View source for HMS Shikari (D85)

{{short description|Destroyer of the Royal Navy}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:HMS Shikari FL5438.jpg|300px|alt=A light coloured warship with two funnels is at anchor. The letters I85 are painted on the ship's bow. A single gun is visible forward. The ship has two masts, with the forward, cruciform, mast carrying a large number of aerials, while the aft lattice mast carries a cylindrical antenna.]]
|Ship caption=HMS ''Shikari'' during the Second World War
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=''Shikari''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship builder=[[William Doxford & Sons]], Sunderland
|Ship laid down=15 January 1918
|Ship launched=14 July 1919
|Ship completed=
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|Ship commissioned=April 1924
|Ship decommissioned=
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|Ship identification=[[Pennant number]]: D85
|Ship fate=Scrapped on 4 November 1945
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}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Ship class=[[S-class destroyer (1917)|Admiralty S-class destroyer]]
|Ship displacement=
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|}
'''HMS ''Shikari'' (D85)''' was an [[S-class destroyer (1917)|Admiralty S-class]] [[destroyer]] of the [[Royal Navy]]. She was built by [[William Doxford & Sons]], [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]] and launched on 14 July 1919. She was one of the destroyers that took part in the [[Invergordon Mutiny]]. In 1933, she was briefly commanded by [[Frederic John Walker]], who was to rise to fame as the foremost Allied submarine hunter of World War II.

On 4 June 1940, ''Shikari'' was the last ship to leave [[Dunkirk]].

==Construction and design==
''Shikari'' was ordered from Doxford Shipyard in April 1917 as part of the first batch of 24 S-class destroyers.<ref name="Friedman p311">Friedman 2009, p. 311.</ref> The S class were intended as a fast {{convert|36|knots}} destroyer for service that would be cheaper than the large [[V and W-class destroyer|V-class destroyer]]s that preceded them and so able to be ordered in large numbers.<ref name="Friedman p168-9">Friedman 2009, pp. 168–169.</ref> The ships were {{convert|276|ft|m|2}} long [[length overall|overall]] and {{convert|265|ft|m|2}} [[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|26|ft|8|in|m}} and a [[Draft (hull)|draught]] of {{convert|9|ft|10|in|m}}. They [[Displacement (ship)|displaced]] {{convert|905|LT|t|lk=in}} standard and {{convert|1221|LT|t}} full load. Three [[Yarrow boiler]]s fed Brown-Curtiss single-reduction [[steam turbine]]s which drove two propeller shafts, and generated {{convert|27000|shp|kW|lk=in}} at 360 rpm, giving the required 36 knot speed. {{convert|301|LT|t}} of oil could be carried, giving a range of {{convert|2750|nmi}} at {{convert|15|kn}}.<ref name="Whitley p83">Whitley 2000, p. 83.</ref><ref name="Lentonv1 p15">Lenton 1970, p. 15.</ref> The design gun armament of the S class was three [[QF 4 inch naval gun Mk IV, XII, XXII|{{convert|4|in|mm|adj=on|0}} guns]] and a single [[QF 2-pounder naval gun|2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom"]] anti-aircraft gun. Torpedo armament was four {{convert|21|in|mm|adj=on|0}} [[torpedo tube]]s in two twin rotating mounts and two {{convert|18|in|mm|adj=on|0}} tubes.<ref name="Whitley p83"/>

''Shikari'' was laid down on 15 January 1918,<ref name="Whitley p83"/> but construction was slowed by the end of the First World War in November 1918,<ref name="navhist shik">{{cite web|last=Mason|first=Geoffry B.|title=HMS SHIKARI (D 95) - Old S-class Destroyer including Convoy Escort Movements|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-05S-HMS_Shikari.htm|work=Service Histories Of Royal Navy Warships In World War 2|publisher=Naval-History.net|access-date=22 March 2014|year=2003}}</ref> and she was not launched until 14 July 1919. After launching, ''Shikari'' was towed to [[HMNB Chatham|Chatham Dockyard]] for fitting out. It was decided to use ''Shikari'' as a control ship for the old battleship and [[target ship]] {{HMS|Agamemnon|1906|6}}.<ref name="navhist shik"/> As a control ship, ''Shikari'' was unarmed,<ref name="navhist shik"/> with a large [[deckhouse]] for the radio-control equipment fitted between the ship's funnels.<ref name="jfs31 p65">Parkes 1931, p. 65.</ref> She was finally commissioned in February 1924.<ref name="Whitley p83"/>

Early in the Second World War,{{#tag:ref|Sources differ as to when ''Shikari'' was modified. Whitley states late 1940,<ref name="Whitley p83"/> with Lenton giving 1941–42 for modification of the remaining S-class ships to escort configuration.<ref name="Lentonv1 p14">Lenton 1970, p.14.</ref> Friedman suggests that ''Shikari'' and {{HMS|Sardonyx|1919|2}} may have been modified later than other S-class ships, stating that these two ships were modified by "mid-1942".<ref name="Friedman p236">Friedman 2009, p. 236.</ref>|group=lower-alpha}} ''Shikari'', along with several other S-class destroyers based in the UK, was modified as a dedicated anti-submarine escort. After conversion, armament consisted of a single 4-inch gun forward, with a [[QF 12 pounder 12 cwt naval gun|12-pounder]] anti-aircraft gun amidships. Close-in anti-aircraft armament consisted of two quadruple [[Vickers .50 machine gun]] mounts. Both sets of torpedo-tubes were removed, allowing a heavy [[depth charge]] armament, with 112 depth charges carried, with sufficient depth charge throwers and racks to allow 14-charge patterns of charges to be used. [[List of World War II British naval radar#Type 286|Type 286 radar]] and Type 133 Sonar was fitted.<ref name="Whitley p83-4">Whitley 2000, pp. 83–84.</ref><ref name="Brown p17">Brown 2007, p. 17.</ref> Later in the war, the depth charge armament was reduced, with a 10-charge pattern substituted (as this was found to be as effective as the earlier 14-charge pattern).<ref name="Brown p17"/><ref name="Friedman p237">Friedman 2009, p. 237.</ref> The .50 machine guns were eventually replaced by four single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon]], and the 12 pounder anti-aircraft gun removed to allow [[Type 271 radar#Type 271|Type 271]] radar to be fitted on a lattice mast aft.<ref name="Whitley p84">Whitley 2000, p. 84.</ref><ref name="Friedman p242-3">Friedman 2009, pp. 242–243.</ref>

==Service==
[[File:HMS Shikari-1929ControlShip.jpg|thumb|left|''Shikari'' as a target control ship in 1929]]
''Shikari'' continued as a control ship for the remainder of the inter war period, first for ''Agamemnon'' and then for {{HMS|Centurion|1911|2}}.<ref name="navhist shik"/> ''Shikari'' was present at [[Invergordon]] in September 1931 during the [[Invergordon Mutiny]], although there was little trouble on board.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of H.M.S. Hood: The Invergordon Mutiny|url=http://hmshood.com/history/inverg/index.htm|publisher=H.M.S. Hood Association|access-date=22 March 2014|date=21 October 2006}}</ref> Amongst ''Shikari''{{'}}s commanding officers during the inter-war period was [[Commander (Royal Navy)|Commander]] [[Frederic John Walker]], who became a notable anti-submarine warfare commander during the Second World War.<ref>{{cite web|title=Royal Navy (RN) Officers 1939-1945:Walker, Frederic John "Johnnie"|url=http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RN_officersW.html#Walker_FJ|work=World War II unit histories & officers|access-date=29 March 2014}}</ref> On 15 January 1938, ''Shikari'' was escorting ''Centurion'' from [[HMNB Devonport|Devonport]] to [[Gibraltar]] across the [[Bay of Biscay]] when the heavy weather caused a fault in her port engine, forcing the destroyer to put into [[Lisbon]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Telegrams in Brief |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=17 January 1938 |issue=47894 |page=11}}</ref> On 2 February 1939, ''Shikari'' was involved in a collision with the destroyer {{HMS|Griffin|H31|2}} off [[Malta]], with ''Griffin''{{'}}s hull being damaged near the stern.<ref>{{cite news|title=Target Ship's Escort in Collision: Two Vessels in Accident off Malta|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19390204&id=8UdAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wYQMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6081,603773|access-date=29 March 2014|newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Glasgow Herald]]|date=4 February 1939|page=3}}</ref><ref name="atoI p100">English 1993, p. 100.</ref>

