| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Destroyer |
| Class | Havant |
| Pennant | H 57 |
| Built by | Thornycroft (Southampton, U.K.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 6 Jul 1938 |
| Launched | 1 Aug 1939 |
| Commissioned | 22 Jan 1940 |
| End service | |
| Loss position | |
| History | Requisitioned by the Royal Navy on 4 September 1939 while being built for the Brazilian Navy. Named HMS Hearty, renamed HMS Hesperus after completion on 27 February 1940. Sold to be broken up for scrap on 26 November 1946. Commanding Officers: Lt.Cdr. Donald George Frederick Wyville MacIntyre, RN Lt.Cdr. Arthur Andre Tait, RN Cdr. Arthur Frederick St. George Orpen, OBE, DSC, RN Cdr. Donald George Frederick Wyville MacIntyre, DSO, RN Cdr. George Victor Legassick, DSC, RD, RNR Lt. Anthony Charles Denniss Leach, RN Capt. Robert Alexander Currie, DSC, RN |
| Former name | HMS Hearty (ex-Brazilian Juruena) |
Commands listed for HMS Hesperus (H 57)
Please note that we're still working on this section.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Lt.Cdr. Donald George Frederick Wyville MacIntyre, RN | Jan 1940 | Feb 1941 |
| 2 | Lt.Cdr. Arthur Andre Tait, RN | Feb 1941 | 15 Feb 1942 |
| 3 | Cdr. Arthur Frederick St. George Orpen, DSC, RN | 15 Feb 1942 | Jul 1942 |
| 4 | Cdr. Donald George Frederick Wyville MacIntyre, DSO, RN | July 1942 | 22 Mar 1944 |
| 5 | Cdr. George Victor Legassick, RD, RNR | 22 Mar 1944 | Mar 1945 |
| 6 | Lt. Anthony Charles Denniss Leach, RN | Mar 1945 | Jun 1945 |
| 7 | Cdr. Robert Alexander Currie, DSC, RN | Jun 1945 | Oct 1945 ? |
You can help improve our commands section
Click here to Submit events/comments/updates for this vessel.
Please use this if you spot mistakes or want to improve this ships page.
Noteable events involving Hesperus include:
7 Dec 1941
The German submarine U-208 was sunk in the Atlantic west of Gibraltar, in position 35º51'N, 07º45'W, by depth charges from the British destroyers HMS Harvester (Lt.Cdr. M. Thornton, DSC, RN) and HMS Hesperus (Lt.Cdr. A.A. Tait, RN). (see map)
15 Jan 1942
The German submarine U-93 was sunk in North Atlantic, in position 36º10'N, 15º52'W by the British destroyer HMS Hesperus (Lt.Cdr. A.A. Tait, RN). (see map)
26 Dec 1942
The German submarine U-357 was sunk in the North Atlantic north-west of Ireland, in position 57º10'N, 15º40'W by the British destroyers HMS Hesperus (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO, RN) and HMS Vanessa (Lt. C.E. Sheen, RN). U-357 was forced to the surface by depth charges and was rammed by HMS Hesperus. (see map)
23 Apr 1943
The German submarine U-191 was sunk south-east of Cape Farewell, Greenland, in position 56º45'N, 34º25'W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Hesperus (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and Bar, RN). (see map)
12 May 1943
The German submarine U-186 was sunk north of the Azores, in position 41º54'N, 31º49'W, by depth charges from the British destroyer HMS Hesperus (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and Bar, RN). (see map)