View source for HMS Hasty (H24)

{{Short description|H-class destroyer of the Royal Navy}}
{{Other ships|HMS Hasty}}
{{good article}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
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|Ship image=HMS Hasty.jpg
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{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Hasty''
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[William Denny & Brothers]], [[Dumbarton]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=15 April 1935
|Ship launched=5 May 1936
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed=11 November 1936
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: H24
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate=Torpedoed by the German [[E-boat|motor torpedo boat]] ''S-55'' on 14 June 1942, [[scuttled]] the following day.
|Ship notes=
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Header caption=as built
|Ship class=[[G and H-class destroyer|H-class]] [[destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|1350|LT|t}} ([[Standard displacement|standard]])
*{{convert|1883|LT|t}} ([[deep load]])
|Ship length={{convert|323|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|12|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship power={{convert|34000|shp|lk=in|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 shafts, [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s
*3 Admiralty 3-drum [[water-tube boiler]]s
|Ship speed={{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range={{convert|5530|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn}}
|Ship complement=137 (peacetime), 146 (wartime)
|Ship sensors=[[ASDIC]]
|Ship armament=*4 × single [[4.7 inch QF Mark XII|4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) Mark IX guns]]
*2 × quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun|12.7mm Vickers]] machine guns
*2 × quadruple [[British 21 inch torpedo|21 inch (533 mm)]] [[torpedo tubes]]
*2 × [[depth charge]] throwers, 1 rail and 20 depth charges
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''HMS ''Hasty''''' was an [[G and H-class destroyer|H-class]] [[destroyer]] built for the [[Royal Navy]] during the mid-1930s. She was assigned to the [[Mediterranean Fleet]] until the beginning of [[World War II]]. The ship transferred to [[Freetown]], Sierra Leone, in October 1939 to hunt for German [[commerce raider]]s in the South Atlantic with [[Force K]]. ''Hasty'' returned to the [[British Isles]] in early 1940 and covered the evacuation of Allied troops [[Namsos Campaign|from Namsos]] in early May 1940 during the [[Norwegian Campaign]]. She was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet shortly afterwards and participated in the [[Battle of Calabria]] and the [[Battle of Cape Spada]] in July 1940. The ship took part in the [[Battle of Cape Matapan]] in March and evacuated British and Australian troops from both [[Battle of Greece|Greece]] and [[Battle of Crete|Crete]] in April and May. In June, ''Hasty'' participated in the [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign]] and was escorting convoys and the larger ships of the Mediterranean Fleet for the next year. During the [[Second Battle of Sirte]] in March 1942 she defended a convoy from an Italian [[battleship]] and several cruisers. While covering another convoy from [[Alexandria]] to [[Malta]] in June 1942 during [[Operation Vigorous]], ''Hasty'' was torpedoed by a German [[motor torpedo boat]] and was so badly damaged that she had to be [[scuttled]].

==Description==
''Hasty'' displaced {{convert|1350|LT|t}} at [[Displacement (ship)|standard]] load and {{convert|1883|LT|t}} at [[deep load]]. The ship had an [[length overall|overall length]] of {{convert|323|ft|m|1}}, a [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|33|ft|m|1}} and a [[draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|12|ft|5|in|m|1}}. She was powered by [[Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company|Parsons]] geared [[steam turbine]]s, driving two shafts, which developed a total of {{convert|34000|shp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|36|kn|lk=in}}. Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3-drum [[water-tube boiler]]s. ''Hasty'' carried a maximum of {{convert|470|LT|t}} of [[fuel oil]] that gave her a range of {{convert|5530|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|15|kn}}. The ship's complement was 137 officers and men in peacetime,<ref name=w78>Whitley, p. 109</ref> but this increased to 146 in wartime.<ref>English, pp. 89, 102</ref>

The ship mounted four 45-[[caliber (artillery)|calibre]] [[4.7-inch QF Mark XII|4.7-inch (120&nbsp;mm) Mark IX guns]] in single mounts. For [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] (AA) defence, ''Hasty'' had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the [[Vickers .50 machine gun|0.5&nbsp;inch Vickers Mark III]] [[machine gun]]. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple [[torpedo tube]] mounts for [[British 21-inch torpedo|{{convert|21|in|adj=on|0}}]] torpedoes.<ref name=w78/> One [[depth charge]] rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.<ref>English, p. 141</ref>

