Royal Navy — Destroyer
G55
HMS Lightning (G55)
L-class destroyer
Service
- as HMS Lightning28 May 1941 — 12 March 1943653 days of the war
L-class destroyer
Particulars
- Name
- HMS Lightning
- Pennant / hull number
- G55
- Builder
- Hawthorn Leslie & Co., Newcastle upon Tyne
- Ordered
- 31 March 1938
- Laid down
- 15 November 1938
- Launched
- 22 April 1940
- Commissioned
- 28 May 1941
- Fate
- Sunk by German torpedo boats, 12 March 1943
By torpedo (1943) - Status
- Wreck
Specifications
- Displacement, standard
- 1,920 long tons (1,951 t)
- Length
- 110.49 m (362.5 ft)
- Beam
- 11.28 m (37 ft)
- Draught
- 3.81 m (12.5 ft)
- Speed
- 33.8 knots (62.6 km/h, 38.9 mph)
- Range
- 5,500 nmi (10,186 km)
- Main gun
- 119 mm (4.7 in)
HMS Lightning was a L-class destroyer in service with the Royal Navy. She carried the pennant number G55. Her keel was laid at Hawthorn Leslie & Co., Newcastle upon Tyne on 15 November 1938. She entered service on 28 May 1941, having been launched on 22 April 1940.
She displaced 1,920 long tons. She measured 110.5 m (362 ft) long with a beam of 11.3 m (37 ft). Her designed speed was 33.8 knots. Her main battery was of 119 mm (4.7 in) calibre.
She was in commission for 653 days of the Second World War.
She was sunk on 12 March 1943 by torpedo, at 37°53′N 9°50′E. The wreck survives.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
Armament and machinery
- Propulsion
- 2 geared turbines
- Armament
- Original configuration:
- 6 × QF 4.7 in Mk.XI L/50 (119 mm), twin mounts HA/LA Mk.XX
- 1 × 4-inch Mark V AA gun
- 4 × QF 2 pdr Mk.VIII L/39 (40 mm), quad mount Mk.VII
- 8 × QF 0.5 in Mk.III Vickers (12.7 mm), quad mounts Mk.III
- 4 × tubes for 21 inch (533 mm) torpedoes, quad mount Mk.IX
- November 1942:
- 6 × QF 4.7 in Mk.XI L/50 (119 mm), twin mounts HA/LA Mk.XX
- 4 × QF 2 pdr Mk.VIII L/39 (40 mm), quad mount Mk.VII
- 4 × 20mm Oerlikon guns
- 8 × tubes for 21 in torpedoes, quad mounts Mk.IX
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from HMS Lightning (G55) on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Royal Navy official photographer — http://freespace.virgin.net/e.gilroy/ — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons