HMS DUNCAN was a Defender class destroyer (built under the 1930 naval building programme) launched in 1932 and completed on 31 March 1933. She was 329 feet long, 33 feet wide and had a maximum speed of 36.5 knots. Her pre war main armament consisted of four 4.7" and one 3" H.A. guns, two quadruple 21" torpedo tube mountings, two throwers and one rail for depth charges. This was later changed to three 4.7" and six 20mm Oerlikon guns, four throwers and two rails.
The outbreak of war found her serving in Shanghai as Leader of the 21st Destroyer Flotilla but within weeks the whole flotilla was transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet. On the 19th December 1939, having previously left Gibraltar for the Clyde and being en route from that port to Chatham she made contact with a U boat and unsuccessfully attacked it. She remained with the Home Fleet until the end of October when she left the Clyde, with the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, for operations in the Mediterranean. Almost immediately she took part in Cperation Crack (the Fleet Air Arm Attack on Cagliari, Sardinia) during which the Duncan had several narrow escapes. As part of Force H she was constantly acting as escort for Malta convoys. In March 1941 she escorted HMS Repulse and HMS Furious for Operation Summer (the conveyance of aircraft to Takoradi) and was subsequently stationed in Freetown for a time before rejoining Force I. During the course of the next few months she carried out unsuccessful attacks on 3 U boats.
In May 1942 HMS Duncan was transferred to the Eastern Fleet where she remained until September of that year wien she started on her way back to Britain by way of Freetown, Bermuda and New York. Following a short spell with the Western Approaches Command she underwent a refit in London which was completed in March 1943. Following this refit HMS Duncan joined Western Approaches Command as part of Escort Unit B7. As part of this unit she was involved in the successful counter attacks against U boats which resulted in the sinking of four of them during their attack on convoy ONS5 off Cape Farewell. Before leaving Unit B7 she, in company of corvette Snowflake sank U258. She subsequently picked up 15 survivors of U470 which had been sunk by a Liberator aircraft. This rescue was followed by another successful attack on a U boat. This time U282 was the victim. The Duncan continued to serve in Home waters, first with the 14th Escort Group and then with the Greenock Coastal Escort Pool. In June 1945 the Duncan was reduced to Reserve at Barrow and then scrapped.
Per battle honours were:
Spartivento 1940. Malta Convoys 1941. Mediterranean 1941. Atlantic 1941-45. Diego Suarez 1942
Log Book July 1985.
Gibraltar SG522
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