View source for HMS Dampier

{{short description|1948 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy}}

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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Dampier''
|Ship namesake=[[William Dampier]]
|Ship ordered=23 January 1943
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Smiths Dock Company]], [[South Bank, Middlesbrough]]
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|Ship laid down= 7 August 1944
|Ship launched= 15 May 1945, as ''Herne Bay''
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|Ship commissioned= 4 May 1948, as ''Dampier''
|Ship decommissioned= 31 January 1968
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|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]] K611/A303
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|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping, 1968
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge= On a Field White in front of 3 bars couped wavy Blue, a [[Roe deer|Roebuck]]'s head erased Proper, gorged with a ducal crown Gold
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class={{sclass2|Bay|frigate}}
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|Ship displacement=*{{Convert|1600|LT|t|0|lk=on|abbr=on}} standard
*{{Convert|2530|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
|Ship length=*{{Convert|286|ft|m|abbr=on}} [[Length between perpendiculars|p/p]]
*{{Convert|307|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} [[Length overall|o/a]]
|Ship beam={{Convert|38|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draught={{Convert|12|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, 4-cylinder vertical [[triple expansion]] [[steam engine|reciprocating engines]], {{Convert|5500|ihp|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{Convert|19.5|kn|lk=on}}
|Ship range=724 tons oil fuel, {{Convert|9500|nmi|km|abbr=on}} at {{Convert|12|kn|km/h}}
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|Ship complement= 133
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|Ship armament=*4 × 3-pounder saluting guns
*[[minesweeper (ship)|Minesweeping]] gear aft
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'''HMS ''Dampier''''' was a [[survey ship]] of the [[Royal Navy]], named after the explorer, author and privateer, [[William Dampier]] (1652–1715). Originally intended as a {{sclass2|Bay|frigate|0}} [[anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] [[frigate]], the ship was in commission from 1948 to 1968, spending her entire career based at Singapore, carrying out survey work.

==Construction==
The ship was ordered on 23 January 1943 from [[Smiths Dock Company]], [[South Bank, Middlesbrough]], as the {{sclass2|Loch|frigate}} ''Loch Eil''. The ship was laid down on 7 August 1944, but the contract was then changed, and the ship was completed to a revised design as a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate, and launched on 15 May 1945 as ''Herne Bay'' (K611). Work on the ship was suspended on 26 September 1945, and she was towed to [[Chatham Dockyard]]. In July 1946 work recommenced to convert her into a [[survey ship]]. She was renamed ''Dampier'' and assigned the [[pennant number]] A303.<ref name="naval-history.net">{{Cite web |url= http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-17Survey-Dampier.htm |title=HMS ''Dampier'', British survey ship |work=naval-history.net |last=Mason |first=Geoffrey B. |editor=Gordon Smith |year=2004 |accessdate=26 January 2011}}</ref>

==Service history==
''Dampier'' was commissioned on 4 May 1948, and in June arrived at Singapore, which would be her [[home port]] for almost the next twenty years. There she was employed in carrying out [[Oceanography|oceanographic]] and [[hydrographic survey]]s around the coasts of [[British Malaya|Malaya]], [[Borneo]], and Hong Kong, in the [[South China Sea|South China]] and [[Java Sea]]s, with annual refits in Hong Kong, and inspections at Singapore.<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

On 5 October 1967 ''Dampier'' finally left Singapore to return to the UK, arriving at [[Simon's Town]], South Africa, on 17 November. A week later, after local exercises, it was discovered that the ship's starboard [[propeller shaft]] was broken. The ship was obliged to continue her voyage on only one shaft. At [[Freetown]], [[Sierra Leone]], she found that there was no suitable equipment available to make repairs. With only three weeks remaining to make the 3,000 miles back to England in time for Christmas, the ship took the unusual step of manufacturing and hoisting a set of sails. Three [[lug sail]]s made from [[awning]] canvas were hoisted on 11 December, and four days later a set of [[square sail]]s. With the assistance of this rig, ''Dampier'' arrived at Chatham on 23 December to be greeted by Flag Officer Medway and the [[Hydrographer of the Navy]].<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

''Dampier'' was decommissioned at Chatham on 31 January 1968 and reduced to the Reserve. The ship was later placed on the Disposal List, and then sold to a Belgian shipbreaker. She was towed away for breaking-up on 17 January 1969.<ref name="naval-history.net"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Publications==
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}

==External links==
* [http://www.lochclassfrigates.com/locheil.html Photo of HMS ''Dampier''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305101610/http://www.lochclassfrigates.com/locheil.html |date=5 March 2009 }}

{{Bay class frigate}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

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[[Category:1945 ships]]
[[Category:Bay-class frigates]]
[[Category:Survey vessels of the Royal Navy]]