HMS Barrosa (D68)

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Barrosa
Ordered:	1943
Builder:	John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Yard number:	615
Laid down:	28 December 1943
Launched:	17 January 1945
Commissioned:	14 February 1947
Decommissioned:	1968
Fate:	Broken up 1978
General characteristics
Class and type:	Battle class destroyer
Displacement:	2,480 tons standard
Length:	379 ft (116 m)
Beam:	40 ft 6 in (12.34 m)
Draught:	12 ft 8 in (3.86 m) mean 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) maximum
Propulsion:	Oil fired, two three-drum boilers, Parsons geared turbines, twin screws, 50,000 hp (37 MW)
Speed:	35.75 knots (66.21 km/h)
Complement:	268
Armament:	Originally: 5 × 4.5-inch (114 mm) gun 8 × Bofors 40 mm guns 10 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes 1 × Squid mortar Later: Sea Cat missiles
Service record
Part of:	4th Destroyer Flotilla 4th Destroyer Squadron 8th Destroyer Squadron 24th Escort Squadron

HMS Barrosa (D68) was a later or 1943 Battle-class fleet destroyer of the Royal Navy.

Naming

She was named after the Battle of Barrosa, which took place in 1811 between British-Allied forces and France, and which ended in a French defeat. Barrosa was built by John Brown & Company. She was launched on 17 January 1945 and commissioned on 14 February 1947.

Operations

In 1948, Barrosa joined the 4th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet.^[1] In 1950, Barrosa with one of her sister-ships and the carrier HMS Vengeance, where the small group performed a number of naval exercises and visits to a variety of ports. Barrosa was placed in Reserve that same year.

In 1953, Barrosa took part in the Coronation Fleet Review at Spithead in honour of the newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II. Barrosa was positioned in the middle of her sister-ships HMS Aisne and HMS Agincourt.^[2] During the same year, Barrosa joined the 4th Destroyer Squadron, having spells with the Home and Mediterranean Fleets.

In November 1956 Barrosa formed part of the Royal Navy force deployed in the eastern Mediterranean during the Suez Crisis, as part of the 4th Destroyer Squadron.

Refit and conversion to radar picket

In 1959, Barrosa collided with her sister-ship HMS Corunna in the Atlantic. Later that year, Barrosa underwent modification to become a radar picket, with the addition of the Sea Cat missile, as well as new anti-aircraft weaponry and new radar. In 1962, Barrosa joined the 8th Destroyer Squadron (not verified), based in the Far East, before joining the 24th Escort Squadron. In 1968, Barrosa was decommissioned, being broken up at Blyth in Northumberland in 1978.

Commanding officers

References

Publications

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475. 
• Hodges, Peter (1971). Battle Class Destroyers. London: Almark Publishing. ISBN 0-85524-012-1. 

External links

• HMS Barrosa (Clydebuilt Ships Database)

Battle-class destroyers
Royal Navy	1942 group Armada Barfleur Cadiz Camperdown Finisterre Gabbard Gravelines Hogue Lagos St. James St. Kitts Saintes Sluys Solebay Trafalgar Vigo 1943 group Completed Agincourt Aisne Alamein Barrosa Corunna Dunkirk Malplaquet / Jutland Matapan Cancelled Albuera Belleisle Jutland Mons Namur Navarino Omdurman Oudenarde Poictiers River Plate San Domingo Somme St. Lucia Talavera Trincomalee Vimiera Waterloo Ypres
Royal Australian Navy	Anzac Tobruk
Other operators  Imperial Iranian Navy Artemiz / Damavand (ex-Sluys)  Pakistan Navy Badr / Indus (ex-Gabbard) Khaibar (ex-Cadiz)
Preceded by: Weapon class Followed by: Daring class
List of destroyers of the Royal Navy List of destroyers of the Royal Australian Navy