The C-class destroyer HMS Cavalier was one of 96 War Emergency Program destroyers ordered in 1940-42 to fill an urgent requirement for additional escort vessels to combat the German U-boat threat. She was laid down at the J. Samuel White & Company Ltd shipyard at Cowes on the Isle of Wight on 28 February 1943 and launched on 7 April 1944. Cavalier was one of the first ships to have her forward and aft hull sections welded, with the amidships section being riveted for additional strength; the use of welding saved time and weight and also resulted in greater speed.
Commissioned into the Royal Navy on 22 November 1944, Cavalier was initially assigned to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla for service in Home Waters, off Norway, and in the Arctic. During this time, Cavalier earned her sole battle honour, 'Arctic 1945', for her role in rounding up scattered merchant ships in convoy RA 64 from northern Russia and escorting them safely to the River Clyde in Scotland. In late 1945, Cavalier transferred to the British Pacific Fleet in the Far East and provided naval gunfire support during the Battle of Surabaya (October-December). Further Pacific operations followed until Cavalier was decommissioned in May 1946 and placed in reserve at Portsmouth. After a modernisation refit, the ship recommissioned on 16 June 1957 and was assigned to the 8th Destroyer Squadron in Singapore. On 21 May 1964, while under tow to Gibraltar for a refit, Cavalier collided with a Liberian-flagged tanker, severely damaging the destroyer's bow; temporarily patched-up in Portsmouth, Cavalier was fitted with a new bow at Devonport and then underwent her planned refit at Gibraltar from August 1964 to April 1966. Returning to Britain in 1972, Cavalier was decommissioned for a final time on 7 June.
While a preservation campaign led by Lord Louis Mountbatten saved Cavalier from scrapping in 1977, unsuccessful attempts to turn the ship into a museum in Southampton, Brighton, and South Tyneside failed. In 1998, the ship was bought by the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust and arrived on 23 May 1998. Today, HMS Cavalier resides in the dockyard's historic No. 2 Dry Dock and is the sole remaining Second World War-era British destroyer in the UK.
Specifications: HMS Cavalier
Displacement: 1,710 tons (standard), 2,520 tons (full load)Length (overall): 111 metres (363 feet)
Beam: 10.9 metres (35.75 feet)
Draught: 4.9 metres (16 feet) maximum
Propulsion: 2 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers feeding 2 x Parsons geared steam turbines and generating 40,000 shaft horsepower
Maximum speed: 37 knots (69 km/h)
Range: 4,475 nautical miles (5,150 kilometres) at 20 knots (37 km/h)
Armament (current): 3 x Quick Firing 4.5 inch Mk IV guns; 2 x Bofors twin 40mm guns; 4 x single 40mm guns; 20mm Oerlikon guns; 2 x triple Squid anti-submarine mortars; 1 x quadruple GWS20 Seacat surface-to-air missile launcher
Complement: 186 (12 officers, 180 sailors)
Photos taken 21 September 2015
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| HMS Cavalier, now permanently moored in No. 2 Dry Dock at Chatham Historic Dockyard. It was in No. 2 Dry Dock that HMS Victory, Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, was built in 1765. |
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| A stern view, looking forward, with the White Ensign flying from the stern jack staff. On 14 November 2007, HMS Cavalier was officially designated a war memorial to the 142 Royal Navy destroyers lost during the Second World War and the 11,000 sailors on those ships. |
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| One of two three-barrelled, ahead-firing Squid anti-submarine mortars, located above the quarterdeck. The Squids replaced one of Cavalier's original 4.5 inch guns ('X' gun) and two quadruple 21-inch torpedo tube mountings during a refit in 1955-57. Each Squid mortar weighed 440 pounds, including 207 pounds of Minol explosive, and was thrown 275 yards (251 metres) ahead of the ship. The ahead-firing arrangement permitted the destroyer to maintain sonar contact with a submarine target while attacking it. |
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| Looking forward on the port side. |
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| One of HMS Cavalier's whalers, on davits amidships. |
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| One of HMS Cavalier's three Quick Firing 4.5 inch L/45 Mk IV gun mountings. This one is located aft, while two others are located forward in a super-firing arrangement. The QF 4.5 inch guns were medium-range weapons suitable for use against surface and air targets, as well as shore bombardment. They fired two-part rounds (shell and powder cartridge) weighing 55 pounds to a maximum range of 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometres; 11.5 miles). |
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| HMS Cavalier's bell, hanging amidships. The bell was used to welcome important visitors aboard and to mark time, including the end of each watch. The bell was also used as a baptismal font for children of crew members, being inverted and filled with Holy Water; the name of the baptised child would later be inscribed on the inside of the bell. |
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| The Forward Seaman's Mess, home to 40-50 men who slept in hammocks slung from hooks in the deckhead. In addition to sleeping, the men used this space for eating, reading, playing games, listening to music, and writing letters home. |
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| Another view of the Forward Seaman's Mess. When bunks were installed during the ship's later refits, a shortage of space meant that 12 men were still required to sleep in hammocks. Given its location at the forward end of the ship, the mess deck could rise and fall up to 4.5 metres (15 feet) in rough seas, with cold seawater leaking in through portholes and the deck above. |
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| One of the crew wash spaces. |
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| The port passageway, looking forward. |
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| The ship's office, which handled all clerical work, including pay, personnel records, and correspondence. |
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| The Navy, Army, Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) onboard canteen, where Cavalier's crew could purchase a range of items, such as cigarettes, soap, and confectionery. |
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| Cavalier's main galley, situated amidships for greater stability in rough weather, prepared meals for up to 225 officer and sailors every day. Two emergency galleys were located aft, in case bad weather made it too dangerous to use the main galley. Steak, meat pies, and fish fingers were common meals served on Cavalier. |
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| The Captain's sea cabin, located close to the bridge was ideally situated to permit the commanding officer to quickly reach the bridge. The sea cabin was only used while the ship was at sea. |
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| The Gunnery Control Compartment. |
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The wheelhouse (steering position), located in a small compartment off the main deck amidships. The position of the wheelhouse within the ship offered protection in the event of an attack. Helm orders were communicated to the steering position via the large red voice pipe (top left). The ship was steered by the Quartermaster of the Watch, assisted by Bosun's Mates.
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| One part of the Captain's day cabin, the larger, more comfortable cabin used by the commanding officer when the ship was docked. It was here that the captain would entertain any visitors. |
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| The Wardroom, where the ship's officers ate and relaxed. According to tradition, the Captain was not a member of the wardroom but could be invited in by his officers for social occasions. |
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| The other side of the Wardroom, featuring a small electric fireplace and comfortable leatherette settees. A print of The Laughing Cavalier (1624) by painter Franz Hals hangs over the fireplace. In an emergency, the Wardroom could be configured as a surgical operating theatre to treat injured crew. |
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| The Operations Room, from where the ship was navigated and fought. Plotting tables, communications gear, and other equipment adorn the bulkheads throughout. |
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| Some of the antique communications gear in Cavalier's Bridge Radio Telegraphy Office. |
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| HMS Cavalier's open bridge was where the Commanding Officer or Officer of the Watch commanded the ship. The Captain's high wooden chair sits in the middle of the bridge while a compass pedestal can be seen in the immediate foreground. A variety of equipment covering all sides of the bridge allowed the Officer of the Watch to monitor the ship's speed, course, engine status, rudder position, radar, and sonar signals. |
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| A canvas awning covers HMS Cavalier's open bridge. Such awnings, installed when in port, would have been particularly useful during service in the Far East. The raised wooden gratings ensured that the bridge crew remained clear of any seawater cascading onto the bridge during stormy weather. |
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| Looking over Cavalier's bow from the bridge. In the foreground is 'B' gun and, located forward and one deck below is 'A' gun. |
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| Mounted high above the bridge is the 10-ton Mk 6M fire control director, fitted to HMS Cavalier during her extensive 1955-57 refit. The fire control director controlled the targeting of the 4.5 inch guns. |
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| A 40mm Bofors single Mk VII gun mount, located on the port side of the Flag Deck, aft of the bridge. (An identical gun is located on the starboard side of the Flag Deck.) The Swedish-designed Bofors gun was operated by a crew of four and fired a two-pound (0.9 kilogram) shell to a range of 23,490 feet (7,160 metres). Maximum rate of fire was 140 rounds per minute at low elevation angles and 120 rounds per minute at high elevation angles. The hydraulically-powered Mk VII Bofors gun entered service in 1945. |
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| Displayed on the dockside next to Cavalier are one of her propellers and her former 4.5 inch 'X' gun mounting, removed during the 1955-57 refit to make way for the installation of Squid anti-submarine mortars. The ship's two propellers, each weighing nearly four tons, were removed to reduce stress on the hull; the other propeller is displayed on the Isle of Wight to commemorate the J. Samuel White & Company Ltd shipyard where Cavalier was built. |
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| A final view of HMS Cavalier in No. 2 Dry Dock. By special warrant issued by the Royal Navy, Cavalier is authorised to use the prefix 'HMS' and to fly the White Ensign from her stern, privileges usually reserved for commissioned warships. |
