HMS Hogue (D74)

HMS Hogue was a Battle-class destroyer of the Royal Navy that was commissioned during the Second World War. She was named after the Battle of La Hogue, fought between the British and French in 1692; the ship's badge a chess rook on a field blue, within a chaplet of laurel gold was derived from the arms of Admiral Sir George Rooke who distinguished himself at the battle.[1]

HMS Hogue (D74)
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Hogue
Laid down:	6 January 1943
Launched:	21 April 1944
Commissioned:	24 July 1945
Identification:	Pennant number D74
Fate:	Sold for scrap
General characteristics
Class and type:	Battle-class destroyer
Displacement:	2,315 tons standard / 3,290 tons full load
Length:	379 ft (116 m)
Beam:	40 ft 3 in (12.27 m)
Draught:	12.75 ft (3.89 m) standard 15.3 ft (4.7 m) full load
Propulsion:	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 Parsons geared steam turbines, 2 shafts, 50,000 shp (37 MW)
Speed:	34 knots (63 km/h)
Range:	4,400 nmi (8,100 km) at 20 kn (37 km/h)
Complement:	247 peace time, 308 war
Armament:	2 × twin 4.5 in guns QF Mark III on mounting BD Mk. IV 1 × single QF 4 inch naval gun Mk XXIII on mount Mk. III 4 × twin 40 mm Bofors mounts "Hazemeyer" Mk. IV 4-6 × single 40 mm Bofors mounts Mk. VII 2 × quad tubes for 21 inch (533 mm) torpedoes Mk. IX Two depth charge rails. Four depth charge throwers. Depth charges later replaced by 1 × Squid A/S mortar

Hogue was built at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead during the Second World and launched on 21 April 1944.

Service

After being commissioned on 24 July 1945, Hogue joined the 19th Destroyer Flotilla of the British Pacific Fleet.[2] She remained on station until withdrawn from service in 1947 and placed in reserve.[2]

Selected for modernisation and refitted, Hogue returned to service in 1957 with the 1st Destroyer Squadron in the Home and Mediterranean Fleets.[2] With sister ships Lagos and Solebay, during 1957 Hogue with Lagos and | Solebay, patrolled the Island of Cyprus, searching the fishing boats for arms and explosives. Hogue in 1958 patrolled the waters around Iceland.[3] She operated against the Icelandic Coast Guard during the First Cod War. In September, it was claimed by Iceland that she had collided with the trawler Northern Foam while trying to prevent her being boarded by the Maria Julia.[4]

In 1959, Hogue almost collided while refuelling with the aircraft carrier Centaur in the Bay of Biscay.[5] She was used with the destroyer Cavalier to depict the destroyer night attacks in the film "Sink the Bismarck!".

While participating in a night-time exercise with other navies off Ceylon on 25 August, the Indian light cruiser INS Mysore, rammed into Hogue, effectively crushing the destroyer's bow and folding it level to the side of the ship,[6] killing a sailor and injuring three others.[7] So extensive was the damage that she remained in Singapore until broken up in 1962, having been deemed to be a "Constructive total loss".[2]

Notes

1. Smith, Gordon. "HMS HOGUE (H.74) - Battle-class Destroyer". naval-history.net. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
2. Mason, Geoffrey B. (2004). "HMS Hogue (H.74) - Battle-class Destroyer". naval-history.net. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
3. Yuletide Fare in "Drop" by Shackletons, The Glasgow Herald, 22 December 1958, p. 2
4. Trawler Hits Destroyer off Island, The Age, 1 October, p. 3.
5. Wettern, Desmond (1982), The decline of British seapower, p. 179.
6. Ships monthly, p. 11
7. Wettern, Desmond (1982), The decline of British seapower, p. 171

References

• 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.
• Hodges, Peter (1971). Battle Class Destroyers. London: Almark Publishing. ISBN 0-85524-012-1.