HMS Express (H61)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Express and HMCS Gatineau.

HMS Express HMS Express in November 1942
History
United Kingdom
Name:	Express
Ordered:	1931 Naval Programme
Builder:	Swan Hunter, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom
Launched:	29 May 1934
Motto:	"Celeriter" ("I strike quickly")
Fate:	Transferred to Canada, June 1943
Canada
Name:	Gatineau
Acquired:	June 1943
Struck:	1955
Honours and awards:	Atlantic 1943-44 Normandy 1944
Fate:	Scrapped, 1955
General characteristics
Class & type:	E-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,405 long tons (1,428 t) (standard) 1,940 long tons (1,970 t) (deep load)
Length:	329 ft (100.3 m) o/a
Beam:	33 ft 3 in (10.13 m)
Draught:	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) (deep)
Installed power:	36,000 shp (26,800 kW) 3 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion:	2 × shafts; 2 × Parsons geared steam turbines
Speed:	35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph)
Range:	6,350 nmi (11,760 km; 7,310 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	145
Sensors and processing systems:	ASDIC
Armament:	4 × single QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk IX guns 2 × quadruple 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) machine guns 2 × quadruple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 20 × depth charges, 1 rack and 2 throwers 60 mines

HMS Express was one of nine E-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s.

Description

The E-class ships were slightly improved versions of the preceding D class. They displaced 1,405 long tons (1,428 t) at standard load and 1,940 long tons (1,970 t) at deep load. The ships had an overall length of 329 feet (100.3 m), a beam of 33 feet 3 inches (10.1 m) and a draught of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m). They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of 36,000 shaft horsepower (27,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h; 40.9 mph). Escapade carried a maximum of 470 long tons (480 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 6,350 nautical miles (11,760 km; 7,310 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ships' complement was 145 officers and ratings.

The ships mounted four 45-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, they had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun. The E class was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes. One depth charge rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began. To compensate for the weight of her 60 Mark XIV mines and their rails, two of Express's 4.7-inch guns, their ammunition, both sets of torpedo tubes, her whalers and their davits had to be removed. She was given small sponsons at the stern to ensure smooth delivery of her mines.

Construction and career

She was launched on 29 May 1934. She had an overall length of 100 m, displacement of 1,375 tons, and a maximum speed of 35.5 knots (66 km/h). She cost approximately £GBP 300,000 to build.

Minelaying duty

On the outbreak of war in September 1939 during the Invasion of Poland, Express was assigned to the 20th (Minelaying) Destroyer Flotilla, initially based at Portsmouth before moving to Immingham on the North Sea. Express spent the first year of the war laying defensive minefields in British waters and offensive minefields off enemy coasts with the 20th Flotilla.

In September 1939 she took the Duke and Duchess of Windsor from Portsmouth to Cherbourg.

In late May 1940, Express was one of several dozen destroyers ordered to help evacuate the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk, and was one of the first to arrive and begin taking troops off the beaches. Later troops were taken off from Dunkirk harbour. Express and the destroyer Shikari were the last ships to leave Dunkirk with troops before the evacuation ended on 4 June. She brought out 2,795 troops over the course of the evacuation. She was damaged by bombing, but was hastily repaired-in-process to continue taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation.

On 31 August 1940, she left Immingham to lay an offensive mine field off the coast of the Netherlands. During the night, Express struck a mine, losing her entire bow up to the bridge. Esk and Ivanhoe then struck mines while trying to go to her assistance. Express was towed back to Britain, having lost 4 officers and 55 ratings. Esk and Ivanhoe were lost. The event became known as the Texel Disaster.

To the Far East

Express returned to service in September 1941 as a fleet destroyer.

In October, she was ordered to escort the battleship HMS Prince of Wales to the Far East with her sister HMS Electra where the ships would form the nucleus of a new Eastern Fleet intended to deter Japanese aggression.

On 2 November, the three ships put into Freetown. They arrived at Cape Town on 16 November, with the destroyers putting into Simon's Town Naval Base. They left Cape Town on 18 November and arrived at Colombo, Ceylon, on 28 November, stopping at Mauritius and Addu Atoll to refuel on the way.

On 29 November, the destroyers HMS Encounter and HMS Jupiter joined at Colombo from the Mediterranean Fleet and the five ships sailed later that day. The ships were joined at sea by the battlecruiser HMS Repulse which had sailed from Trincomalee. The force then set course for Singapore, where they arrived on 2 December.

Force Z at Singapore

Early in the morning of 8 December (Singapore time), Singapore came under attack by Japanese aircraft. Prince of Wales and Repulse shot back with anti-aircraft fire; no planes were shot down, and the ships sustained no damage. After receiving the reports of the attack on Pearl Harbor and invasions of Siam by the Japanese, Force Z put to sea at 1730 hrs. on 8 December. Force Z at this time consisted of Prince of Wales and Repulse, escorted by the destroyers Electra, Express, HMAS Vampire, and HMS Tenedos. At about 1830 on 9 December, Tenedos was detached to return to Singapore, because of her limited fuel capacity. That night, Electra sighted and reported a flare to the north. This caused the British force to turn away to the southeast. The flare was dropped by a Japanese aircraft over their own ships by mistake, and caused the Japanese force to turn away to the northeast. At this point, the two forces were only about five miles (8 km) apart.

At 2055, Admiral Philips cancelled the operation, and ordered the force to return to Singapore. On the way back, they were spotted and reported by the Japanese submarine I-58. The next morning, 10 December, they received a report of Japanese landings at Kuantan, and Express was sent to investigate the area, finding nothing. That afternoon, Prince of Wales and Repulse were attacked and sunk by 85 Japanese aircraft off Kuantan. Repulse was sunk by five torpedoes in 20 minutes, and Electra and Vampire moved in to rescue survivors of Repulse, while Express rescued survivors of the Prince of Wales. All told, the three destroyers rescued over 1,000 survivors from Prince of Wales and Repulse.

She spent 1942 in the Indian Ocean as part of the British Eastern Fleet before returning home to refit.

Transfer

In June 1943, Express was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and rechristened HMCS Gatineau. She served with distinction in the Atlantic.

In 1955, she was struck from the boards and sold for scrap. Her hulk was used with others to form a breakwater at Royston, British Columbia. She remained visible for many years, but little now remains of her hull.(2010)

Sources

• Middlebrook, Martin and Mahoney, Patrick. Battleship: The Sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse.
• Smith, Peter C. Hold The Narrow Sea.

External links

• IWM Interview with Casper Swinley, who commanded HMS Express from 1935 to 1937