Mediterranean Fleet
The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...
, she was placed in reserve in 1937, after repairs from a collision were completed. During the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, the ship was reactivated and spent some time in Spanish waters, enforcing the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict. ''Keith'' escorted convoys and conducted anti-submarine patrols early in World War II before being sunk at
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.standard load and at deep load. The ship had an overall length of , a
beam
Beam may refer to:
Streams of particles or energy
*Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy
**Laser beam
*Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles
**Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
Parsons
Parsons may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Parsons, Kansas, a city
* Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Parsons, Tennessee, a city
* Parsons, West Virginia, a town
* Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingto ...
geared
steam turbine
A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Steam for the turbines was provided by three
Admiralty 3-drum boiler
Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power Steamship, ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although ...
s. ''Keith'' carried a maximum of of
fuel oil
Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil, marine fuel oil (MFO), bun ...
that gave her a range of at . The ship's complement was 175 officers and men.Whitley, p. 99
The ship mounted four 45- calibreQF 4.7-inch Mk IX guns in single mounts. For
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, ...
(AA) defence, ''Keith'' had two QF 2-pounder Mk II AA guns mounted on a platform between her
funnels
A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.
Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its construc ...
. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes. One
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.
Career
The ship was ordered, the first ship of her name in the Royal Navy, on 22 March 1929 from Vickers-Armstrongs at
Barrow
Barrow may refer to:
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England
* Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
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* Barrow, Gloucestershire
* Barro ...
, under the 1928 Naval Programme. She was laid down on 1 October 1929 and launched on 10 July 1930. ''Keith'' was completed on 20 March 1931 at a cost of £219,800, excluding items supplied by the Admiralty such as guns, ammunition and communications equipment. After her commissioning, she was assigned to the
4th Destroyer Flotilla
The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951.
History
In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...
as its flotilla leader. Aside from a refit at Chatham Dockyard between 4 September and 18 October 1933, the ship remained with the Mediterranean Fleet until 1936. ''Keith'' collided with the Greek steamship, ''Atonis G. Lemos'', in thick fog in the English Channel on 24 August 1936 whilst en route from
Gibraltar
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, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
to Portsmouth for another refit. The refit was not completed until 13 February 1937 and she then spent six months in reserve at
Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
. The ship was recommissioned on 14 August 1937 to replace the flotilla leader of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla, , whilst the latter ship was being repaired after a collision. ''Keith'' spent several months deployed off the Spanish Biscay coast during the Spanish Civil War and was later based in
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
. The ship returned to Sheerness on 4 November and was reduced to reserve again. She received a brief refit at Chatham from 9 May to 16 June 1938. Upon its completion, ''Keith'' rejoined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla, which was now assigned to
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 ...
. She was transferred, taking on the crew of , to the
5th Destroyer Flotilla
The British 5th Destroyer Flotilla, or Fifth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the ...
at Gibraltar on 17 January 1939. The ship remained with the 5th Flotilla until April and then she returned home. ''Keith'' was refitted at Chatham between 11 May and 15 July and placed in reserve again on 31 July.
Shortly before the war began in September, the ship was recommissioned and assigned to the
17th Destroyer Flotilla
17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number.
Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers.
In mathematics
17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...
of Home Fleet. On 3 September, she was transferred to Western Approaches Command for anti-submarine patrols, based at
Milford Haven
Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
and became its flotilla leader five days later. In December, ''Keith'' had repairs made to her propellers at
HM Dockyard Devonport
His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Ro ...
that lasted until 10 January 1940. She was transferred to the
19th Destroyer Flotilla
19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number.
Mathematics
19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...
in February and ''Keith'' escorted her sister on 5 March as she towed the damaged oil tanker ''John F. Meyer'' to Southampton. The ship resumed her escort and patrol duties until May when the Germans attacked.English, p. 31
bullion
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...
from the Dutch port of
IJmuiden
IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. >
IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...
to the United Kingdom for safe-keeping. On 12 May, she returned to the Hook of Holland in the Netherlands to evacuate Allied troops. After the destroyer had to be run aground on 19 May after she was damaged by German aircraft, she was scuttled by ''Keith''. On 21 May, ''Keith'' was one of three destroyers that evacuated 468 civilians from France. Two days later the ship was in Boulogne-sur-Mer, loading British troops to be evacuated, when she was attacked by German troops. She was hit by a
mortar bomb
A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a ...
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and wounded many others. ''Keith'' sailed for the UK immediately afterwards.
On the night of 30/31 May, the ship joined Operation Dynamo when she helped to evacuate 992 Allied troops to
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
.Winser, p. 89 She returned later that morning to
De Panne
De Panne (; french: La Panne ) is a town and a municipality located on the North Sea coast of the Belgian province of West Flanders. There it borders France, making it the westernmost town in Belgium. It is one of the most popular resort town dest ...
and became
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
of Rear-AdmiralFrederic Wake-Walker, commander of the evacuation.Gardner, p. 67 The ship was attacked by aircraft later that morning; the first attack damaged her steering gear and, in a later attack, a bomb which went down the aft funnel exploded in the No. 2 boiler room, killing everyone inside and starting a fire. With no power available, she anchored and the abandon ship command was ordered. ''Keith'' sank from her damage at 0945 in position . Three officers and 33 ratings were killed during the attacks, but eight officers and 123 crewmen were saved.