View source for HMS Cavalier (R73)

{{Short description|C-class destroyer}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2007}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = File:HMS Cavalier - September 2024.jpg
| Ship caption = HMS ''Cavalier'', September 2024, as she appears at [[Chatham Dockyard]].
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country = United Kingdom
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
| Ship name = HMS ''Cavalier''
| Ship ordered =
| Ship awarded =
| Ship builder = [[J. Samuel White]] and Company, [[Cowes]], [[Isle of Wight]]
| Ship original cost =
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| Ship laid down = 28 March 1943
| Ship launched = 7 April 1944
| Ship sponsor =
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| Ship completed =
| Ship acquired =
| Ship commissioned = 22 November 1944
| Ship recommissioned =
| Ship decommissioned = 1972
| Ship maiden voyage =
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| Ship renamed =
| Ship reclassified =
| Ship refit =
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| Ship homeport =
| Ship identification = [[Pennant number]]: R73 (later D73)
| Ship motto = "Of one Company"
| Ship nickname =
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| Ship captured =
| Ship fate = Sold 21 October 1977.
| Ship status = Preserved as a [[museum ship]] since 1998
| Ship notes =
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}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header =
| Header caption =
| Ship class = {{sclass2|C|destroyer (1943)|0}} [[destroyer]]
| Ship displacement = 1,710 tons (standard) 2,520 tons (full)
| Ship length = {{convert|363|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
| Ship beam = {{convert|35.75|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship height =
| Ship draught = *{{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} light,<ref name=janes />
* {{convert|14.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} full, {{convert|16|ft|m|abbr=on}} max<ref name=janes />
| Ship power =
| Ship propulsion = *2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers,
* Parsons geared steam turbines,
* {{convert|40000|shp|lk=in|abbr=on}}, 2 shafts
| Ship speed = {{convert|37|kn|km/h}}
| Ship range = 615 tons oil, {{convert|1400|nmi|km}} at {{convert|32|kn|km/h}}
| Ship endurance =
| Ship complement = 186<ref name=janes />
| Ship crew =
| Ship time to activate =
| Ship sensors =
| Ship EW =
| Ship armament = *3 × [[QF 4.5 inch Mk I - V naval gun|QF 4.5-inch (113 mm) L/45 guns]] Mark IV on mounts CP Mk.V
* 2 × [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40&nbsp;mm L/60 guns]] on twin mount "Hazemeyer" Mk.IV,
* 4 × [[anti-aircraft]] mountings;
* Bofors 40&nbsp;mm, single mount Mk.III
* QF [[QF 2-pounder naval gun#QF 2-pounder Mark VIII|2-pdr Mk VIII]], single mount Mk.XVI
* [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Oerlikon 20&nbsp;mm]], single mount P Mk.III
* Oerlikon 20&nbsp;mm, twin mount Mk.V
* 2 × quintuple tubes for [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo]]es  Mk.IX (at launch, after tubes replaced by Squid mortars,<ref name=hmscavalier /> forward tubes replaced later).
* 4 throwers and 2 racks for 96 [[depth charge]]s
* 1 × quadruple [[Seacat missile|GWS20 Seacat]] SAM launcher (from September 1964)<ref name=hmscavalier />
* 2 × triple [[Squid (weapon)|Squid]] anti-submarine mortar (from 1957)<ref name=hmscavalier />
| Ship armour =
| Ship aircraft =
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}}
|}

'''HMS ''Cavalier''''' is a retired {{sclass2|C|destroyer (1943)|0}} [[destroyer]] of the [[Royal Navy]]. She was laid down by [[J. Samuel White]] and Company at [[East Cowes]] on 28 March 1943, launched on 7 April 1944,<ref name=janes>{{Harvnb|McMurtrie|1989 |p=52}}</ref> and commissioned on 22 November 1944.<ref name=uboat>{{cite web|publisher=uboat.net |title=HMS Cavalier (R 73)|access-date=22 May 2015 |url=http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4545.html}}</ref> She served in [[World War II]] and in various commissions in the [[Far East]] until she was decommissioned in 1972. After decommissioning she was preserved as a museum ship and currently resides at [[Chatham Dockyard|Chatham Historic Dockyard]].<ref>{{cite web|work=National Register of Historic Vessels|title=HMS Cavalier|publisher=National Historic Ships|access-date=22 May 2015|url=http://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/431/hms-cavalier}}</ref>

