H.M.S. Campbeltown
I.42
1942
(Argos AS-38)
- Class: Town Class - 52 destroyers of 1916
- Displacement: 1,090 tons
- Dimensions: 314 x 30.5 x 9 ft.
- Machinery: 2-shaft geared turbines, S.H.P. 25,200 = 35 knots
- Armament: 3-4 in. (3x1), 1-3in. A.A. guns; 6-21 in. (2x3) T.T.
- Complement: 146
- Builder: Bath Iron Works
- Laid Down: 29 Jun 1918
- Launched: 2 Jan 1919
- Commissioned: 20 Jan 1919
- Royal Navy: 9 Sep 1940
- Service: Built as USS Buchanan. One of 52 destroyers transferred from U.S. to Britain in exchange for lease of bases in western hemisphere in Sep 1940. Campbeltown was converted for use in the commando raid on St. Nazaire of March 1942. The objective was the destruction of the gates of the Normandie dock, the only location in France that could act as a drydock for the German battleship Tirpitz. The old destroyer was cut down to look more like a German torpedo boat and 3 tons of explosives were placed in her bows on a delayed fuse. Accompanied by a flotilla of small craft carrying commandos and two escorting destroyers, she sailed from Plymouth on 26 March and sailed up the Loire river in the early morning of the 28th. She successfully rammed the lock gates and lodged there, while the troops landed and destroyed much of the additional lock equipment. Although there were heavy casualties among the assaulting men, the explosives in Campbeltown detonated later that morning, destroying the lock and accomplishing her mission. Many medals for gallantry were awarded for this raid, including the Victoria Cross for LtCdr Stephen Beattie, who commanded Campbeltown.
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