Recognition Guide Warships of the Second World War
Royal Navy — Battleship 17

HMS Duke of York (17)

King George V-class battleship (1939) battleship

HMS Duke of York (17)
RN official photographer, Parnall C H (Lt) — This photograph A 7894 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 4700-01) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons Plate — 17 Waves crashing over the bow, HMS Duke of York steaming at 20 to 25 knots during an Arctic convoy to Russia (photographed from the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious ).

Service

  1. Royal Navy as Duke of York4 November 1941 — November 19511,398 days of the war
King George V-class battleship (1939) battleship Particulars
Name
HMS Duke of York
Pennant / hull number
17
Namesake
George VI (previously the Duke of York)
Builder
John Brown and Company, Clydebank
Ordered
16 November 1936
Laid down
5 May 1937
Launched
28 February 1940
Commissioned
4 November 1941
Decommissioned
November 1951
Struck
18 May 1957
Fate
Ordered to be scrapped, 8 May 1957 (1957)
Status
Scrapped

Specifications

Displacement, full load
42,046 long tons (42,721 t)
Length
227.08 m (745 ft) OA
Beam
31.39 m (103 ft)
Draught
10.06 m (33 ft)
Speed
28.6 knots (53 km/h, 32.9 mph)
Range
5,600 nmi (10,371 km)
Complement
1,614
Main gun
356 mm (14 in)

HMS Duke of York was a King George V-class battleship (1939) battleship built for the Royal Navy. She carried the pennant number 17. The ship was named after George VI. Her keel was laid at John Brown and Company, Clydebank on 5 May 1937. Launched on 28 February 1940, she entered service on 4 November 1941.

Her class ran to 30 ships. The class followed the Nelson-class battleship and was succeeded by the Lion-class battleship.

Displacement was 42,046 long tons. She measured 227.1 m (745 ft) long with a beam of 31.4 m (103 ft). Her designed speed was 28.6 knots, and she carried a complement of 1,614.

Her main battery was two 356 mm (14 in) guns in one twin mountings. She carried two aircraft. Her machinery developed 110,000 shp.

She was in commission for 1,398 days of the Second World War. She was decommissioned in November 1951. She was struck from the register on 18 May 1957.

She was broken up for scrap on 8 May 1957.

Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.

Armament and machinery

Armament and machinery
Propulsion
  • 4 geared steam turbine sets
Power
  • 8 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
  • 110000 shp
Armament
  • 2 × quadruple, 1 × twin 14 in guns
  • 8 × twin 5.25 in DP guns
  • 6 × octuple 2 pdr 40 mm AA guns
  • 6 × single 20 mm AA guns
Armour
  • Main Belt: 14.7 in
  • Deck: 5 - 6 in
  • Main turrets: 12.75 in
  • Bulkheads: 10 - 12 in
  • Conning tower: 3 - 4 in
Aircraft
  • 2 × Supermarine Walrus amphibious flying boats

Sister ships

5 more in the class

Sources

  • Facts harvested from HMS Duke of York (17) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
  • Photograph: RN official photographer, Parnall C H (Lt) — This photograph A 7894 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums (collection no. 4700-01) — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons