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| HMS Amazon (1926) | |
|---|---|
| Ship name | HMS Amazon |
| Ship class | A-class destroyer |
| Ship type | Destroyer |
| Tonnage | 1,350 LT (standard) |
| Operator | Royal Navy |
| Builder | Cammell Laird |
| Laid down | 1925 |
| Launched | 26 March 1926 |
| Commissioned | 24 September 1926 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap 1948 |
| Length | 323 ft |
| Beam | 32 ft |
| Draught | 12 ft |
| Propulsion | Parsons geared turbines; Admiralty 3-drum boilers |
| Speed | 35 knots |
| Complement | 134 |
| Armament | 4 × 4.7 in guns; 2 × 2-pdr AA guns; 8 × 21 in torpedo tubes |
HMS Amazon (1926) was an A-class destroyer of the Royal Navy commissioned in 1926, serving through the interwar period and the Second World War before being decommissioned and scrapped after the conflict. Built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead, she formed part of the Royal Navy’s peacetime rearmament and later wartime escort and patrol forces, participating in convoy protection, fleet exercises, and operations in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.
Amazon was ordered under the 1924–25 Estimates as one of the original A-class destroyers, conceived following lessons from the First World War and influenced by contemporary designs from earlier classes. The design emphasis balanced speed, armament and seaworthiness to operate with the Home Fleet and to counter modern foreign destroyers built by shipbuilders such as Yarrow Shipbuilders and John Brown & Company. Laid down at Cammell Laird's Birkenhead yard in 1925 and launched on 26 March 1926, she reflected advances in turbine machinery by Parsons Marine and naval architecture trends established after the Washington Naval Treaty negotiations.
Construction employed an all-steel hull with longitudinal framing and a raised forecastle to improve seakeeping in the North Atlantic. Her machinery comprised Admiralty three-drum boilers feeding Parsons geared steam turbines to two shafts, rated for 34,000 shp to achieve contract speeds in excess of 35 knots, matching contemporaries such as vessels from Vickers and Thornycroft. Armament layout followed Admiralty doctrine: four single 4.7-inch mounts, torpedo armament in two quadruple 21-inch tube mounts, and light anti-aircraft weapons.
Amazon displaced approximately 1,350 long tons standard and up to 1,875 long tons at deep load, with an overall length of 323 feet, beam of 32 feet and mean draught near 12 feet. Propulsion featured two shafts driven by Parsons geared turbines powered by three Admiralty three-drum boilers, delivering about 34,000 shp and a top speed of 35 knots in service. Fuel oil capacity afforded an operational range of roughly 4,800 nautical miles at economical speeds, suitable for Atlantic and Mediterranean patrol duties.
Armament comprised four 4.7 in (120 mm) BL Mk IX guns in single mounts, two 2-pdr (40 mm) "pom-pom" anti-aircraft guns, and two quadruple 21-inch torpedo tube mounts. Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) equipment included depth charge throwers and racks with an initial loadout upgraded during wartime to meet threats from Kriegsmarine U-boats developed in the interwar years. Fire-control systems and sensors were typical for late-1920s destroyers, later augmented by wartime fittings such as improved radio, radar and sonar derived from technologies of Admiralty Research Laboratory innovation.
Upon commissioning in 1926 Amazon joined the Home Fleet's destroyer flotillas, participating in fleet exercises, torpedo trials and diplomatic port visits during a period of naval diplomacy involving the Washington Naval Treaty and the London Naval Conference. During the late 1920s and 1930s she served in rotations that included the China Station and the Mediterranean, operating alongside contemporary capital ships like HMS Hood and cruisers from the Royal Navy's light forces. Routine maintenance and refits at dockyards including Portsmouth and Devonport kept her operational readiness aligned with Admiralty standards.
Throughout the interwar years Amazon participated in combined exercises with units of the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and occasionally foreign navies such as the United States Navy and French Navy. She conducted patrols in the Mediterranean during periods of international tension, escorting transports and showing the flag in ports from Gibraltar to Alexandria. Training cruises, gunnery practice and anti-submarine exercises with aircraft from Fleet Air Arm units were routine, reflecting evolving doctrines shaped by incidents like the Spanish Civil War which tested neutrality patrol procedures.
Routine refits saw incremental enhancements to communications and light AA armament in response to emerging threats from aircraft and submarines. Amazon's peacetime duties also included search and rescue, fisheries protection and participation in ceremonies such as the Navy Days and fleet reviews at Spithead.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Amazon was employed on convoy escort, patrol and fleet screening tasks in the North Sea and North Atlantic, working under commands including the Western Approaches Command and coordinating with escorts from the Royal Canadian Navy and merchant convoys organized by the Ministry of War Transport. She took part in operations guarding troop movements and supply convoys against threats from the Kriegsmarine surface raiders and U-boat wolfpacks. During the war she underwent wartime modification programs: enhanced depth charge stowage, improved ASDIC (sonar) installations influenced by research at Admiralty Research Laboratory, and radar sets developed at Bawdsey Manor.
Amazon operated in high-tempo convoy escort duties, engaging in evasive and ASW action, rescuing survivors from torpedoed merchantmen and cooperating with escort carriers such as those converted from merchant hulls by Cammell Laird and other shipyards. She also supported operations in the Mediterranean theatre, linking with forces during convoy battles to Malta and patrols related to Operation Torch in coordination with Allied amphibious landings.
Following the end of hostilities in 1945, wear and wartime attrition left many prewar destroyers obsolete compared with newer wartime-built escorts such as Flower-class corvettes and River-class frigates. Amazon was paid off and placed in reserve pending disposal as the Royal Navy downsized during postwar demobilization overseen by the Admiralty. She was decommissioned and eventually sold for scrap in 1948, her demolition conducted at a British breakers' yard, marking the end of a service life that bridged the interwar Royal Navy and the demands of large-scale convoy warfare.
Category:British A-class destroyers (1929)