Name HMS Gurkha Ordered 31 March 1938 Commissioned 18 February 1941 Construction started 18 October 1938 Length 110 m Builder Cammell Laird | Namesake Gurkha Laid down 18 October 1938 Identification pennant number G63 Launched 8 July 1940 Draft 3 m | |
 | ||
HMS Gurkha was an L-class destroyer in Britain's Royal Navy during World War II. She was originally to be named Larne in line with her class letter. However after the Tribal-class Gurkha was sunk in April 1940 the officers and men of the Gurkha Regiments each subscribed one day's pay to replace her and Larne was renamed before launching.
Contents
Her only commanding officer (Commander C N Lentaigne) was brother of Joe Lentaigne who was an officer in the 4th (Prince of Wales' Own) Gurkhas.
Construction and design
On 31 March 1938 an order was placed with Cammell Laird for Larne, one of eight L-class destroyers ordered that day and was laid down on 18 October 1938, the first of her class. In April 1940, the Tribal-class destroyer Gurkha was sunk off Norway, and in June it was decided to rename Larne as Gurkha to continue the relationship between the ship and the Gurkha Regiment. She was launched on 8 July 1940 by Mary, daughter of Winston Churchill.
The L class was intended to have a main gun armament of six QF 4.7 inch Mark XI guns in three enclosed twin Mark XX mounts, but delays in production of the new gun mount resulted in the July 1940 decision to complete four of the class, including Gurkha, with a revised main gun armament of eight QF 4-inch (100 mm) Mk XVI naval guns in four twin mounts. Close-in anti-aircraft armament consisted of a single quadruple 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom", two single 20 mm cannon and two quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun mounts. Eight 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes were carried in two quadruple mounts. 110 depth charges were carried.
Gurkha reached a speed of 33.73 knots (62.47 km/h; 38.82 mph) on sea trials and was completed on 18 February 1941.
Service history
On commissioning, Gurkha joined the 11th Escort Group. On 25 March 1941, the steamer Beaverbrae was sunk by German bombers and Gurkha, together with the destroyer Tartar rescued Beaverbrae's crew. While returning to Scapa Flow the next day, Gurkha collided with a wooden drifter, sinking the fishing boat and sustaining serious damage. She was under repair at Rosyth until June 1941.
Following repair, Gurkha was deployed on convoy escort duties in the Western Approaches. She guarded Malta Convoys (1941), destroyed the Italian submarine Adua, and guarded United Kingdom to Gibraltar convoys.
She was torpedoed by U-133 off Sidi Barrani on 17 January 1942 and sank after 90 minutes. The surviving crew members were saved by the Dutch destroyer Isaac Sweers.