==Construction==
''Cavalier'' was one of 96 [[War Emergency Programme destroyers]] ordered between 1940 and 1942. She was one of the first ships to be built with the forward and aft portions of her hull welded, with the midsection [[rivet]]ed to ensure strength. The new process gave the ship additional speed. In 1970 a 64-mile race was arranged between ''Cavalier'' and the frigate {{HMS|Rapid|H32|2}}, which had the same hull form and machinery. ''Cavalier'' beat ''Rapid'' by {{convert|30|yd|m}} after ''Rapid'' lifted a [[safety valve]], reaching an average speed of {{convert|31.8|kn|km/h}}.<ref name=hmscavalier>{{cite web|publisher=HMS Cavalier Association |title=Cavaliers Specifications |access-date=22 May 2015 |url=http://www.hmscavalier.org.uk/specs/index.htm}}</ref>

==Service history==
After commissioning, she joined the [[6th Destroyer Flotilla]], part of the [[Home Fleet]], and took part in a number of operations off [[Norway]]. Most notably in February 1945 she was despatched with the destroyers {{HMS|Myngs|R06|2}} and {{HMS|Scorpion|G72|2}}<ref name=navalhistory>{{cite web|first=Geoffrey B |last=Mason |editor=Gordon Smith |date=2001 |title=HMS Cavalier (R 73) – Ca-class Destroyer|publisher=naval-history.net|access-date=22 May 2015|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-67Ca-Cavalier.htm}}</ref> to reinforce a convoy from the [[Kola Inlet]] in [[Russia]], which had suffered attacks from enemy aircraft and [[U-boat]]s, and had subsequently been scattered by a violent storm. She and the other escorts reformed the convoy, and returned to Britain with the loss of only three of the 34 ships. This action earned ''Cavalier'' a [[battle honour]].<ref name=uboat />

Later in 1945, ''Cavalier'' was despatched to the Far East, where she provided naval gunfire support during the [[Battle of Surabaya]]. In February 1946, she went to [[Bombay]] to help quell the [[Royal Indian Navy Mutiny]]. After some time in the [[British Pacific Fleet]] she was paid off in May 1946 and was placed in reserve at [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth]].<ref name=navalhistory />

From 1955 to 1957, ''Cavalier'' was modernised at [[John I. Thornycroft & Company|Thornycroft]]'s [[Woolston, Southampton]] shipyard, removing some of her torpedo tubes and a 4.5-inch gun in favour of two [[Squid (weapon)|Squid]] anti-submarine mortars.<ref name="Engp122">{{Harvnb|English|2008|p=122}}</ref>{{sfn|Marriott|1989|pp=58–59}} She recommissioned on 16 June 1957, replacing {{HMS|Comus|R43|2}} in the 8th Destroyer Squadron in [[Singapore]].<ref name="Engp122"/><ref name="marp59">{{Harvnb|Marriott|1989|p=59}}</ref> From March to April 1958, ''Cavalier'' took part in the [[Operation Grapple]], the British nuclear weapon tests at [[Malden Island]] and [[Kiritimati]].<ref name="Engp122"/> In August 1959, ''Cavalier'' was ordered to the important RAF base at [[Gan (Addu Atoll)|Gan Island]] in the [[Maldives]] in response to civil unrest, remaining there until relieved by sister ship {{HMS|Caprice||2}} on 29 August.<ref>{{Harvnb|Roberts|2009|p=23}}</ref> In December 1962, she transported 180 troops from Singapore to [[Brunei]] to help suppress a rebellion that became part of the [[Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation]].<ref>{{cite web|author=David Davies Lt. Cdr. Rtd Royal Navy/Royal New Zealand Navy |title=The Laughing Cavalier in Borneo |publisher=Britain's Small Wars |access-date=2009-04-25 |url=http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/Cavalier.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914203112/http://britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/Cavalier.html |archive-date=14 September 2008 }}</ref>

After disembarking the troops she remained in Brunei as a communications centre for several days until other Royal Navy ships arrived to relieve her.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Davies Lt. Cdr. Rtd Royal Navy/Royal New Zealand Navy |title=The Laughing Cavalier in Borneo |publisher=Britain's Small Wars |access-date=2009-04-25 |url=http://www.britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/Cavalier.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914203112/http://britains-smallwars.com/Borneo/Cavalier.html |archive-date=14 September 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Royal Marines killed in Brunei |newspaper=[[Navy News]] |date=January 1963 |page=1 |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/images/navynews/archivepdfs/1960s/1963/navy-news-january-1963-issue-103.pdf |access-date= 2 September 2020}}</ref> On 21 May 1964, ''Cavalier'' was being towed by the tug RFA ''Reward'' to [[Gibraltar]] for refit when she was in collision with the Liberian tanker ''Burgan'', about {{convert|35|nmi|mi km|abbr=on}} south-west of [[Brighton]]. ''Cavalier''{{'}}s bows were badly damaged, while one of ''Burgan''{{'}}s crew suffered head injuries and had to be airlifted to hospital.<ref name="Engp123">{{Harvnb|English|2008|p=123}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Cavalier damaged on tow to Gibraltar |newspaper=[[Navy News]] |date=June 1964 |page=3 |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/-/media/royal-navy-responsive/images/navynews/archivepdfs/1960s/1964/navy-news-june-1964-issue-120.pdf |access-date=31 May 2021}}</ref> ''Cavalier'' underwent temporary repairs at [[Portsmouth]] before being fitted with a new bow at [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]]. She finally underwent the planned refit at Gibraltar from August 1964 to April 1966.<ref name="Engp123"/>

On 6 July 1971, ''Cavalier'' participated in a race against a similar ship, ''Rapid''. ''Cavalier'' narrowly won the race after a safety valve blew on ''Rapid''. ''Cavalier'' was presented with the 'Cock o' the Fleet' award. The award can be seen on the ship's bridge to this day.<ref>{{Citation|last=World of Warships Official Channel|title=Naval Legends: HMS Cavalier {{!}} World of Warships]|date=2017-09-22|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGopN1Gaoew|access-date=2019-05-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWthCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA92|title=HMS Cavalier Destroyer 1944|last=Johnstone-Bryden|first=Richard|date=2015-07-30|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|isbn=9781848323759|language=en}}</ref> ''Cavalier'' was decommissioned in 1972 and is the last surviving British destroyer of the Second World War still in Britain.

==Fate==
After decommissioning at [[Chatham Dockyard]], she was laid up in Portsmouth. As a unique survivor, after a five-year campaign led by [[Lord Louis Mountbatten]], the ship was purchased by the Cavalier Trust for £65,000 and handed over on [[Trafalgar Day]] 1977 in Portsmouth. By selling the ship to the trust, the UK government and the Royal Navy severed all formal connection and responsibility for the ship. A special warrant was issued that allows her to retain the prefix "HMS" ([[His Majesty's Ship]]) and fly the [[White Ensign]], a privilege normally only enjoyed by commissioned ships of the Royal Navy. A similar privilege is enjoyed by another museum ship, the cruiser {{HMS|Belfast|C35|2}}.

Moved to [[Southampton]], ''Cavalier'' opened as a museum and memorial ship in August 1982.  This was not commercially successful, and in October 1983 the ship was moved to Brighton, where she formed the centrepiece of a newly built yacht marina.

[[File:HMS Cavalier propeller.jpg|thumb|Propeller from HMS ''Cavalier'' erected in 1995 as a memorial on the esplanade at East Cowes, Isle of Wight, "in recognition of the shipbuilders of J. Samuel White and the sailors who gave their lives for their country".]]
In 1987, the ship was brought to the [[River Tyne]] to form the main attraction of a national shipbuilding exhibition centre planned by [[South Tyneside|South Tyneside Metropolitan Borough Council]] in the former shipyard of [[Hawthorn Leslie and Company]], builders of many similar destroyers. The plans for the museum came to nothing, and the borough council, faced with annual maintenance costs of £30,000 and a hardening of public opinion against unnecessary expenditure, resolved to sell the ship and wind up the venture in 1996. The ship sat in a dry dock (owing to a previous list) in a rusting condition, awaiting a buyer or scrapping in situ.

After the reforming of the Cavalier Trust, and a debate in Parliament, in 1998 ''Cavalier'' was bought by Chatham Historic Dockyard for display as a museum ship. Arriving on 23 May 1998, ''Cavalier'' now resides in No. 2 dry-dock.