Beginning in mid-1940, the ship's anti-aircraft armament was increased, although when exactly the modifications were made is not known. The rear set of torpedo tubes was replaced by a [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|{{convert|3|in|1|adj=on}}]] AA gun and the quadruple .50-calibre Vickers mounts were replaced by [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{convert|20|mm|adj=on|1}} Oerlikon]] [[autocannon]]. Two more Oerlikon guns were also added in the forward superstructure.<ref name=w0>Whitley, p. 110</ref>

==Service==
''Hasty'' was laid down by [[William Denny and Brothers]], of [[Dumbarton]] in [[Scotland]] on 15 April 1935, launched on 5 May 1936 and completed on 11 November 1936. Excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament, the ship cost £248,611.<ref>English, pp. 102–03</ref><ref group=Note>Adjusted for inflation to 20{{CURRENTYEARYY}} pounds, £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|248611|1935}}}}.</ref> She was assigned to the [[2nd Destroyer Flotilla]] of the Mediterranean Fleet upon commissioning. ''Hasty'' was refitted in [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport Dockyard]] in June–July 1939 and she returned to the Mediterranean afterwards.<ref name=e4>English, p. 104</ref>

''Hasty'' escorted convoys between [[Port Said]], Egypt and [[Gibraltar]] immediately after World War II began in September. In October the ship was transferred to Freetown to hunt for German commerce raiders in the South Atlantic with Force K. The ship and her [[sister ship|sisters]], {{HMS|Hardy|H87|2}}, {{HMS|Hereward|H93|2}}, and {{HMS|Hostile|H55|2}}, rendezvoused with the [[battlecruiser]] {{HMS|Renown|1916|2}}, the [[aircraft carrier]] {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|2}}, and the [[light cruiser]] {{HMS|Neptune|20|2}} on 17 December. They refuelled in [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil, before proceeding to the estuary of the [[Río de la Plata|River Plate]] in case the damaged German [[pocket battleship]] {{ship|German cruiser|Admiral Graf Spee||2}} attempted to escape from [[Montevideo]], Uruguay, where she had taken refuge after losing the [[Battle of the River Plate]].<ref>Rohwer, pp. 7–8, 11</ref> ''Hasty'' was ordered to the UK in January 1940 to refit and captured the German [[blockade runner]] SS ''Morea'' in the North Atlantic on 12 February en route.<ref name=e4/>

The ship was assigned to the Home Fleet after completing her refit in March. Together with the destroyer {{HMS|Vivien|1918|2}}, ''Hasty'' escorted the destroyer {{HMS|Jervis|F00|2}} into [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] on 19–20 March after the latter ship had collided with a Swedish merchant ship in the [[North Sea]].<ref name=e4/> Weather damage prevented the ship from participating in the early stages of the Norwegian Campaign, but she escorted the aircraft carriers {{HMS|Glorious||2}} and ''Ark Royal'' from 21 April as their aircraft attacked German targets in Norway. ''Hasty'' was one of ''Glorious''{{'}}s escorts when the carrier returned to [[Scapa Flow]] to refuel on 27 April. Two days later, the ship escorted the convoy that evacuated British and French troops [[Namsos Campaign|from Namsos]] in early May.<ref>Haarr, pp. 141–50, 169, 171</ref>

''Hasty'' and the 2nd Destroyer Flotilla were ordered to the Mediterranean on 16 May, and the ship escorted the {{ship|French battleship|Lorraine}} and three British cruisers as they bombarded [[Bardia]] during the night of 20/21 June. On 9 July ''Hasty'' participated in the Battle of Calabria as an escort for the heavy ships of Force C and unsuccessfully engaged Italian destroyers and suffered no damage. During the Battle of Cape Spada on 19 July, the ship escorted Australian [[light cruiser]] {{HMAS|Sydney|D48|6}} and rescued some 525 survivors from the {{ship|Italian cruiser|Bartolomeo Colleoni}} together with the other escorting destroyers.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 29, 32–33, 43</ref> ''Hasty'' and her sister {{HMS|Havock|H43|2}} sank the {{ship|Italian submarine|Berillo}} on 2 October off the coast of Egypt and rescued 47 survivors between them. The ship escorted the carrier {{HMS|Illustrious|87|2}} during the Battle of Taranto on the night of 11/12 November. During the bombardment of [[Valona, Albania]], on the night of 18/19 December, ''Hasty'' escorted the battleships {{HMS|Valiant|1914|2}} and {{HMS|Warspite|03|2}}.<ref name=e4/><ref>Rohwer, p. 52</ref>

