View source for HMS Hotspur (H01)

{{Short description|H-class destroyer}}
{{other ships|HMS Hotspur}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=HMS Hotspur AWM 302405.jpeg
|Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Hotspur''
|Ship ordered=13 December 1934
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company]], [[Greenock]], [[Scotland]]
|Ship original cost=£253,037
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=27 February 1935
|Ship launched=23 March 1936
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=29 December 1936
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship identification=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Sold to the [[Dominican Republic]], 23 November 1948
|Ship notes=[[Pennant number]]: H01
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header= title
|Ship country=Dominican Republic
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Dominican Republic|naval}}
| Ship name=''Trujillo''
| Ship namesake= [[Rafael Trujillo]]
| Ship acquired= 23 November 1948
| Ship renamed=''Duarte'', 1962
| Ship decommissioned = 
| Ship in service= 
| Ship out of service= 
| Ship struck= 
| Ship fate= Sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]], 1972
| Ship notes= Pennant number: D101
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Header caption=as built
|Ship class=[[G and H-class destroyer|H-class]] [[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1350|LT|t}} ([[Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{convert|1883|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|323|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|12|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power={{convert|34000|shp|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 shafts, [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s
*3 Admiralty 3-drum [[water-tube boiler]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|5530|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=137 (peacetime), 146 (wartime)
|Ship sensors=[[ASDIC]]
|Ship armament=*4 × 1 - [[4.7 inch QF Mark IX|QF 4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) Mk IX guns]]
*2 × 4 - [[Vickers .50 machine gun|.50 cal machine gun]]s
*2 × 4 - [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tubes]]
*20 × [[depth charge]]s, 1 rail and 2 throwers
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Hotspur''''' was an [[G and H-class destroyer|H-class]] [[destroyer]] built for the [[Royal Navy]] during the 1930s. During the [[Spanish Civil War]] of 1936–1939 the ship spent considerable time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. During the [[Norwegian Campaign]] of the [[World War II|Second World War]], she fought in the [[Battles of Narvik#First naval Battle of Narvik|First Battle of Narvik]] in April 1940 where she was badly damaged. After her repairs were completed, ''Hotspur'' was transferred to [[Gibraltar]] where she participated in the [[Battle of Dakar]] in September. A month later the ship was badly damaged when she [[naval ram|rammed]] and sank an Italian submarine. She received permanent repairs in [[Malta]] and was transferred to the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] when they were finished in early 1941. ''Hotspur'' participated in the [[Battle of Cape Matapan]] in March and evacuated British and Australian troops from both [[Battle of Greece|Greece]] and [[Battle of Crete|Crete]] in April–May. In June the ship participated in the [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign]] and was escorting convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet until she was transferred to the [[Eastern Fleet]] in March 1942.

''Hotspur'' did not see any action during the Japanese [[Indian Ocean raid (1942)|Indian Ocean raid]] in April, but she did escort an aircraft carrier in September during the later stages of the invasion of [[Battle of Madagascar|Madagascar]]. In June 1942 the ship returned to the Mediterranean to escort another convoy to Malta ([[Operation Vigorous]]). She was converted to an [[Frigate#World War II|escort destroyer]] beginning in March 1943 in the [[United Kingdom]] and was assigned to escort convoys in the [[North Atlantic]] for most of the rest of the war. After a lengthy refit in late 1944, ''Hotspur'' escorted convoys in the [[Irish Sea]] until the end of the Second World War in May 1945.

After the war the ship was used both as a training ship and on active duty until she was placed in [[Wikt:mothball|reserve]] in early 1948. She was sold to the [[Dominican Republic]] late that year and renamed ''Trujillo''. After the death of [[Rafael Trujillo]], who ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961, the ship was renamed ''Duarte'' in 1962, and finally was sold for [[ship breaking|scrap]] in 1972.

==Description==
''Hotspur'' displaced {{convert|1350|LT|t}} at [[Displacement (ship)|standard]] load and {{convert|1883|LT|t}} at [[deep load]]. The ship had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|323|ft|m|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|33|ft|m|1}} and a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|12|ft|5|in|m|1}}. She was powered by [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of {{convert|34000|shp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}. Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum [[water-tube boiler]]s. ''Hotspur'' carried a maximum of {{convert|470|LT|t}} of [[fuel oil]] that gave her a range of {{convert|5530|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}. The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime,<ref name=w78>Whitley, p. 109</ref> but this increased to 146 in wartime.<ref>English, pp. 89, 102</ref>

The ship mounted four 45-[[caliber (artillery)|calibre]] [[4.7 inch QF Mark XII|4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) Mark IX guns]] in single mounts. For [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) defence, ''Hotspur'' had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the [[Vickers .50 machine gun|0.5&nbsp;inch Vickers Mark III]] [[machine gun]]. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple [[torpedo tube]] mounts for [[British 21 inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|adj=on|0}}]] torpedoes.<ref name=w78/> One [[depth charge]] rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.<ref>English, p. 141</ref>

Beginning in mid-1940, the ship's anti-aircraft armament was increased although when exactly the modifications were made is not known. The rear set of torpedo tubes was replaced by a [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|{{convert|3|in|1|adj=on}} (12-pounder)]] AA gun and the quadruple .50-calibre Vickers mounts were replaced by [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{convert|20|mm|adj=on|1}} Oerlikon]] [[autocannon]]. Two more Oerlikon guns were also added in the forward superstructure.<ref name=w0/>

==Construction and service==
''Hotspur'' was laid down by [[Scotts Shipbuilding & Engineering Company]], [[Greenock]], [[Scotland]] on 27 February 1935, launched on 23 March 1936 and completed on 29 December 1936. Excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament, the ship cost £253,037.<ref>English, pp. 102–03</ref><ref group=Note>Adjusted for inflation to 20{{CURRENTYEARYY}} pounds, £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|253037|1935}}}}.</ref> She was assigned to the [[2nd Destroyer Flotilla]] of the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] upon commissioning. ''Hotspur'' patrolled Spanish waters in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War enforcing the policies of the [[Non-Intervention Committee]]. The ship received an overhaul at [[Gibraltar]] between 16 December 1937 and 17 January 1938. She resumed patrolling Spanish waters in 1938 and 1939. After the end of the Spanish Civil War, ''Hotspur'' began a refit in [[Sheerness Dockyard]] in August 1939, but this was cancelled later in the month as tensions rose just before the beginning of the Second World War.<ref name=e0>English, p. 110</ref>

===Wartime career===
[[File:HMS Hotspur Bell.jpg|thumb|''Hotspur''{{'}}s bell]]

She sailed later that month for the Mediterranean, but, once she reached Gibraltar, she was diverted to [[Freetown]], [[Sierra Leone]], to search for German [[commerce raider]]s. The ship was transferred to the [[North America and West Indies Station]] in October and was refitted in Sheerness between 18 January and 6 March 1940. On 6 April ''Hotspur'' and the rest of the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla escorted the four destroyer [[minelayer]]s of the [[20th Destroyer Flotilla]] as they sailed to implement [[Operation Wilfred]], an operation to lay [[Naval mine|mines]] in the [[Vestfjorden (Norway)|Vestfjord]] to prevent the transport of Swedish [[iron ore]] from [[Narvik]] to Germany. The mines were laid on the early morning of 8 April, before the Germans began their invasion, and the destroyers joined the [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Renown|1916|2}} and her escorts.<ref>Haarr, p. 65, 87, 308, 337</ref>

During the First Battle of Narvik on 10 April the ship, together with her [[sister ship]], {{HMS|Hostile|H55|2}}, was initially deployed to secure the escape route of the other three destroyers of the 2nd Flotilla and deal with any captured [[Coastal artillery|coast defence guns]]. ''Hotspur'' did eventually move forward and fired four [[torpedo]]es into Narvik harbour, sinking at least two merchant ships. As the British ships were leaving the vicinity of Narvik they encountered five German destroyers at close range. Two of the German ships [[Crossing the T|crossed the T]] of the British ships and quickly set {{HMS|Hardy|H87|2}} on fire and forced her to run aground. {{HMS|Hunter|H35|2}} eventually took the lead, but was severely damaged by the Germans, probably including one torpedo hit, and her speed dropped rapidly. ''Hotspur'', immediately behind her, was temporarily out of control due to two hits and rammed her from behind. When the ships managed to disengage, ''Hunter'' capsized and ''Hotspur'' moved ahead slowly, engaged by all five German destroyers. {{HMS|Havock|H43|2}} and {{HMS|Hostile|H55|2}} had disengaged earlier, but came back to save ''Hotspur''. ''Hostile'' laid a [[smoke screen]] that allowed ''Hotspur'' to escape while ''Havock'' engaged the German ships. ''Hostile'' escorted the badly damaged ''Hotspur'' to the repair base set up at [[Flakstadøya]] in the [[Lofoten Islands]].<ref>Haar, pp. 339, 342–47, 352</ref> During the battle the ship had been hit seven times by German shells which knocked out No. 2 boiler, all electrical circuits, her [[depth charge]]s, her [[Rangefinding telemeter|rangefinder]] and killed 18 of her crew. Temporary repairs allowed ''Hotspur'' to sail for [[Chatham Dockyard]] where she was repaired from 2 May to 16 July.<ref name=e0/>

After her repairs were completed the ship was transferred to the [[13th Destroyer Flotilla]] of the [[North Atlantic Command]], based at Gibraltar. During [[Malta Convoys|Operation Hurry]], ''Hotspur'', and three other destroyers, escorted the [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Argus|I49|2}} to a position south-west of [[Sardinia]] so the carrier could fly off her [[Hawker Hurricane]] fighters to Malta on 2 August.<ref>Nailer, p. 152</ref> On 11 September, the ship spotted the [[Vichy French]] [[cruiser]]s {{ship|French cruiser|Georges Leygues||2}}, {{ship|French cruiser|Gloire|1935|2}} and {{ship|French cruiser|Montcalm|1935|2}} and three escorting destroyers en route from [[Toulon]] to [[Gabon]]. She escorted the capital ships of [[Force H]] during the Battle of Dakar on 23 September, but was not engaged.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 34, 40, 42</ref> On 20 October, ''Hotspur'', the destroyer {{HMS|Griffin|H31|2}} and her sister {{HMS|Gallant|H59|2}} sank the {{ship|Italian submarine|Lafolè||6}} east of Gibraltar. The ship was badly damaged when she rammed the submarine and she was given temporary repairs at Gibraltar between 22 October and 20 November.<ref name=e0/> She escorted a troop convoy from Gibraltar to Malta in late November during [[Operation Collar (Convoy)|Operation Collar]].<ref>Rohwer, p. 50</ref> Permanent repairs were made at Malta between 29 November and 20 February 1941.<ref name=e0/>

After her repairs were completed, ''Hotspur'' was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla of the Mediterranean Fleet. The ship escorted the [[capital ship]]s of the Mediterranean Fleet during the Battle of Cape Matapan in March 1941. In mid-April she escorted the fast transport {{MV|Breconshire}} and three battleships from Alexandria to Malta before going on to escort the battleships as they bombarded [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] on 20 April. After refuelling in Alexandria on 23 April, ''Hotspur'' sailed for Greece to begin [[Battle of Greece#Evacuation of Commonwealth forces|evacuating]] British and Australian troops from the beaches. On 8 May, the ship again escorted the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet as they covered another convoy from Alexandria to Malta before being detached to escort the [[light cruiser]] {{HMS|Ajax|22|2}} as she bombarded [[Benghazi]] harbour on 7/8 May and sank two Italian merchant ships. During the [[Battle of Crete|evacuation of Crete]] ''Hotspur'' had to [[Scuttling|scuttle]] the destroyer {{HMS|Imperial|D09|2}} on 29 May after the latter ship's steering had been disabled by a near miss by a bomb.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 69–70, 72, 75</ref>

The ship escorted the [[Landing Ship, Infantry|LSI(L)]] {{HMS|Glengyle||2}} during the opening stage of the Syria-Lebanon Campaign of June 1941 and also hunted for French submarines.<ref>Rohwer, p. 78</ref> From July to November, ''Hotspur'' escorted convoys to [[Tobruk]]<ref name=e0/> On 25 November, she was escorting the battleship {{HMS|Barham|04|2}} when that ship was torpedoed by {{ship|German submarine|U-331}}. ''Hotspur'' and the other escorting destroyers rescued 451 men. The ship escorted the light cruiser {{HMS|Naiad|93|2}} when she bombarded [[Derna, Libya|Derna]] in early December. While escorting a convoy, ''Hotspur'' and her sister, {{HMS|Hasty|H24|2}}, sank {{ship|German submarine|U-79|1941|2}} on 23 December north of [[Sallum|Sollum]].<ref>Rohwer, pp. 118, 123, 128</ref>