On the outbreak of the [[Second World War]], ''Shikari'' was re-armed and from January 1940 carried out convoy escort operations.<ref name="navhist shik"/> At the end of May 1940, the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] (BEF) was trapped by German forces at Dunkirk, and it was decided to launch [[Operation Dynamo]], the evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk, and ''Shikari'' was one of the destroyers that took part in the operation,<ref name="Rohwer p21">Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 21.</ref> carrying out her first evacuation trip on 28 May, making a second trip on 29 May.<ref name="navhist 540 pt4">{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, May 1940 (Part 4 of 4): Wednesday 22nd – Friday 31st|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4005-14MAY04.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=Naval-History.net|access-date=22 March 2014|date=7 April 2012}}</ref> On 29 May, Admiral of the Fleet [[Dudley Pound]], [[First Sea Lord]], ordered the withdrawal of modern destroyers from the Dunkirk operations owing to the high losses, putting greater pressure on old destroyers such as ''Shikari''.<ref name="barnett p150">Barnett 2000, p. 150.</ref> On 1 June, the steamer {{SS|Prague||2}} was badly damaged by near misses from German artillery and bombing. ''Shikari'', along with the [[Sloop-of-war|sloop]] {{HMS|Shearwater|L39|2}} and the paddle minesweeper ''Queen of Thanet'', took off ''Prague''{{'}}s load of 3,000 French troops before ''Prague'' beached herself on the [[Sandwich Bay, Kent|Sandwich Flats]]. ''Shikari'' herself was damaged by German bombing on 1 June.<ref name="barnett p156">Barnett 2000, p. 156.</ref><ref name="navhist 640 pt1">{{cite web|last=Kindall|first=Don|title=Naval Events, June 1940 (Part 1 of 4): Saturday 1st – Friday 7th|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4006-19JUN01.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=Naval-History.net|access-date=23 March 2014|date=7 April 2012}}</ref> ''Shikari'' continued to make evacuation runs and at 03:40 on the night of 3/4 June 1940 was the last ship to leave Dunkirk.<ref name="navhist 640 pt1"/><ref name="barnett p160-1">Barnett 2000, pp. 160–161.</ref> In total, ''Shikari'' made seven trips to Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo, embarking 3349 troops.<ref>Winser 1999, p. 98.</ref>

After Dunkirk, ''Shikari'' returned to escort work, and on 4 July, when the cargo ship {{MV|Dallas City||2}} was damaged by German [[dive bomber]]s and then collided with {{SS|Flimstone||2}}, ''Shikari'' took off the crew of ''Dallas City'' before the cargo ship sank, surviving unscathed when attacked by German bombers.<ref name="navhist 740 pt1">{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, July 1940 (Part 1 of 2): Monday 1st- Sunday 14th|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4007-20JUL01.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=Naval-History.net|access-date=23 March 2014|date=7 April 2012}}</ref> On 24 July, the French troopship {{SS|Meknès||2}}, [[Repatriation|repatriating]] French sailors after the [[Second Armistice at Compiègne|French armistice with Germany]], was torpedoed by the German [[E-boat|Schnellboot]] ''S.27'', and ''Shikari'', together with the destroyers {{HMS|Sabre|1918|2}}, {{HMS|Viscount|D92|2}} and {{HMS|Wolverine|D78|2}} rescued the survivors.<ref name="navhist 740 pt2">{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, July 1940 (Part 2 of 2): Monday 15th - Wednesday 31st|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4007-20JUL02.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=Naval-History.net|access-date=23 March 2014|date=7 April 2012}}</ref>

On 9 September 1940, [[Convoy HX 72]] left [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], bound for the UK. The convoy was escorted most of the way across the Atlantic by the [[armed merchant cruiser]] {{HMS|Jervis Bay||2}}, with an escort of destroyers and [[corvette]]s (including ''Shikari'') to protect the convoy for the dangerous final stages through the [[Western Approaches]]. ''Jervis Bay'' left the convoy on 20 September, before the escort group had rendezvoused with the convoy. The German submarine {{GS|U-47|1938|2}} spotted the unescorted convoy shortly after ''Jervis Bay'' had left, and shadowed the convoy allowing a [[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|"wolfpack"]] of [[U-boat]]s to be assembled against the convoy. U-boats sank four merchant ships before the escort group, consisting of the sloop {{HMS|Lowestoft|U59|2}}, the corvettes {{HMS|Calendula|K28|2}}, {{HMS|Heartsease|K15|2}} and {{HMS|La Malouine|K46|2}} and ''Shikari'' arrived. ''Shikari'' was tasked with rescuing the crews from the torpedoed merchant ships, while the remaining four escorts stayed with the convoy. ''Shikari'' picked up survivors from {{SS|Blairangus||2}}, {{MV|Elmbank||2}} and {{SS|Baron Blythswood||2}}. Attacks on the convoy continued, with seven ships being sunk by {{GS|U-100|1940|2}} on the night of 21/22 September.<ref name="Rohwer p34">Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 34.</ref><ref name="navhist 940 pt1">{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, September 1940 (Part 1 of 2): Sunday 1st – Saturday 14th|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4009-22SEP01.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=naval-history.net|access-date=29 March 2014|date=7 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="navhist 940 pt2">{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, September 1940 (Part 2 of 2): Sunday 15th – Monday 30th|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4009-22SEP02.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=naval-history.net|access-date=29 March 2014|date=7 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610154833/http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4009-22SEP02.htm|archive-date=10 June 2016}}</ref>

