The Insanely Fast WW2 Destroyer that Took Everyone By Surprise
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- Опубликовано: 29 фев 2024
- On July 6, 1971, HMS Cavalier and HMS Rapid, two veterans of the Royal Navy, met off Scotland's Firth of Forth for a historic showdown.
That morning, both ships set off in a 64-mile-long race.
The air was charged with tension as onlookers waited for the winning vessel’s arrival, but the North Atlantic Sea was a mirror of calm, unlike 25 years before, when this same duo of ships fought for the Allies.
Once racing, Cavalier's crew, a mix of experienced and young sailors, were united in purpose, their ship cutting through the water at an astonishing 31 knots. But Rapid's men were just as good and just as fast.
After going neck to neck for the majority of the race, Rapid suddenly suffered a mechanical setback, and this twist of fate gave Cavalier her chance to seize the moment.
Cavalier, just like she’d done on many occasions before, surged at full speed.
That day, winning by just 30 yards, HMS Cavalier, a ship nearly three decades old, earned the title of the fastest in the fleet, immortalizing a legacy that began all the way back in 1944.
I was on a 1944 destroyer in the USA out of Norfork. Around 1965 we were fueling up from a supply ship with one of the nuclear aircraft carriers on the other side of us getting supplies from the same ship. We both let go of our lines at the same time. Our captain must have had a testosterone spike as he ordered our destroyer to flank speed. We quickly got up to about 32 knots with a rooster tail astern raising over 20 feet high from our propellers. We left the carrier quickly and everyone felt giddy on beating one of the newer ships. That was until it the bigger ship stopped falling behind and starting catching up. About 10 minutes later it flew past us like we were standing still and our speed was still at flank!
Hard for oil-fired boilers to keep up with 4 nuclear reactors....
I joined the RN at HMS Ganges in 1969. I did my requisite initial Seatime of two weeks on board HMS Rapid. It was a fascinating experience being on a ship 3 times older than me! Later, as a Clearance Diver I was working in the Firth of Forth in a small inflatable "Gemini" when HMS Rapid hurled past as at about 40 knots ...... Not a sight I'll ever forget !! I think that was HER last Seatime ..........
French guy here. visited the HMS Cavalier in 2017 at Chatham. A very nicely preserved ship, carefully taken care of by the trust. My warmest congratulations to all british trust members and their support for such a great achievement. in France, we simply scrapped all WWII ships.
Did u have any left! At the end?
Still, although some were scrapped (long) after the war, you can be proud of the super-fast French Le Fantasque class. One member of the class, Le Terrible, exceeded 45 knots (83 km/h; 52 mph) during trials to set a world record for a conventionally hulled ship. The ships of this destroyer class could sail at over 40 knots for sustained periods with only moderate fuel consumption. (source: Whitley, M.J. (1988), Destroyers of World War Two).
@@garethjames1300 Sorry, no significant WWII ship left in France. A true disgrace....
@@vchiu9560 ... well remember now, it was a damn shame churchill had to fire on a lot french ships during the war to keep em out of germanys hands, war is such a dirty business!
@@vchiu9560
Although you still have 'Maille Breze' (used in the movie Dunkirk) which was built to a modified french wartime design
Old destroyers, nearing their decommissioning, often strut their stuff, showing how fast they are. In my 1983 Navy deployment, my Frigate was refueling at sea. The old USS Mullinix DD-944 was on her final cruise, due to be decommed upon return to the USA. Her Captain soon had her racing around, literally running donuts around us! My ship could do 27 knots flatout, nothing to Mullinix's speed, well into the 30s. A Destroyer running at top speed is a sight to behold! 😎👍
FF 1065 USS Stein for me!
