HMS ''Dampier'' was a

survey ship A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purpo ...

of the Royal Navy, named after the explorer, author and privateer, William Dampier (1652–1715). Originally intended as a

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, the ship was in commission from 1948 to 1968, spending her entire career based at Singapore, carrying out survey work.

Construction

The ship was ordered on 23 January 1943 from Smiths Dock Company, South Bank, Middlesbrough, as the ''Loch Eil''. The ship was laid down on 7 August 1944, but the contract was then changed, and the ship was completed to a revised design as a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate, and launched on 15 May 1945 as ''Herne Bay'' (K611). Work on the ship was suspended on 26 September 1945, and she was towed to Chatham Dockyard. In July 1946 work recommenced to convert her into a

. She was renamed ''Dampier'' and assigned the

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

A303.

Service history

''Dampier'' was commissioned on 4 May 1948, and in June arrived at Singapore, which would be her home port for almost the next twenty years. There she was employed in carrying out oceanographic and hydrographic surveys around the coasts of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

, Borneo, and Hong Kong, in the

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

and

Java Sea The Java Sea ( id, Laut Jawa, jv, Segara Jawa) is an extensive shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf, between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south, Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east. Karimata Strait to its nort ...

s, with annual refits in Hong Kong, and inspections at Singapore. On 5 October 1967 ''Dampier'' finally left Singapore to return to the UK, arriving at Simon's Town, South Africa, on 17 November. A week later, after local exercises, it was discovered that the ship's starboard propeller shaft was broken. The ship was obliged to continue her voyage on only one shaft. At Freetown, Sierra Leone, she found that there was no suitable equipment available to make repairs. With only three weeks remaining to make the 3,000 miles back to England in time for Christmas, the ship took the unusual step of manufacturing and hoisting a set of sails. Three lug sails made from awning canvas were hoisted on 11 December, and four days later a set of square sails. With the assistance of this rig, ''Dampier'' arrived at Chatham on 23 December to be greeted by Flag Officer Medway and the

Hydrographer of the Navy The Hydrographer of the Navy is the principal hydrographical Royal Naval appointment. From 1795 until 2001, the post was responsible for the production of charts for the Royal Navy, and around this post grew the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office ...

. ''Dampier'' was decommissioned at Chatham on 31 January 1968 and reduced to the Reserve. The ship was later placed on the Disposal List, and then sold to a Belgian shipbreaker. She was towed away for breaking-up on 17 January 1969.

References

Publications

External links

Photo of HMS ''Dampier''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dampier, HMS 1945 ships Bay-class frigates Survey vessels of the Royal Navy