HMS ''Quilliam'' (G09) was a Q-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

serving in 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 ...

from 1942 to 1945. She was then transferred to the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world. During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...

, where she was commissioned as HNLMS ''Banckert'' (D801) from until 1957.

Construction

The ship was laid down by R. and W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, at

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

-on-Tyne on 19 August 1940, launched on 29 November 1941 and commissioned on 22 October 1942. She was named after Manx Lieutenant (later Captain)

John Quilliam Captain John Quilliam (29 September 1771 – 10 October 1829) was a Royal Navy officer who served as first lieutenant on HMS ''Victory'' at the Battle of Trafalgar. He was a farmer's son who was impressed into the Royal Navy in 1791. Biography ...

RN, First Lieutenant of at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

Operational history

Royal Navy

''Quilliam'' was involved in wartime operations in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On 20 May 1945, while taking part in Operation Iceberg ( the Invasion of Okinawa), ''Quilliam'' was involved in a collision with the British aircraft carrier , which left the destroyer with a heavily damaged bow. She was out of service for repairs when World War II ended.

Royal Netherlands Navy

''Quilliam'' was one of six Q-class destroyers to survive World War II. While five were transferred to the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

, ''Quilliam'' was instead transferred to the

on 21 November 1945.Trevor Weaver (1994). ''Q class Destroyers and Frigates of the Royal Australian Navy'', p. 124. The ship was renamed HNLMS ''Banckert'', and received the pennant number D801. The ship was refitted to Dutch standards and had a new bow fitted before she entered service in the

Netherlands East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

''Banckert'' saw action during the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution (), also known as the Indonesian War of Independence (, ), was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during A ...

. Between 10 and 12 May 1947, the ship intercepted the British coastal merchant ship ''NR. 4 Nanmei'', which was supplying contraband to Indonesians in Tapanoeli Bay, and fired on Indonesian coastal defences in

Sibolga Sibolga (formerly sometimes Siboga) is a city and a port located in the natural harbour of Sibolga Bay on the west coast of North Sumatra province, in Indonesia. The city is located on the western side of North Sumatra facing the Indian Ocean, ...

. She was involved in the Dutch occupation of

Tegal Tegal is a city in the northwest part of Central Java of Indonesia. It is situated on the north coast (or ''pesisir'') of the province of Central Java, about from Semarang, the capital of the province. It had a population of 239,599 at the 2010 ...

on 26 July by providing a landing party. After carrying out patrols during the Dutch 'police counteractions', ''Banckert'' returned to the Netherlands in August 1948 for a refit, which lasted until 19 September 1949. The destroyer arrived at the

Soerabaja Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

naval base on 25 December 1949, and was stationed there until 9 December 1950, when she was assigned to

Netherlands New Guinea Dutch New Guinea or Netherlands New Guinea (, ) was the Western New Guinea, western half of the island of New Guinea that was a part of the Dutch East Indies until 1949, later an overseas administrative territorial entity, overseas territory of ...

. ''Banckert'' left Southeast Asia for the Netherlands on 20 August 1951. On her return, ''Banckert'' was assigned to the naval base at

Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO fe ...

as part of the RNLN's European Training Squadron.

Decommissioning and fate

''Banckert'' was paid off in April 1952. She was struck from records on 19 October 1956, and was sold to Jos de Smedt of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

for scrapping on 1 February 1957.

Notes

References

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External links

Website about HMS ''Quillam''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quilliam (G09) Q and R-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Tyne 1941 ships World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Q-class destroyers of the Royal Netherlands Navy