HMS Hardy (R08)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Hardy.

Hardy in August 1943
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Hardy
Ordered	1 September 1941
Builder	John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland
Laid down	14 May 1942
Launched	18 March 1943
Commissioned	August 1943
Identification	Pennant number:R08
Honours and awards	Arctic 1943-44
Fate	Scuttled after being torpedoed on 30 January 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	V-class destroyer
Displacement	1,777 long tons (1,806 t) standard 2,058 long tons (2,091 t) full load
Length	363 ft (111 m)
Beam	35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
Draught	10 ft (3.0 m)
Propulsion	2 × Admiralty 3-drum water-tube boilers Geared steam turbines, 40,000 shp (29,828 kW) 2 shafts
Speed	37 knots (43 mph; 69 km/h)
Range	4,860 nmi (9,000 km) at 29 kn (54 km/h)
Complement	180 (225 in flotilla leader)
Armament	Original configuration : 4 × QF 4.7-inch (120-mm) Mk IX guns in single mountings CP Mk.XXII 2 × QF 40 mm Bofors guns in twin mount Mk.IV 6 × QF 20 mm Oerlikon guns; 2 × twin mounts Mk.V, 2 × single mounts Mk.III 2 × quadruple tubes for 21-inch (530 mm) torpedoes Mk.IX

HMS Hardy was a V-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War.

History

Hardy was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank, laid down on 14 May 1942, launched 18 March 1943, and completed 14 August 1943.

While escorting Convoy JW 56A during the Second World War, Hardy was torpedoed and damaged in the Arctic Ocean at 73°40′N 24°30′E by the German submarine U-278 on 30 January 1944 with the loss of 35 crew members. The British destroyers HMS Venus and HMS Virago rescued her survivors and sank her. HMS Virago sustained damage to her bow while in contact with Hardy which was later repaired by Russian workers while at the convoy destination in Murmansk.

References

• Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
• Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
• "Oral history Pratt, James William". IWM 21595.

See also

• Arctic convoys of World War II

External links

• Hardy at naval-history.net
• Hardy at uboatnet
• https://racmp.co.uk/veterans/herbert-sydney-roberts/
• https://racmp.co.uk/veterans/frederick-pearce/