HMS Protector (A146)
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HMS Protector in 1952, prior to be being refitted for Antarctic service
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| History | |
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| Name: | HMS Protector |
| Builder: | Yarrow Shipbuilders, Glasgow |
| Laid down: | August 1935 |
| Launched: | 20 August 1936 |
| Commissioned: | 30 December 1936 |
| Reclassified: | Antarctic patrol ship in 1955 |
| Fate: | Sold 10 February 1970 for breaking up |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 346 ft (105 m) |
| Beam: | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 19 knots |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | Two Westland Whirlwind helicopters |
HMS Protector was an Antarctic patrol vessel of the Royal Navy between 1955 and 1968. She was built in 1935.
History
Protector was laid down as a fast net layer by Yarrow Shipbuilders in Glasgow in August 1935, launched in August 1936 and commissioned on 30 December 1936. Her sister ship, HMS Guardian, was built in 1932 and scrapped in 1962.
Protector served in the South Atlantic and in the Norwegian Campaign during World War II before being hit by an aerial torpedo in the Mediterranean. She was towed to Bombay and repaired before returning to Britain after the end of hostilities.
In 1953, the ship took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[1]
After time in the fleet reserve as a training ship, Protector was refitted as an ice patrol ship in Devonport, with a rudimentary hangar and flight deck for two Westland Whirlwind helicopters. She made her first Antarctic patrol in the winter of 1955/56, serving the Falkland Islands and the British Antarctic Survey bases. She returned to the Antarctic 13 more times in her career. During her patrols the ship rescued the passengers and crew of the icebound MV Theron, including Sir Edmund Hillary and Dr Vivian Fuchs.[2] In 1957, Protector rescued the passengers of the RRS Shackleton, which had struck an iceberg and had to perform emergency repairs to keep from sinking.[3]
Protector was sold for scrap at Inverkeithing on 10 February 1970. She was replaced by HMS Endurance.
References
Publications
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