The ship participated in [[Operation Excess]] in January 1941, during which she escorted a convoy and then escorted the battleship {{HMS|Barham|04|2}} from [[Souda Bay]], [[Crete]], to Alexandria. In late February, the ship evacuated British commandos from the island of [[Kastelorizo]], off the coast of Turkey, in the Italian [[Dodecanese]]. The commandos had defeated the small [[garrison]] in [[Operation Abstention]], but the Italians were able to land troops on the island over the next several days and overwhelm the British forces.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 54, 56, 61</ref> During the Battle of Cape Matapan on 28/29 March, ''Hasty'' escorted the four light cruisers of Force B, but was not seriously engaged during the battle. On 15 April the ship and the light cruiser {{HMS|Gloucester|62|2}} bombarded Italian positions between Bardia and [[Fort Capuzzo]]. In mid-April she escorted the fast transport {{HMS|Breconshire||2}} and three battleships from Alexandria to Malta, before going on to escort the battleships as they bombarded [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] on 20 April. After refuelling in Alexandria on 23 April, ''Hasty'' sailed for Greece to begin [[Battle of Greece#Evacuation of Commonwealth forces|evacuating]] British and Australian troops from the beaches. On 8 May, the ship again escorted the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet as they covered another convoy from Alexandria to Malta.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 66, 68–70, 72</ref> ''Hasty'' escorted the light cruisers {{HMS|Orion|85|6}} and {{HMS|Dido|37|2}} as they intercepted a German convoy attempting to [[Battle of Crete|land troops on Crete]] during the night of 21/22 May. The ship evacuated British and Commonwealth troops from Crete in late May.<ref name=e4/>

''Hasty'' bombarded [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] positions in [[Lebanon]] on 4 July during the [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign]],<ref>Rohwer, p. 78</ref> and then spent most of the rest of the year escorting convoys to [[Tobruk]].<ref name=e4/> On 25 November she was escorting the capital ships of the Mediterranean Fleet when the battleship ''Barham'' was torpedoed and sunk by {{ship|German submarine|U-331}}. While escorting a convoy, ''Hasty'' and her sister, {{HMS|Hotspur|H01|2}}, sank {{ship|German submarine|U-79|1941|2}} on 23 December north of [[As Sallum|Sollum]]. In January 1942, the ship escorted Convoys MF.3 and MF.4 from Alexandria to Malta, but was switched to the covering force for Convoy MF.5 in mid-February.<ref>Rohwer, pp. 118, 128, 136, 138, 143</ref> She was transferred to the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla on 24 February<ref name=e5>English, p. 105</ref> ''Hasty'' was escorting the merchants ships of Convoy MW.10 when the Second Battle of Sirte began on 22 March, but defended the convoy against the {{ship|Italian battleship|Littorio}} and three cruisers by threatening torpedo attacks from under the cover of a severe storm and a [[smoke screen]].<ref>Rohwer, p. 153</ref> ''Hasty'' was torpedoed by the German [[E-Boat]] ''S-55'' under the command of ''Oberleutnant zur See'' [[Horst Weber (naval officer)|Horst Weber]] as she covered a large convoy to Malta during Operation Vigorous, killing 13 men. The torpedo blew off most of the bow structure and both boiler rooms started to flood. ''Hotspur'' took off her crew and [[scuttled]] her with a torpedo during the morning of 15 June 1942.<ref name=e5/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s|year=1993|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Kendal, England|isbn=0-905617-64-9}}
* {{Cite book|last=Haarr|first=Geirr H.|title=The Battle for Norway: April–June 1940|year=2010|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=978-1-59114-051-1}}
* {{Cite book|last=Rohwer|first=Jürgen|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=2005|edition=Third Revised|isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1988|isbn=0-87021-326-1|location=Annapolis, Maryland}}

{{G and H class destroyer}}
{{June 1942 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasty (H24)}}
[[Category:G and H-class destroyers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:1936 ships]]
[[Category:World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1942]]