Yes loved the rooster tail and dolphins riding bow wake
DD698 USS AULT
I don’t know her top speed, but USS Longbeach, the nuclear powered missile cruiser, during a speed trial had to run a warning over the 1mc for all crew to stay clear of all weather decks due to high relative winds. Rumor had her speed in the neighborhood of 50 kts.
as a young 16 year old in the mid sixties I wored rigging ariels for a company in Chatham Kent. Jock Grieve was in charge of me, he was an ex stoaker in the Royal Navy. Jock was crew on board HMS Manxman during the war, at one point he ship was in the bitter lakes awaiting transit north to Alexandria when an urgent message came through to make haste to render assistance to the Queen Elizabeth battle ship & HMS Valiant. they were both sunk in harbour in 1941. Manxman made best possible speed through the cannal causing some damage to the banks of the cannal on route, manxman was torpedoed in the west of the Mediterainian sea later in the war. She was rebuilt and servived the war the only one of her class. Jock spun some good yarns of her exploites whilest he was abored her, she ended up in CHatham dockyard after a fire and was broken up in `72. stories of her exploites i the Med live on a grand ship in the Nelson tradition.
The fastest Royal Navy destroyer type vessel was HMS Manxman a mine layer. Launched 5th September 1940. Her speed was 40 knots.
Built as a minelayer, not a destroyer.
It was rather large compared to a RN DD, the Tribals were about 1,800 tons and the Manxman was 2,650 but would only do about 35 knots when loaded.
Did she once challenge a USN ship to a race?
@@fredericksaxton3991 the story as I have understood it goes something on the lines of she was on exercises with an American fleet in the Med.
The Excercise came to an end, and all ships were on their way back to Malta. The fleet called for 30 knots because of a time limit or some such on their arrival.
Manxman was the oldest ship there, and a signal was passed to her from the Americans asking if they should wait for her, or should they get the beers in for when she arrived.
Manxman rang down for maximum speed, ( she was once capable of 40 knots, but had removed a boiler), and could only make around 36 knots.
Even so, she went surging up between the line of American ships, and asked if anyone wanted a tow.
ORP Błyskawica (Polish destroyer that joined Royal Navy during II ww) built also (HMS Cavalier) in J. Samuel White shipyard in Cowes did 40,4 kn during sea trials in 1937. French destroyer Le Terrible of Le Fantasque class ecxeeded 45 kn. during sea trials setting a record of speed for a conventional ship in 1935.
That sculpture by Potts is magnificent! WOW!
It's always great to hear about a great ship saved from the scrappers.
A WW2 French destroyer Le Terrible, exceeded 45 knots (83 km/h; 52 mph) during trials to set a world record for a conventionally-hulled ship.🤩
Yeh but its French and a surrender monkey.
Did it do anything other than make a speed record?
Now, 45 knots IS astonishing!
It must have been on its way to surrender.
@@thecocktailian2091 I'd check Wikipedia before going for the gotcha comment - it's caught me out before.
Fabulous slice of British Naval history. Thank you. Always excellent is Dark Seas.
I served on a fletcher class destroyer mthat despite being 28 years old in 1970 made turns for 37.5 knots - these British ships were fine ships indeed but were in a class below the Fletchers.
The Fletchers were the best balanced fleet destroyers of the war. I am a fan of British destroyers, but they were horribly deficient AA platforms.
both contributed mightily to Allied Victory@@Will_CH1
It’s INSANE!!! Absolutely & utterly INSANE!!! It’s MORE INSANE than all other INSANE content! INSANE INSANENESS it is!!!
Impressive thing to hump a chunk of metal that big across the water at 35mph. Well done indeed.
The SS United States crossed the Atlantic at something close to 45 knots. 45 knots = 51.78 mph, 83 kmph.
And who knows how fast the USS Ford is.
The fastest ship I tracked on surface radar was a oiler. It was in a hurry because the carrier was low on jet fuel.
I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
Thanks for posting
awesome video thank you
Definitely was a beautiful ship
That sculpture was LIT!
HMS Rapid had a different end, being sunk as a target ship. FWIW, the USN's contemporary Fletcher class' speed was similar and some of these also served into the late 60s and early 70s.
My brother served on DD466 USS Waller in early 1970s. At that time the oldest ship in the Atlantic Fleet and the fastest destroyer.
What a beauty CAVALIER is. I visited her, in the 70s, during Chatham Navy Days. I can still remember what was on menu!
