Overview
HMS Racehorse was a R-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
Description
Racehorse displaced at standard load and at deep load. She had an overall length of , a beam of and a deep draught of . She was powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The turbines developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Racehorse carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . Her complement was 176 officers and ratings. The ship was armed with four 45-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, Racehorse had one quadruple mount for QF 2-pdr Mark VIII ("pom-pom") guns and six single Oerlikon autocannon. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for British 21-inch torpedo torpedoes. Two depth charge rails and four throwers were fitted for which 70 depth charges were provided.
Construction and career
She was built by John Brown & Company, Clydebank and launched in 1942. She was adopted by the civil community of Greater London during Warship Week in 1942. The London Borough of Hackney held a "Warship Week" procession which passed the Town Hall, Saturday 21 March 1942. The ship served in World War II, taking part in operations Balsam and Livery. She was placed in reserve in Portsmouth in 1946. Used as a target/trials ship in Gareloch. She arrived at Troon for breaking up on 8 December 1949.