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Allied Warships

HMS Calpe (L 71)

Escort destroyer of the Hunt (Type II) class


HMS Calpe as completed.
Photograph with thanks to the Benham Family and Carrick Watson.

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeEscort destroyer
ClassHunt (Type II) 
PennantL 71 
Built bySwan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (Wallsend-on-Tyne, U.K.): Wallsend 
Ordered 
Laid down12 Jun, 1940 
Launched28 Apr, 1941 
Commissioned11 Dec, 1941 
End service 
Loss position
 
History

Sold to the Royal Danish Navy on 28 February 1952 and renamed Rolf Krake.
Scrapped in 1966 at Ystad, Sweden.

Commanding Officers:
Lt.Cdr. John Henry Wallace, RN
21 August 1941 – September 1942

Lt.Cdr. Henry Kirkwood, DSC, RN
September 1942 – 31 January 1944

Lt.Cdr. A.T. Morgan, RNVR
31 January 1944 – 17 April 1944

A/Lt.Cdr. Norman Frederick René Gill, RNR
17 April 1944 - still in command in October 1945 according to the Navy List
DSC awarded on 14 August 1945 


Noteable events involving Calpe include:

Photograph of crewmember Arthur Benham taken during basic traning at HMS Pembroke shortly before being posted aboard HMS Calpe.
Photograph with thanks to the Benham Family and Carrick Watson.

13 Dec, 1943
The German submarine U-593 was sunk on 13 December 1943 after a 32 hour-chase in the western Mediterranean north of Constantine, in position 37º38'N, 05º58'E, by depth charges from the US destroyer USS Wainwright and the British escort destroyer HMS Calpe (Lt.Cdr. H. Kirkwood, DSC, RN). (see map)


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