HMS Winchester (L55)

History
United Kingdom
Class and type:	Admiralty W-class destroyer
Name:	HMS Winchester
Builder:	J. Samuel White, East Cowes, Isle of Wight
Laid down:	12 June 1917
Launched:	1 February 1918
Completed:	29 April 1918
Identification:	Pennant number L55
Motto:	'Valour makyth the man'
Fate:	Sold for scrap in March 1946
Badge:	On a Field, Party per fess Silver and red., in chief a Tudor rose red in base a castle Silver.
General characteristics
Displacement:	1,100 tons
Length:	300 ft (91 m) o/a, 312 ft (95 m) p/p
Beam:	26.75 ft (8.15 m)
Draught:	9 ft (2.7 m) standard, 11 to 25 ft (3.4 to 7.6 m) in deep
Propulsion:	3 Yarrow type Water-tube boilers Brown-Curtis steam turbines 2 shafts 27,000 shp (20,000 kW)
Speed:	34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph)
Range:	320-370 tons oil, 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), 900 nmi (1,700 km) at 32 knots (59 km/h; 37 mph)
Complement:	110
Armament:	4 × QF 4 in Mk.V (102mm L/45), mount P Mk.I 2 × QF 2 pdr Mk.II "pom-pom" (40 mm L/39) or; 1 × QF 3 inch 20 cwt (76 mm), mount HA Mk.II 6 (2x3) tubes for 21 in torpedoes

HMS Winchester was an Admiralty W-class destroyer of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the First and Second World Wars.

History

Winchester was ordered by J. Samuel White and Company, Cowes, on the Isle of Wight as part of the 1916-1917 fleet program 10 order. Her keel was laid on 12 June 1917 and she was launched on 1 February 1918. The ship was completed on 29 April 1918.

Completed towards the end of the First World War, Winchester went on to be part of operations against the Bolsheviks in the Baltic Sea. After the Second World War the ship was placed on the reserve list, and was sold in March 1946. The ship was scrapped in Inverkeithing.

Bibliography

• Campbell, John (1985). Naval Weapons of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-459-4. 
• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7. 
• 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. OCLC 67375475. 
• Cocker, Maurice; Allan, Ian. Destroyers of the Royal Navy, 1893-1981. ISBN 0-7110-1075-7. 
• Friedman, Norman (2009). British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-081-8. 
• Gardiner, Robert & Gray, Randal, eds. (1984). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-245-5. 
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7. 
• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892-1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service. OCLC 164893555. 
• Preston, Antony (1971). 'V & W' Class Destroyers 1917-1945. London: Macdonald. OCLC 464542895. 
• Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1979). 'V' and 'W' Class Destroyers. Man o'War. 2. London: Arms & Armour. ISBN 0-85368-233-X. 
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2. 
• Whinney, Bob (2000). The U-boat Peril: A Fight for Survival. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35132-6. 
• Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1. 
• Winser, John de D. (1999). B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-91-6. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to HMS Winchester (L55).

V- and W- class destroyers
Admiralty	V class leaders  Royal Navy Malcolm / Valkyrie Bruce / Valentine Montrose / Valorous Wallace / Vampire Douglas / Valhalla  Royal Australian Navy Vampire V class  Royal Navy Vanoc Vimiera Vehement Vanquisher Verdun Vega Violent Vendetta Vectis Venturous Verulam Vortigern Venetia Vittoria Versatile Vivacious Velox Vesper Vancouver / Vimy Vivien Vidette Vanessa Vanity  Royal Australian Navy Vendetta W class  Royal Navy Completed Westminster Wakeful Watchman Walker Whirlwind Winchelsea Walrus Warwick Winchester Walpole Westcott Wrestler Wessex Wolfhound Waterhen Whitby / Whitley Voyager Wryneck Windsor Cancelled Wayfarer Woodpecker  Royal Australian Navy Voyager Waterhen Modified W class Completed Venom / Venomous Witherington Whitshed Verity Wivern Vansittart Volunteer Veteran Wanderer Wild Swan Wolverine Whitehall Worcester / Yeoman Wren Cancelled Vantage / Vimy Vashon Vengeful Vigo Vigorous / Wistful Virulent Volage Volcano Votary Wager Wake Waldegrave Walton Warren Watson Wave Weazel Welcome Welfare Wellesley Werewolf Westphal Westward Ho Willoughby Wheeler Whelp Whip Whippet Whitaker White Bear Whitehead Winter Wrangler Wye Yeoman Zealous Zebra Zodiac
Thornycroft	V class Viceroy Viscount W class Wolsey Woolston Modified W class Wishart Witch
Preceded by: S class Followed by: Scott class
List of destroyers of the Royal Navy