The ship's badge, formally approved on 28 April 1942, was blazoned: White; on a roundel paly wavy of eight blue and white, a beagle courant gold.[2] The design features a golden beagle in the courant posture, running with legs extended, set against a field of blue and white wavy stripes representing water.
The beagle, a traditional hunting dog, reflects the ship’s name and class. Catterick, like all Hunt-class escort destroyers, was named after a British fox hunt or hunting region, in this case, the Catterick Beagles, a hare coursing pack based in North Yorkshire.[3]
Design and specifications
Catterick was a Type III Hunt-class escort destroyer. Type III ships had a standard displacement of 1,050 tons (approx. 1,500 tons full load), an overall length of 85.3m (279ft 10in), a beam of 9.6m (31ft 6in), and a draught of about 2.4m (7ft 10in).[4]
Propulsion was provided by two Admiralty 3-drum boilers and Parsons geared steam turbines driving two shafts, producing 19,000 shaft horsepower (14,000kW), giving a speed of up to 29 knots (54km/h; 33mph).[4] Range was around 3,700 nautical miles (6,900km; 4,300mi) at 15 knots (28km/h; 17mph). The complement was approximately 168 personnel.[4]
Armament consisted of four 4-inch (102 mm) QF Mk XVI dual-purpose guns in two twin mounts. For anti-aircraft defence, she carried one quadruple 2-pounder "pom-pom" and three single 20 mm Oerlikon guns. She also carried a twin 21-inch torpedo tube mount, a feature of the Type III subclass replacing one twin 4-inch turret seen on earlier Hunts.[4] For anti-submarine warfare, she carried up to 70 depth charges with two racks and four throwers.
Catterick, was constructed without bilge keels, allowing space for additional fuel tanks, a straight, raked funnel with a sloping top, and a simplified mast without a yard, distinguishing her from earlier Hunt-class variants. The main searchlight was relocated to the aft deckhouse as part of the 1943 structural adjustments.[5]
Service history
After commissioning in June 1942, Catterick completed trials and worked up with the Home Fleet. During this period, she helped cover the Arctic Convoy PQ 17.[6] In July 1942, she was assigned to the Eastern Fleet and joined the military convoy WS 21 as an ocean escort. She escorted the convoy from the Clyde via Freetown and Cape Town.[6] She rescued survivors from the troopshipLlandaff Castle, which had been sunk by the German submarineU-177 off East Africa on 30 November 1942. The former Union-Castle Linepassenger ship had 150 passengers on board, including six Soviet diplomats with their wives and children and 70 military officers with their families. All but three were rescued.[7]
In 1943, she continued escort duties in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean, joining WS 30 in June 1943 and escorting the convoy to Cape Town.[6] She then entered refit at Simon’s Town, where she received propeller repairs and radar upgrades. In August, Catterick was reassigned to the Mediterranean Sea and escorted Convoy CF 13 to Gibraltar. In September 1943, she supported Operation Avalanche, the Allied amphibious landings at Salerno, Italy. She was part of the destroyer screen protecting the aircraft carriers and provided naval gunfire support and anti-aircraft defence.[6]
In 1944, Catterick participated in convoy escort duties in the western and eastern Mediterranean. In August, she escorted follow-on waves for Operation Dragoon, the Allied landings in southern France.[6] In September through October 1944, she was transferred to the British Aegean Force. On 5 October 1944, she took part in the surrender of the island of Levitha.[6]Catterick continued operations in the Aegean and Adriatic seas through 1945. On 1 May, Catterick joined HMSKimberley and the Greek destroyer Kriti in the liberation of Rhodes.[6] She was later sent to Durban, South Africa, for refit in mid-1945, but with the end of the war, she was not recommissioned for further combat service.
In May 1946, Catterick was loaned to the Royal Hellenic Navy and renamed HHMS Hastings (ΒΠ Χέιστινγκς). She was re-rated as a frigate and served in patrol and training roles, based primarily at Salamis Naval Base.[6] She remained in Greek service until 1963 and was broken up for scrap at Piraeus in June of that year.[6]