''Shikari'' continued in the convoy escort role in the Western Approaches area,<ref name="navhist shik"/> serving with the 2nd Escort Group [[HMS Ferret (1940 shore establishment)|based at Londonderry]]<!--note as this refers to the Royal Navy naval base, Londonderry is correct here--> in Northern Ireland,<ref>{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=ROYAL NAVY SHIPS, January 1941 (Part 1 of 2)|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4101-26RNHome.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=naval-history.net|access-date=29 March 2014|date=7 April 2012}}</ref> and along with [[sister ship]] {{HMS|Sardonyx|1919|2}} attacked a suspected submarine on 22 December 1940 when escorting Convoy OB 262.<ref name="navhist 1240 pt2">{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=Naval Events, December 1940 (Part 2 of 2): Sunday 15th - Tuesday 31st|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4012-25DEC02.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=naval-history.net|access-date=29 March 2014|date=7 April 2012}}</ref> On 24 October 1941, ''Shikari'' sustained serious damage in high seas south of [[Iceland]], losing a funnel, and was under repair at [[Belfast]] until December that year,<ref name="navhist shik"/> joining the 21st Escort Group, based at Iceland.<ref name="Whitley p84"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Kindell|first=Don|title=ROYAL NAVY SHIPS, January 1942 (Part 3 of 4)|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-4201-40RNShips3WApproaches.htm|work=British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day|publisher=naval-history.net|access-date=29 March 2014|date=8 April 2012}}</ref> ''Shikari'' continued in the convoy escort role into 1944, entering reserve and being used for training from September 1944.<ref name="navhist shik"/>{{#tag:ref|Whitley says that the S class were withdrawn to training duties in 1943.<ref name="Whitley p84"/>|group=lower-alpha}}

''Shikari'' was sold for scrap in September 1945, arriving at [[John Cashmore Ltd|Cashmore's]] shipbreaking yard on 4 November 1945.<ref name="navhist shik"/><ref name="ditt1 p74">Dittmar and Colledge 1972, p. 74.</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Barnett|first=Correlli|title=Engage The Enemy More Closely|year=2000|publisher=Penguin|location=London|isbn=0-141-39008-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Brady|first=Mark |editor-last=Lambert |editor-first=Andrew|chapter=The Old 'S' Class Destroyers |title=Warship Volume X |year=1986 |pages=12–23 |isbn=0-85177-449-0 }}
* {{cite book|last=Brown|first=David K|author-link=David K. Brown|title=Atlantic Escorts: Ships, Weapons & Tactics in World War II|year=2007|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84415-702-0}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book|last1=Dittmar|first1=F. J.|last2=Colledge|first2=J. J.|title=British Warships 1914–1919|year=1972|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Shepperton, UK|isbn=0-7110-0380-7}}
* {{cite book|last=English|first=John|title=Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s|year=1993|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Kendal, UK|isbn=0-905617-64-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|author-link=Norman Friedman|title=British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War|year=2009|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, UK|isbn=978-1-84832-049-9}}
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Gardiner|editor1-first=Robert|editor2-last=Gray|editor2-first=Randal|title=Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906–1921|year=1985|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=London|isbn=0-85177-245-5|name-list-style=amp}}
* {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|title=Navies of the Second World War: British Fleet & Escort Destroyers Volume One|year=1970|publisher=Macdonald & Co.|location=London|isbn=0-356-02950-6}}
* {{cite book|last=March|first=Edgar J.|title=British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans|year=1966|publisher=Seeley Service|location=London |OCLC=164893555}}
* {{cite book|last=Parkes|first=Oscar|title=Jane's Fighting Ships 1931|year=1973|orig-year=First published 1931 by Sampson Low, Marston & Co., Ltd: London|publisher=David and Charles|location=Newton Abbot, UK|isbn=0-7153-5849-9}}
* {{cite book|last1=Rohwer|first1=Jürgen|last2=Hümmelchen|first2=Gerhard|title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945|year=1992|publisher=Greenhill Books|location=London|isbn=1-85367-117-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Whitley|first=M. J.|title=Destroyers of World War Two: An Illustrated Encyclopedia|year=2000|publisher=Cassell & Co.|location=London|isbn=1-85409-521-8}}
* {{cite book|last=Winser|first=John de S.|title=B.E.F. Ships Before, At and After Dunkirk|publisher=World Ship Society|location=Gravesend, Kent|date=1999|isbn=0-905617-91-6}}

{{S class destroyers (1917)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shikari}}
[[Category:S-class destroyers (1917) of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:1919 ships]]
[[Category:World War I destroyers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Wear]]