HMS Kempenfelt (R03)
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HMS ''Kempenfelt'' was a W-class destroyer
flotilla leader A flotilla leader was a warship of late 19th century and early 20th century navies suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer (known as a destroyer leader). The floti ...
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 ...
that served in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. She was the second destroyer of her name to have served in the war; the first ''Kempenfelt'' was transferred to the
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...
in October 1939 and renamed .


Construction and commissioning

''Kempenfelt'' was ordered in December 1941 and was laid down at the
Clydebank Clydebank () is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, it borders the village of Old Kilpatrick (with Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Bowling and Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Milton beyond) to the w ...
yards of
John Brown and Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and ''Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its height, from 1900 to the 1950s, it was one of the ...
. She was built as HMS ''Valentine'', but this was changed to ''Kempenfelt'' as part of a rationalisation of the names used for the later wartime classes of destroyers. She was launched on 8 May 1943 and commissioned into service on 25 October 1943. During her time under construction she had been adopted by the civil community of
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...
after a successful
Warship Week Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of a Royal Navy warship being adopted by a civil community. During the early parts of the war, the Royal Navy not only had lost many capital ships but ...
national savings campaign.


Wartime career


Mediterranean

''Kempenfelt'' joined the 24th Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean in December 1943, and in January was assigned to support the Allied landings at
Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...
(
Operation Shingle The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II that commenced January 22, 1944. The battle began with the Allies of World War II, Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle, an ...
). On 21 January she and the destroyers and the
Free French Free France () was a resistance government claiming to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third French Republic, Third Republic during World War II. Led by General , Free France was established as a gover ...
bombarded
Gaeta Gaeta (; ; Southern Latian dialect, Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a seaside resort in the province of Latina in Lazio, Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The city has played ...
, before deploying the next day with a number of destroyers as a screen for the
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...
s and . On 27 January ''Kempenfelt'' shelled a train near
Formia Formia (ancient Formiae) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean , Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. Mythology According to the mythology the city was f ...
. After the completion of Operation Shingle she was released, and spent between February and April escorting convoys and patrolling in the central Mediterranean.


Normandy

In May ''Kempenfelt'' returned to the UK, joining the 26th Destroyer Flotilla in preparation for the
invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...
. The flotilla were assigned to Force J, with orders to bombard the beach defences at Lagrune sur Mer. On 5 June she sailed as part of an escort for one of the invasion convoys, and on 6 June stood off the beach with Force J and provided fire support for the landings. Later in the day she moved to join the cruiser in supporting the landings at Beny sur Mer. ''Kempenfelt'' returned to Britain in July, and was assigned to 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 ...
at
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...
. She was then nominated to undergo a refit at
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
to prepare her to join the
British Eastern Fleet The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' wa ...
as the leader of the 27th Destroyer Flotilla. On 22 August she deployed with the flotilla as a screen for the
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...
s , and , the
battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...
and the cruisers and for the air attacks on the (
Operation Goodwood Operation Goodwood was a British offensive during the Second World War, which took place between 18 and 20 July 1944 as part of the larger battle for Caen in Normandy, France. The objective of the operation was a limited attack to the south, ...
). After being released from this service on 24 August, ''Kempenfelt'' sailed to Cardiff.


Far East

She spent September under refit, and after working up, sailed in October to join the Eastern Fleet at
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. She joined the fleet at
Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...
on 22 November, and in December was nominated to screen the major fleet units as they carried out air attacks on oilfields on
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
(Operation Outflank). She sailed on 17 December with the destroyers , , and , escorting the carriers and , and the cruisers , and , and arrived in position on 20 December. The attacks were carried out and the fleet returned to Trincomalee. ''Kempenfelt'' took part in further screening operations in January, covering fleet units for
Operation Meridian Operation Meridian, also known as the "Palembang Raids" was part of a series of British air attacks directed at Japanese-held oil refineries near Palembang on Sumatra during the Second World War, Meridian had two phases: Meridian I on 24 Jan ...
, before sailing for
Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
at the end of the month with the ships of Force 63. They arrived on 4 February, before transferring to
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, where they carried out exercises with elements of the
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
. They sailed on 28 February to join the
British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. It was formed from aircraft carriers, other surface warships, submarines and supply vessels of the RN and British Commonwealth ...
at its forward base at Manus, in the
Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...
. The force, designated Task Force 113 carried out screening duties throughout March, before being assigned to the
United States Fifth Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. Its area of responsibility encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles, and includes the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. It shares a comma ...
on 22 March. The force then supported the US Fleet in its preparation for the
Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...
(Operation Iceberg). ''Kempenfelt'' remained on station throughout April, before sailing for the US Forward-base at
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
, arriving there on 24 April. On 1 May ''Kempenfelt'' and a number of British destroyers screened operations off Okinawa, before ''Kempenfelt'' was deployed on 11 May as a screen for the cruiser , to provide advance warning of incoming
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
attacks. She was detached on 22 May to escort the carrier ''Formidable'' to Manus, after ''Formidable'' had been damaged by a kamikaze. She escorted ''Formidable'' to Sydney in June, after which ''Kempenfelt'' underwent a refit. On its completion, she returned to Manus in August, and on 15 August she sailed to
Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...
to join the taskforce assembling to reoccupy
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. She sailed on 27 August with the destroyers ''Whirlwind'', and screening the carriers ''Indomitable'' and , and the cruisers ''Swiftsure'', and ''Black Prince'' to oversee the surrender.


Post war

''Kempenfelt'' remained with the British Pacific Fleet until December 1945. She returned to Chatham in January 1946 where she was reduced to the reserve. She spent two years in the reserve, before transferring to Simonstown,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. She returned to Britain in 1953 and was laid up at
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 ...
, before being placed on the disposal list.


Transfer to Yugoslav Navy

''Kempenfelt'' and her
sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to ref ...
, , were sold to
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
in 1956, being towed to Yugoslavia for a refit in October. ''Kempenfelt'' was renamed R-21 ''Kotor'' and was re-commissioned on 10 September 1959. She served until being decommissioned and scrapped in 1971.


Notes


References

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External links


HMS ''Kempenfelt''s career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kempenfelt (R03) W and Z-class destroyers Ships built on the River Clyde 1943 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom W-class destroyers of the Yugoslav Navy