On 14 November 2007, ''Cavalier'' was officially designated as a war memorial to the 142 Royal Navy destroyers sunk during World War II and the 11,000 men killed on those ships. The unveiling of a bronze monument created by the artist Kenneth Potts was conducted by [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]. The monument is adjacent to the ship at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, Kent.

In the summer of 2009 the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust made available accommodation on board the ship for youth groups who wish to stay on board and experience life on board a Royal Naval destroyer.

In September 2010, ''Cavalier'' fired a full broadside from the ship. This was due to the work of the heritage naval gun crew who restored all three 4.5-in guns back to working condition in conjunction with the Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust.

In April 2014 ''Cavalier'' was added to [[Google Maps Business View]] (formerly [[Google Business Photos]])<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.google.com/maps/about/partners/businessview/ | title=Business View|access-date=20 April 2014}}</ref> in celebration of the 70th anniversary of her launch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cinsidemedia.com/hmscavalier/ |title=HMS Cavalier – Google Maps Business View |publisher=cinsidemedia.com |access-date=20 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420105342/http://cinsidemedia.com/hmscavalier/ |archive-date=20 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.co.uk/maps/preview?layer=c&z=17&sll=51.394928,0.526754&cid=13872370492548617220&panoid=3tEcgbLJHCMAAAGuxVGLVQ&cbp=13,14.535666218034935,,0,0&q=hms+cavalier+chatham&ei=r9NTU9ygM6XP0AW904HoAw&ved=0CLEBEKAfMA4 |title=HMS Cavalier – Google Maps|access-date=20 April 2014}}</ref> The tour, which includes  ''Cavalier''{{'}}s engine and gear room, was enhanced with interactive audio hotspots to enable visitors with accessibility issues to explore the ship.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/HMS_Cavalier/HMS_Cavalier__Google_Tour/HMS_Cavalier__Google_Tour.html |title=The Historic Dockyard Chatham – HMS Cavalier Virtual Tour |publisher=thedockyard.co.uk |access-date=20 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421081859/http://www.thedockyard.co.uk/HMS_Cavalier/HMS_Cavalier__Google_Tour/HMS_Cavalier__Google_Tour.html |archive-date=21 April 2014}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
File:HMS Cavalier (D73).jpg|''Cavalier'' in 2014
File:HMS Cavalier bridge.jpg|Navigation bridge
File:Forward 4.5 inch guns HMS Cavalier.jpg|Forward 4.5in guns
File:HMS Cavalier operations room.jpg|Operations room
File:HMS Cavalier Seacat launcher.jpg|Seacat launcher
File:HMS Cavalier seamen's mess.jpg|Seaman's mess
File:HMS Cavalier ship's bell.jpg|Ship's bell
File:HMS Cavalier grog tub.jpg|The grog tub
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Obdurate to Daring: British Fleet Destroyers 1941–45|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Windsor, UK|year=2008|isbn=978-0-9560769-0-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Marriott |first=Leo |title=Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945 |publisher=Ian Allan Ltd |date=1989 |isbn=0-7110-1817-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/royalnavydestroy0000marr }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=McMurtrie |editor-first=Francis E. |title=Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II |publisher=Crescent Books/Random House |date=1989 |isbn=0-51767-963-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/janesfightingshi00fran }}
* {{cite book |last=Roberts |first=John |title=Safeguarding the Nation: The Story of the Modern Royal Navy |year=2009 |location=Annapolis, Maryland, USA |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-59114-812-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Johnstone-Bryden |first=Richard |title=HMS Cavalier: Destroyer 1944 |year=2015 |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |isbn=978-1-84832-226-4}}
* {{cite book |last=David L. Williams |first=Richard P. De Kerbrech |title=J. Samuel White and Co., Shipbuilders |year=2012 |publisher=History Press Limited |isbn=978-0-75246-612-5}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|HMS Cavalier (R73)}}
* {{hnsa|hms-cavalier}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090427105348/http://www.chdt.org.uk/Historic_Warships/HMS_Cavalier/hms_cavalier.html Chatham Historic Dockyard]
* 
* [http://www.hmscarysfort.co.uk/ HMS ''Carysfort'' and ''Cavalier'' Association]

{{C class destroyer (1943)}}
{{National Historic Ships}}
{{coord|51.394982|0.526637|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavalier (R73)}}
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cold War destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Museum ships in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1944 ships]]
[[Category:C-class destroyers (1943) of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships and vessels of the National Historic Fleet]]