HMS Curacoa (D41)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | C-class light cruiser |
| Name: | HMS Curacoa |
| Builder: | Pembroke Dockyard Harland and Wolff |
| Laid down: | July 1916 |
| Launched: | 5 May 1917 |
| Commissioned: | 18 February 1918 |
| Reclassified: | Converted to Anti-Aircraft cruiser from August 1939 until April 1940 |
| Fate: | Sunk in collision with RMS Queen Mary, 2 October 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 4,190 tons |
| Length: | 450 ft (140 m) |
| Beam: | 43.6 ft (13.3 m) |
| Draught: | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two Brown-Curtis geared turbines Six Yarrow boilers Two screws 40,000 shp |
| Speed: | 29 knots |
| Range: | carried 300 tons (950 tons maximum) of fuel oil |
| Complement: | 327 |
| Armament: | 5 × 6 inch (152 mm) guns 2 × 3 inch (76 mm) guns 2 × 2 pounder (907g) guns 8 × 21 inch torpedo tubes |
| Armour: | 3 inch side (amidships) 2¼-1½ inch side (bows) 2 inch side (stern) 1 inch upper decks (amidships) 1 inch deck over rudder |
HMS Curacoa was a World War I light cruiser of the "C" class, named after the island in the Caribbean Sea more usually spelled Curaçao. She was part of the Ceres group of the C-class of cruisers. She became one of the major accidental losses of the Royal Navy during World War II. The wrecksite is designated as a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.[1]
Having 'played' a German battlecruiser in the 1935 film Brown on Resolution, she served during the early stages of the war with the Home Fleet. She spent four days serving as anti-aircraft protection off Åndalsnes, Norway. During this period, she was seriously damaged by bombs from German aircraft and forced to return to the UK for repairs, that lasted into August.
On 2 October 1942 she was engaged in convoy escort duties with the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary. While both ships were zigzagging, the Curacoa crossed the Queen Mary's bow with insufficient clearance. The Queen Mary struck her amidships at a speed of 28 knots, cutting the Curacoa in two. Separated by about 100 yards, she sank instantly with 338 casualties. Due to the risk of U-boats, the Queen Mary could not even slow to assist, and steamed on with a fractured stem. The following ships in the convoy rescued 99 survivors (including Captain John W. Boutwood, RN) from the water.[2]
References
- Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben (2006). Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- Jane's Fighting Ships of World War One (1919), Jane's Publishing Company
Further reading
- D. Thomas, Patrick Homes, P Holmes - "Queen Mary" and the Cruiser: "Curacoa" Disaster (1997) ISBN 0-85052-548-9
- Jane's Fighting Ships of WWII
- The Pessimist's Guide to History, Stuart and Doris Flexner, 1992
External links
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Coordinates: 55°50′N 8°38′W / 55.833, -8.633
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