During a convoy to Malta in January 1942, the ship was detailed to escort the merchant ship ''Thermopylae'' to Benghazi when she started having engine trouble. ''Thermopylae'' was sunk by air attack on 19 January.<ref>Rohwer, p. 136</ref> On 23 March ''Hotspur'' was transferred to the [[Eastern Fleet]] in the [[Indian Ocean]]<ref name=e0/> and was assigned to Force A of the fleet during the Indian Ocean raid by the Japanese in early April 1942. The ship returned to the Mediterranean to participate in Operation Vigorous, another convoy from Alexandria to Malta, in June.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 154, 173</ref> ''Hotspur'' was forced to sink her sister, ''Hasty'', after the latter was damaged by a torpedo from German [[E-boat|motor torpedo boat]] ''S-55''.<ref name=w0>Whitley, p. 110</ref> After the ship returned to the Indian Ocean, she escorted the carrier {{HMS|Illustrious|87|2}} when that ship supported operations on [[Battle of Madagascar|Madagascar]] in September.<ref>Rohwer, p. 195</ref> ''Hotspur'' remained in the Indian Ocean until January 1943 when she was transferred to Freetown, where she arrived on 14 February. The ship remained there only briefly before being transferred home to begin a conversion to an escort destroyer. The conversion began at Sheerness on 1 March and lasted until 31 May.<ref name=e1>English, p. 111</ref>

A [[Type 271 radar|Type 271]] surface search [[radar]] replaced the [[Fire-control system#Naval fire control|fire-control director]] and rangefinder above the [[bridge (nautical)|bridge]]. A [[List of World War II British naval radar#Type 290|Type 290]] surface warning radar was added at the top of the foremast. A [[High frequency direction finding]] system was added on a pole mast aft.<ref name=w0/> The ship also received a Type 242 [[Identification friend or foe|IFF]] system.<ref name=e2>English, p. 142</ref> Two 4.7-inch guns were removed, one each forward and aft, and the forward gun was replaced by a [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] [[anti-submarine weapon|anti-submarine]] [[spigot mortar]]. The 3-inch anti-aircraft gun amidships was also removed, but the number of 20&nbsp;mm AA guns was increased to six.<ref name=w0/>

''Hotspur'' was assigned to [[Escort Group (naval)|Escort Group]] C4 in June after [[Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z)#working up|working up]] and escorted convoys in the North Atlantic. She was transferred to the 14th Escort Group in June 1944 and refitted in Barrow-in-Furness between 31 October and 9 March 1945. Escort duties in the Irish Sea followed until [[Victory in Europe Day]].<ref name=e1/> Sometime before this, the ship's Hedgehog was replaced by a 4.7-inch gun.<ref name=w0/> ''Hotspur'' was briefly assigned to the [[Rosyth]] Escort Force before being transferred to the [[Derry]] Training Squadron in August.

===Postwar===
''Hotspur'' was reassigned to the 4th Escort Group in June 1946 until she was refitted at [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth Dockyard]] in February–March 1947. The ship was then assigned to the 3rd Escort Flotilla based at [[Portland Harbour]].<ref name=e1/> She was selected to be scrapped in November 1947 and was placed in reserve on 20 January 1948 pending disposal.<ref name=e12>English, p. 112</ref>

''Hotspur'' was sold to the Dominican Republic on 23 November 1948 and renamed ''Trujillo''.<ref name=e12/> By this time the ship carried a [[Type 291 radar|Type 291]] air warning radar and an American SG-1 surface search radar. Four [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors {{convert|40|mm|adj=on|1}} guns]] replaced the 20&nbsp;mm Oerlikons.<ref name=e1/> In June 1953, she was one of a number of foreign warships to attend Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Review at Spithead.<ref>Souvenir Programme, ''Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953'', HMSO, Gale and Polden</ref> After the death of [[Rafael Trujillo]], the ship was renamed ''Duarte'' in 1962.<ref name=e12/> She was sold for scrap in 1972.<ref>Gardiner, et al, p. 82</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s|year=1993|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Kendal, England|isbn=0-905617-64-9}}
* {{cite book|last1=Gardiner|first1=Robert|last2=Chumbley|first2=Stephen|last3=Budzbon|first3=Przemysław|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995|year=1995|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=1-55750-132-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Haarr|first=Geirr H.|title=The German Invasion of Norway, April 1940|year=2009|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-59114-310-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/germaninvasionof00geir}}
* {{cite book|last=Nailer|first=Roger|editor=Gardiner, Robert|title=Warship 1990|year=1990|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=London|isbn=1-55750-903-4|chapter=Aircraft to Malta|pages=151–65}}
* {{cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland}}

{{G and H class destroyer|others}}
{{April 1940 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hotspur (H01)}}
[[Category:G and H-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:1936 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:H-class destroyers of the Dominican Navy]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1940]]