HMS ''Finisterre'' was a of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

(RN). She was named after one of the battles of Cape Finisterre. She was the first and thus far the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear this name. ''Finisterre'' was built by

Fairfields Fairfields is a neighbourhood and civil parish that covers a large new development area on the western flank of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. As the first tier of Local Government, the parish council is responsible for the people wh ...

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

on the Clyde. She was laid down on 8 December 1942, launched on 22 June 1944 and completed on 11 September 1945.

Operational service

''Finnisterre'' first joined the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

upon her commissioning. After being in the

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for some time, in which she performed a variety of duties there, ''Finisterre'' returned to the UK via the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

. In January 1950, ''Finisterre'' took part in the rescue attempt of the submarine , which had sunk after colliding with the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

merchant ship ''Divina'' in the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinit ...

. The collision had resulted in the loss of 64 of those on board. The following year ''Finisterre'' became the Gunnery Training Ship, based at Whale Island,

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

as part of . In 1953, ''Finisterre'' took part in the 1953 Coronation Fleet Review to celebrate the

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

. ''Finisterre'' was positioned adjacent to her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

. The following year ''Finisterre'' was placed in Reserve. After her sister ship, , collided with an Indian cruiser in August 1959, ''Finisterre'' replaced her in the 1st Destroyer Squadron, based in the

. She took over duties of her sister ship, , to complete a tour of Australia over the Christmas period of 1959. ''Finisterre'', as part of that squadron, subsequently saw service with the

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

and

Fleets. She was one of a number of Royal Navy ships stationed off

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

to keep the peace as the country gained its independence in 1961.

Decommissioning and disposal

She arrived for scrapping at the yard of W.H.Arnott Young Co. Ltd,

Dalmuir Dalmuir (; ) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots language, Scots derivation of the Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic meaning Big Field. ...

on 12 June 1967.

References

Publications

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finisterre (D55) Battle-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built in Govan 1944 ships Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom