard for Premier: Two-thirds of ship's company on watch|newspaper=[[Navy News]]|page=8|url=https://issuu.com/navynews/docs/196302|access-date=23 October 2018}}</ref> In 1964, along with {{HMS|Rothesay|F107|6}}, ''Whirlwind'' deployed for patrol off Bahamas to intercept illegal traffic from Cuba.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Ops-Events1961-70.htm|title=Royal Navy, including Administration, 1961-1970}}</ref>

==Decommissioning and disposal==
In 1966 ''Whirlwind'' was placed on the disposal list.  On 12 August 1969 she was towed from Portsmouth to Pembroke Dock for use as a target. She foundered at her moorings in [[Cardigan Bay]] on 29 October 1974 while in use as a target.<ref name=Collp379/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Publications==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=Critchley |first=Mike |title=British Warships Since 1945: Part 3: Destroyers |publisher=Maritime Books |place=Liskeard, UK |date=1982 |isbn=0-9506323-9-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After|year=2008|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-015-4}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Gardiner|editor-first1=Robert|editor-last2=Chesneau|editor-first2=Roger|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|year=1980|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Hobbs|first=David|title=The British Pacific Fleet: The Royal Navy's Most Powerful Strike Force|year=2017|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-5267-0283-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H.T.|title=Navies of the Second World War: British Fleet & Escort Destroyers Volume Two|year=1970|publisher=Macdonald & Co.|location=London|isbn=0-356-03122-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Marriott|first=Leo|title=Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945|year=1989|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton, UK|isbn=0-7110-1817-0|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavydestroy0000marr}}
* {{cite book|last=Marriott|first=Leo|title=Royal Navy Frigates 1945–1983|year=1983 |publisher=Ian Allan |location=Shepperton, UK |isbn= 0-7110-1322-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Raven|first=Alan|author2=Roberts, John |title=War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes|publisher=Bivouac Books|location=London|year=1978|isbn=0-85680-010-4}}
* {{cite book|last1=Rohwer|first1=Jürgen|last2=Hümmelchen|first2=Gerhard|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945|year=1992|publisher=Greenhill Books|location=London|isbn=1-85367-117-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War 2: An International Encyclopedia|year=2000|publisher=Cassell & Co.|location=London|isbn=1-85409-521-8}}

{{W and Z class destroyers}}
{{Type 15 frigate}}
{{1974 shipwrecks}}

{{Coord|52|16|47|N|04|40|41|W|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whirlwind (R87)}}
[[Category:W and Z-class destroyers]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Type 15 frigates of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Cold War frigates of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1974]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Wales]]