HMS Prince Charles (1941)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Belgium | |
| Name | Prince Charles |
| Owner | Regie voor Maritiem Transport |
| Builder | Cockerill (Hoboken, Belgium) |
| Launched | 12 April 1930 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Prince Charles |
| Commissioned | 21 September 1941 |
| Decommissioned | 1945 |
| Belgium | |
| Name | Prince Charles |
| Owner | Regie voor Maritiem Transport |
| In service | 1945 |
| Out of service | 21 December 1960 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap and broken up at Willebroek |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 3,088 GRT |
| Length | 360 ft (110 m) |
| Propulsion | 6 boilers, 2 shafts, geared steam turbines, producing 15,400 shp (11.5 MW) |
| Speed | 24 kn (44 km/h) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament | 2 × 12 pdr AA guns (single), 2 × 2 pdr AA (single), 6 × 20 mm guns (single) |
| Notes | Carried 8 × LCA's/LCS(M)s or LCP(L)s |
HMS Prince Charles was a ship taken up from trade in the Second World War. Built as the Belgian cross-channel ferry Prince Charles, she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and used as a Landing ship, infantry, before being returned in early 1945.
History[edit]
Civilian service[edit]
Prince Charles was originally ordered by the Belgian government in 1929 as part of a series of four fast ferries for cross-channel use, and was completed in 1930. The ship was named after Prince Charles of Belgium.
After the war, Prince Charles resumed her cross-channel service without incident before being scrapped in December 1960.
Operation Archery[edit]
Prior to commencing Operation Archery, the operation's task force assembled at Scapa Flow and travelled from there to Sullom Voe, arriving at 13:30 on 25 December 1941.[1] During the passage both Prince Charles and another transport, Prince Leopold reported several defects, resulting in the forward compartments of Charles being flooded to a depth of 14 feet (4.3 m).[1] At 16:15, the decision was taken to delay the operation by 24 hours because of the seaworthiness of Prince Charles, and the expected poor weather en route.[1] Prince Charles was assisted in having water pumped out by Chiddingfold, and as a result all repairs were completed by 14:00 hours on 26 December.[1] The force set sail at 16:00 hours on the same day.[1]
Operation Jubilee[edit]
Prince Charles was used in the ill-fated landings at Dieppe in 1942, along with her sister ships, Prince Leopold, Prince Albert and Princess Astrid. All four ships originally served on the same pre-war Ostend–Dover route.
Omaha Beach landings[edit]
Prince Charles also took part in the D-Day landings, transporting 300 US Rangers to Omaha Beach, and carrying wounded soldiers back to the UK.[2] During the landings, she lost three of her attached Landing Craft Assault.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Tovey, John (2 July 1948). "Raid on military and economic objectives in the vicinity of Vaagso Island". Supplement to The London Gazette. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
- ^ Birch, Mark (22 January 2000). "Tribute to terrifying time for Taranaki war veteran". The Daily News. New Plymouth. p. 5.
- ^ "Law, Robert". The Times Union. Albany, New York. 1 September 2006. p. B9.