I remember examining the chunky welding!
what was on the menu?
Interesting. I visited Cavalier in 2010. And my father served aboard HMS Redoubt, a sister ship of Rapid in 1944 and 45. The R class was capable of more than 35 knots. One of them, HMS Racehorse I think, or possibly Rapid herself, reached 37 or 38 knots in speed trials off of Durban South Africa. It's a pity more WW2 destroyers were not preserved but at least Cavalier is. Remarkable just how small these ships were when you actually go aboard. Must have been quite something to serve aboard them in rouch seas. Especially on the Arctic concoys.
If you happen to make it to Southern Ontario, HMCS Haida is in Hamilton. Last of the Tribal class I believe.
My father joined the RN in 1944 & was on another C class destroyer HMS Cossack (R57) & went to the Pacific in 1945.
HMS Barfleur, Battle Class destroyer, design speed 36 knots, achieved over 42 knots on the measured mile past Arran in the Firth of Clyde. Sometime early 1945, before sailing for the Pacific.
Battle Class had a designed speed of 35.75 knots this was marginally slower than the Tribal Class at 36 Knots. Both Tribal and Battle Class ships were often credited with greater speeds than claimed by the buiders.
@@bosunmate7301 Both had the capability of being run at higher pressures allowing higher shaft horsepower than their designs would indicate. Not an issue with new boilers, though potentially so with older, worn boilers. The main issue was not risk of explosion or anything but driving the ship that hard really upped fuel consumption by a horrifying margin so it was not something they tended to do often or for long. Its fairly typical of many British ship designs. Abdiel Class Cruisers were regularly clocked in at over 40 knots fully loaded.
At 1:26, I was surprised to hear Cowes pronounced as I've never heard it before. I'm an American, but everyone I know pronounces Cowes like "cows."
A destroyer top speed at 31 knots is only medium fast at best. You have to be able to do over 40 knots to even get a seat at the go fast table. The fastest destroyers were the Le Fantasque class of France, whose 6 ships of the class reached 45 knots. And they were built in the 1930’s.
The U.S.S. United states cruise ship laid down in 1950 had a speed of 38.32 knots (44 mph). Government officials claimed it could reach 43 knots at top speed but that was never confirmed. It was built in a joint effort by the United states lines and the U.S. Navy ands was built to Navy specifications. The Navy was involved because it was designed to be able to convert to a troop carrier in time of war. I believe it still holds the record as the fastest cruise ship ever built.
@@Snake-ms7sj the SS United States is an ocean liner, not a cruise ship. While they look similar, they are actually 2 different types of ships built to different specifications. Ocean liners are built for higher speeds and have strengthened hulls and structures in order to operate in bad weather at as close to their cruise speed as possible. Cruise ships are intended to operate at a slower speed in most conditions and will slow down more in bad weather conditions. The SS France ocean liner was sold and reconfigured into the cruise liner SS Norway and served for many additional years in that role. Among the changes made to her were the reconfiguring of her engines and heating/air conditioning systems which reduced her operating speeds to increase fuel efficiency. She was still fast for a cruise ship, but she was no longer ocean liner fast. The Queen Mary II was still built as primarily an ocean liner first with a strengthened hull and rougher weather and water speed capability along with her cruise ship amenities and features. Other cruise ships built at the same time lack a number of the ocean liner special features she was built with.
The SS United States hull was partially based on the USS Forestall aircraft super carrier hull design that included strength, speed and military damage control abilities.
Ocean liner, cruise ship ... same animal. A ship that carries passengers for leisure. But if you want to split hairs go for it.
... 31 knots... were the Iowas in commission at the time? one of them could have been the pace ship for that race.
The SS United States had the power plant from one of the unfinished Iowa class BBs. Her lighter build made her faster than the BBs though. The other unfinished Iowa class ship's power plant went to two fleet replenishment ships, they were good for high 28 to 30 knots.
Astonishing 31 knots? An Iowa is faster than that, how is that insanely fast for a destroyer?
