HMS Diamond (D35)

HMS Diamond was a Daring-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland, and launched on 14 June 1950. This ship was John Brown & Company's first all-welded ship (as opposed to the rivetted construction more commonly used up to that time).[1]

Daring class destroyer, HMS Diamond, July 1952
HMS Diamond, July 1952
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Diamond
Ordered24 January 1945
BuilderJohn Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number632 [1]
Laid down15 March 1949
Launched14 June 1950 [2]
Commissioned21 February 1952
IdentificationPennant number: D35
Motto
  • Honor clarissima gemma
  • (Latin: "Honour is the brightest jewel")
FateScrapped at Rainham, Kent, 12 November 1981 [1]
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeDaring-class destroyer
DisplacementStandard: 2,830 tons, full load: 3,820 tons [1]
Length391 ft (119 m)
Beam43 ft (13 m)
Draught22.6 ft (6.9 m)
Propulsion
Speed30 knots (56 km/h)
Range4,400 nautical miles (8,100 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
ComplementApproximately 300
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament

Service history

In 1953 Diamond took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[3] On 29 September 1953, she sustained severe bow damage in a collision with the cruiser Swiftsure during Exercise Mariner, held off the coast of Iceland.[4][5]

In 1956 Diamond was sent into Port Said to show the flag prior to the Franco-British assault, but the Egyptian government was unmoved and she sailed out to join the main attack force for the Suez landings at Port Said. She underwent a refit in 1959 at Chatham Dockyard. In 1964 she was involved in another collision, this time with the frigate Salisbury, in the English Channel during a naval demonstration.[6]

In 1970, she became one of two Harbour Training Ships moored alongside Priddy's Hard jetty in Gosport and attached to the Marine Engineering School at nearby HMS Sultan and remained in this role until replaced by HMS Londonderry. For most of this time, her steam plant remained maintained and useable for watchkeeping familiarisation purposes. HMS Diamond was scrapped in Rainham in Kent in 1981.[1]

References

  1. "HMS Diamond". Clydebuilt Ships Database. Archived from the original on 1 May 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "HMS Diamond". Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  3. Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
  4. "British Warships In Collision". The Times (52741): Col C, p. 6. 1 October 1953.
  5. "Letter from P. D. Haynes, Trafford Branch" (PDF). Vanguard (The Official Journal of the Royal Naval Association No 10 area). April 2009. p. 21. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  6. "Two Warships Collide". The Times (56048): Col D, p. 12. 26 June 1964.

Publications


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