The Iowa's were originally designed to go 34-35 knots, but after they added more equipment and more armor after the treaty ended, they were maxed out at 32 knots! And I believe the weight was over 48,000 ton?
a quick wiki check shows the cavalier having a top speed of 37knts so i really wouldnt put to much faith in the poor reserch abilities of an average youtuber historian.
@@richardhorton2472I really wouldn't put too much faith in wikipedia either. 🙄
@@defender714
Especially since that average You Tuber historian often gets his info directly from Wiki; oftentimes verbatim.
@@DavidJones-me7yr In 1971 the only BB that could have taken part in this race would have been the USS New Jersey, which had been reactivated for service in Vietnam. This was the fastest any of the Iowa class ships would ever be. All the 5" armament was still onboard but every 20mm and 40mm AAA gun had been removed and the crew size reduced. And none of the electronics, CIWS, or missiles had been added yet - that would be in the 80's. She hit 35.2 knots in trials after her Vietnam refit.
The C class would typically do 36.75 knots on trials at their nominal 40,000 SHP maximum power rating. But they were capable of generating more than 45,000 SHP in an emergency.
Maybe so, but for how long?
@@stargazer5784 The main problem was high fuel consumption. Range is drastically reduced. New boilers and turbines can be operated for hours with no significant risk. An old boiler on the other hand has thinned out boiler tubes and cant safely sustain out of spec pressures.
After being assign a photo mission on a WWII Era Destroyer back in the 70's for full speed runs. What amazed me was just how white the wake was from the screws and needed sunglasses just to look at it. Them boats were quick...
In 1974 I was on HMAS Dutchess based in Sydney, we did sea trials and maxed out at 32 knots, this was interesting, The Dutchess was a River Class Destroyer
Duchess ,was actually a Daring class, given to RAN to replace the tragically lost 6:51 HMAS Voyager another Daring. Duchess became more or less Training ship. Vendetta and the preserved Vampire. Were Voyagers 2 sister ships
Hms Cavalier now at Chatham dockyard as museum ship
Hello from Detroit Michigan USA Great video Brother thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise and for taking us on your adventure through time and history
by "YOU" you mean GM, Ford and all the other disgusting tax avoiding companies ?
The USS Missouri (BB-63), a battleship that served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Gulf War, had a top speed of 33 knots (approximately 38 miles per hour or 61 kilometers per hour). This was a super fast for a ship of its size and type, considering it was 887 feet and 3 inches (270.4 meters) long, had a beam of 108 feet and 2 inches (33 meters), and a full-load displacement of approximately 58,000 tons. The USS Missouri's speed was a result of its powerful steam turbines, which generated up to 212,000 shaft horsepower.
USS New Jersey hit 35.2 knots after the refit for Vietnam because all 20mm and 40mm guns were removed and no replacement equipment was added.
Cavalier was officially recorded at 37.8 Kts. And on that run against the Rapid, there are “Dits”(rumours) that 41 Kts was achieved. P.S. A Royal Navy ship doesn’t have a crew… they have a “Ships Company”
Id still love to know the declassified top speeds of our nuclear carriers. I worked with a guy who was a reactor engineer and he would never tell me. But he said “fast” lol.
My daughter wouldn't give it up either simply saying Dad that's classified information but they close the flight deck to personnel when the wind reaches 75 mph.
I'll give you an idea, on 9-11 her ship was 2 hours out of Norfolk bound for the Caribbean to do a work up, when it happened the Capt launched a cap for NY, turned the boat around, brought the reactors up to max and 2 hrs later they were off NY. Mind boggling to me, yeah their heap plenty fast.
>
I believe that was probably the standard answer to the question of a CVN's top speed. It's exactly what a friend who had served on USS Harry S Truman told me. He did say that if one had a long enough tow rope, the water skiing behind a nuke carrier would be impressive
Carriers aren’t as fast as fast attack submarines. I saw one depart Rota, Spain and saw it tie up in Groton, Ct and did the math. It was fast, but not as fast as the P-3 I was in. My brother was on the submarine.
@@Chris_at_Home Modern nuclear powered aircraft carriers are a lot faster than any submarine. And I do mean a lot faster. Most nuclear sub classes struggle to break 35 knots underwater. Very few are faster than that. Really no need because at speeds like that the amount of machinery and cavitation noise is announcing your presence all the way across any ocean. Carriers and their escorts generally have a five or ten knot speed advantage over subs.
I was on the USS O'Brien DD 725 in 1968 and before we headed to Vietnam my ship had a race with 4 other ships from Baja California to Long Beach and at 33 knots my ship beat the others and you couldn't believe the porpoises following us
Was that a Fletcher Class Destroyer ?
Fast is fast until you get passed.
Japanese destroyer Shimakaze could manage 45 knots - when she could get fuel. Thankfully, she was a one-off. They would have been even a nastier handful if the IJN could manage that speed across more of their fleet.
WOW! OUTSTANDING! An attractive, useful siting of a public art commission. (11:42)
That ain't squat mate ! I served aboard the U.S.S. Cone DD866 out of Charleston S.C. during Viet Nam. We easily ran at 34 knots. One over, two under! Gearing class destroyer, four M type boilers (super heat). I believe she was scrapped in the early nineties by Costa Rica whom the U.S. sold her to.
Cone was decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 October 1982, transferred to Pakistan and renamed Alamgir. She was commissioned at Charleston on 1 October 1982. She was decommissioned on 4 December 1998 and scrapped. They probably ran her up on the beach at Alang.
@@philsalvatore3902 Thanks for the info about the Cone DD866. I was pretty sure she had been delivered to a South American country, but I could be wrong. The old girl kept my head above water in some very frightening seas. A wave in a typhoon in the South China Sea measured 80 feet from crest to trough,confirmed by radar, and she took a lot of small arms and rpg hits in Viet Nam on the firing line. Sad to see such a memorable piece of my life scrapped.
@@michaelmcdonald3057 I rode out a typhoon in the Philippine Sea on an ammunition ship and that was bad. I truly pitied the poor souls on the Adams Class DDGs and Knox Class frigates accompanying us. I'm a helicopter pilot so I didn't really have any shipboard watches or anything and we couldn't fly or even work on our birds so I hung out on the bridge watching the entire forward half of the ship disappear under big green waves, which broke against our bridge. A 20,000 ton intermittent submarine. I don't know the wave heights but we had green water a third of the way up the STREAM Rigs at times as the wave made its way along our decks. Single screw and when the bow buried the prop was half way out of the water. The whole ship sort of rotated at propeller rpm like sitting on a big orbital sander. Three days with no sleep and no hot food. Galleys were trashed.
The speed of a displacement hull is determined by the formula V(max)= 1.34 x square root of the waterline length. While a speed slightly higher than V(max) is possible, it's only slightly higher. A lot of speeds claimed here are pure bull crap.
@@Richard-qz8up Curious. If the water line length is measured in feet is the result of the calculation in feet per second, feet per minute or something else?
I did a little more reading and the hull speed calculation you show is not applicable to warship design. That hull speed number represents a maximum efficient speed, not maximum obtainable speed. Such values matter to the design of merchant and sailing ships but not so much for warships where speed often matters greatly. What is used in warship design is called the "Froude number", which depends on the hydrodynamic properties of the ship and the calculations require differential equations to solve. Warships can and routinely do achieve higher speeds than your hull speed calculation suggests.
I love Dark documentaries channel
I was on a Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter in the North Sea when a destroyer type naval vessel passed some few mile off at, obviously, a very high speed. Some little time later her wash hit us and buried the bowsprit. And swept the deck.
Damn, you could water ski behind either one of these. Nice.
It's been done. Don't think that evolution was logged though. 😉
The USN nuclear cruiser California is famous for challenging other USN ships to races. Being nuclear/steam powered, it would a little while reach her 35+ knot top speed. Then, as she would pass her victim, the flashing light would be passed, 'FIRST SHIP TO GUAM WINS!' Being nuclear powered, 'the Golden Bear' did not need to stop for fuel, LOL
In '88 I had the luck to work at Chatham Docks, Converting Barracks Building's into Laboratories for mainly food and pest research, HMS Pembroke?. (drying copra or growing locusts for test's..... lot's of "living stuff") I looked after the service's, temp, air flow, humidity, growing these critters
People saying these ships are slow know nothing about ship hull shape and propulsion requirements. 31.8Knts is fast for a ship of that era and not shabby by today's standards.
I suspect that a Nimitz Class Nuclear Carrier could probably leave both in her wake. The USN never lets anyone know just how fast they really are. ;-)
I can say the engine order telegraph on USS Antietam showed speeds up to 45 knots. I was chained to Antietam's flight deck in our helicopter, rotors turning with Antietam at full honk while she made some high speed turns. We saw 20 degrees angle of bank on the attitude indicator and looking out the ramp at the rear of the helo ( a CH-46D ) you could see a rooster tail of spray probably 6-8 feet higher than the fantail.
IJN Shimakaze: Hold my sake...
31 knots is:
35.6 mph or 57.4 kph.
1 knot = 1.15 mph. I learned that playing Microsoft flight simulator for years.
@@Snake-ms7sj A knot is the measurement of the time taken to travel the distance of 1 minute of Latitude (1/60th of a degree) measured at the Equator. Equates to 1 Nautical Mile.
@@tonys1636 "One knot equals one nautical mile per hour, or roughly 1.15 statute mph. The term knot dates from the 17th century, when sailors measured the speed of their ship using a device called a “common log.” The common log was a rope with knots at regular intervals, attached to a piece of wood shaped like a slice of pie." ~ Source NOAA
Britain in WWI had gas turbine powered torpedo boats in the Skagerrak that did 40 knots.
Impressive, they managed to move an entire river from the East coast of Scotland to the West coast just for a race, or did they move an ocean and sea around?
As someone born and raised on the Forth, the stillness or otherwise of the North Atlantic is a concern for the Weegies and their ilk. The North Sea however???
When visiting a museum in Malta about 50 years ago I remember reading about a RN destroyer ( I can not remember its name) that was built during the 1st World War and was used to deliver vital supplies to the Island in the dark days of the 2nd World War .It was claimed to be capable of 50mph in landluber terms but described as "a hell of a lick" by the crew . I do not know if she and her crew survived the war .
31 knots is not that extreme HMS MOHAWK can do 43KNOTS
"Captrain, She can't keep this speed much longer".
No rooster tails? The USS Enterprise enters the chat.
0:10 USS Prairie AD-15 was commissioned in 1939. Trails required she meet a designed speed of 15 knots, but for every 0.1 knot faster the shipyard got a 100,000$ bonus. She completed trails at 15.3 knots. In 1975 coming back from a western Pacific deployment our speed run hit 15.0 knots. They don't build them like that anymore.
I remember the Prairie. She was deployed to Diego Garcia as the repair ship circa late 1985. 46 year old ship. She appeared to be in really good condition too.
IJN Shimakaze likes this :D
Back when the UK was a great nation
Not interested in Dandelion Heat/cooling /systems. Good Documentary. Thank you.
The Shimakaze, Japanese WW2 destroyer made 40.9 knots on trials. The Shokaku, a 32,000 tons aircraft carrier in ww2 does 34.2 knots.
Cavaliers top speed was 37 knots, not 31 knots
That seems more reasonable. I've seen where some Japanese ships were capable of 40+ knots.
What kind of propulsion system does it have?
When focusing on a ship's speed, it's customary to describe the propulsion system.
Watching on March 1st - 4:57
Hot damn being the guy at 4:22 is my absolute Navyphobia
I understand they don't last forever but, it is sad to see them go.
RAN ran Tribal class during WW2. They were 36knot ships all served with distinction. These great ships owe their high of knots to having ateam boilers burning bunker c oil and steam turbines . No Ships today can reach this via Gas turbines
31 knots ? A race of turtles!!! Just for comparison: German Zerstörer 1936 (38.5knots) US Iowa Class (35.2 knots) US Somer Class (38.6 knots) US Gridley Class (38.5 knots) etc etc etc
For me, the scariest part of the Battle of the Atlantic was the Germans could have wone the battle decisively with ease.
Hitler wanted battleships, and committed a large fraction of his resource into these ships. Ships that were meant to support the U-Boats in commerce raiding.
Yet both ships had no more than 0 tuns of merchants sunk. Only one of those ships engaged the RN and while their encounter utterly destroyed the HMS Hood, the Bismarck suffered damage forced the ship to return to port for repairs. Then another encounter with the RN disabled the Bismarck (freaking biplanes for crying out loud!) making escape impossible. When the rest of the RN showed up, it was clear the Bismarck would spend the rest of forever as a submarine warship. Though not one designed to sink.
The Tirpitz did even more poorly, being sunk in harbor.
Had Germany chosen to build aircraft carriers they could have been deployed to support the Wolf Packs and protect them from air attack. They could have carried out rapid searches for convoys, then directed the subs to interceptions.
The convoys would not have stood a chance. That line of communication would have been cut, and England would have been forced to surrender long before 7 December 1941.
Hitler once said, "We can win if we are clever." He was right on that account. That god he was not also very clever.
I do not know where these speeds come from. I was on the Blackpool in Perth with Cavalier and others when we received the signal to get back to Singapore ASAP for the Borneo revolution in 1962. Cavalier left us behind with her greater range and speed. As we entered Singapore Cavalier was coming out loaded with troops and rations. We loaded up with Marines and Gurkhas and four Land Rovers and set off on a full power dash over two days averaging about 30 knots. The Cavalier is said to be only capable of 31 knots a figure I find difficult to believe as she was faster than us.
Fletchers could make almost 38 knots at flank.
So could the C Class destroyers. At least when they were fairly new. This took place after the war however, after both ships had been heavily used during said war so their machinery was heavily worn. Designed speed for the C Class destroyers was 38 Knots, and all of them managed over 37.5 knots in trials.
Firth of Forth is in North Sea. Naval maps will confirm...
After going through the Portland shipyards in 1976 , DD-876 got to I think 30.7kts off the Oregon coast. Could have been faster if the seas were calmer. BT2 . . Not bad for a 1945 built Gearing Can.
Destroyer HMS Malcolm built in 1919 my dad served on was capable of 40 knots. HMS Manxman however was the fastest and broke the trans Altlantic record with an averavge of 44 knots.
How many ships have bows?
Where the hell is Coe's, Isle of Wight?
It's Cowes a town on the Isle of Wight which is south of Southampton in the county of Hampshire
The old F class would do 40 knots Dad was on HMS Fury built in the ship yard
Not insane, but respectable. The BB Iowa could run at 30 knots.
I'll raise you ;- My Grandfather's ship late in the Great war - and on through the Russian Revolution, was HMS Viscount. The V-Class were rated for 36 Knots (41.43mph.), but, Viscount - the only one built by Thorneycrofts, was special, she could hit 38 Knots (43.73mph.) or more. On her original sea trials - she hit close to 40Knots (46.03mph.).
I served on destroyers and frigates in the 60s and 70s. In fact I served on 3 type 15 frigates like Rapid Undaunted Virago and Grenville I also served on. Battle Class destroyer HMS Barrosa. The Barrosa had 50.000 shp the rest 40.000 and Barrosa was fastest 34 knots Undaunted 33 knots Virago the same and Grenville around 32 knots all very fast. The difference probably had more to do with the sea conditions and the state of the ships bottom.
A 50,000 ton destroyer?
Thats shaft horse
power shp not tons!!
I was on Cavalier as a young radio mech in 1968 and we had a similar dash ftom Rosyth to Portsmouth😂 in time for leave and held over 30 knots for the entire trip down south.
Luckuly it was calm as these were broadside messing, scran got very cold in roughers.
Happy days!,
31 knots is not much for a destroyer. Battleships as Iowa and carriers reached 33. 41 is more likely. French and Japanese destroyers reached 45 knots.
A French destroyer hit 45 knots and the USS MAURY hit 42.5 knots.
31 knots, ho-hum.
142 destroyers lost in ww2… that’s crazy
I don't think 31 knots has been considered "astonishing" since 1899.
YOU SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN HMS MALCOLM AND KEPPEL, I THINK THEY WERE BOTH FASTER THAN RAPID AND CAVALLIER !!
September 1945 the was was over. JW 64 departed Clyde, Scotland February 3; arrived Kola Inlet February 15 per wikipedia Arctic convoys of World War II also RA 64 is the outgoing convoy no. So it would be “empty”, inboard convoy to Kola is JW 64.
AT 31 knots, that's not an insane speed but rather a bit below typical for war ships of the time.
Wasn’t there a considerably faster French destroyer during WWII?
Perhaps the use of "Titanic battle.." was not the best word to use by Potts the artist.
In 1955 the duty on one occasion was to track the speed of the USS Timmerman, a destroyer equipped with an ultra high pressure turbine system. We were told not to repeat the speed so I won’t, but I will say this: 40 knots 😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂
The Big Raid on Cowes was May 1942, Not 1943.
💚💙👍👍👏👏👏👏
World war 2 Italian destroyers were very fast 37 to 39 knots.
Astern.
(sorry, had to do it!)
What about the French destroyer Le Terrible? 48.3 knots in 1935.
Fletcher class.(Cover.)
Weren’t there WW2 Italian navy light cruisers that could do 40 knt?
No that's a Sumner class 1st one DD 692 this class had 2 gun mounts and most were used in war against Japan Fletcher class were used to escort supply ships to England just like in the Movie Greyhound
8.13... really? Checking unloaded with a magazine on the SLR? Fail.
Ok so the distroyers back in the 30's were under powered to modern ships of the war. But for weight to hp she had a good ratio. As for the Iowa class those ships had 3 times more horsepower the that destroyer because of the advancement when those were built. Also the they are talking about fully loaded she can hold that speed. Where the Iowa class has to be a minimum of half weight and then they can handle about 28 kmph, which is still under the speed of the destroyer.
"half weight?" How is that dynamically possible?
"Insanely Fast WW2 Destroyer"??? Really? Fletchers could do about 38 knots, Shimakaze 39 knots, Le Terrible 37 knots (45 on trials). Admiral Burke got his nickname 31 knot Burke because of his message that due war delayed maintenance, and damage, his destroyers could only do 31 knots at the time.
Well as an add for a museum ship it works I suppose.
Thanks for bringing up, “slow it down to 31 knots” Admiral Burke was and is a legend, not many can say they were on 3 aircraft carriers that were sunk and lived to go on…
Per Wikipedia...
Fletcher class: 36.5 knots
Sumner class: 34 knots
Gearing class: 36.8 knots
No info on whether these speeds were under load or not.
@@markwheeler202 HMS Cavalier is a C Class destroyer. Design speed of 38 Knots fully loaded. Made 37.5 knots in he trials though weather was not perfect on her speed run. So that exact same ship made 37.5 knots on her trials before WWII....
By the time this race took place though both ships were old, both were pre war builds, and had been heavily worked during the war, so its likely that their machinery was in poor shape by the time the event took place. When new however both were capable of 36+ knots as that was the STANDARD Royal Navy requirement for Destroyers. Faster was nice but they could not be slower or they were turned down....
I was on Cavalier in 1968 on a run from rosyth to portsmouth for leave , we maintained a constant 31 knots for the whole journey. Most of the speeds
Quoted are flank speeds only usually made over a measured mile.
Great old ship, left her yo serve on Undaunted and Dainty for a few months
Relief crewing.
Drew my first tot on Dainty!!
Happy days
I don't think they tested atomic bombs at Christmas Island.
You are possibly mistaking it for the Monte Bello Islands, where testing certainly did happen.
They did. Christmas Island was used by both the US and UK for H bomb testing.
@@user-pg2kj7ps7o The narrator mentions that Christmas Island is an Australian territory.
That Christmas Island was never used for nuclear tasting.
@@davidwild66 Ah, ok. Thought it was the “Grapple” one.
By the way, Cowes in the Isle of Wight is pronounced "cows'… (rhyming with pow, not low).