HMS Cossack (R57)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Cossack.

HMS Cossack in 1945
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Cossack
Builder	Vickers-Armstrongs, High Walker
Launched	10 May 1944
Identification	Pennant number: R57
Fate	Scrapped on 1 March 1961
General characteristics
Class and type	C-class destroyer
Displacement	1,885 tons (1,915 tonnes) 2,545 tons full (2,585 tonnes)
Length	362.75 ft (110.57 m) o/a
Beam	35.75 ft (10.90 m)
Draught	11.75 ft (3.58 m)
Propulsion	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers, Parsons single-reduction geared steam turbines, 40,000 shp (30 MW), 2 shafts
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h) / 32 knots (59 km/h) full
Range	4,675 nmi (8,658 km) at 20 knots (37 km/h) 1,400 nmi (2,600 km) at 32 knots (59 km/h)
Complement	186
Sensors and processing systems	Radar Type 275 fire control on director Mk.VI
Armament	4 × QF 4.5 in (114 mm) L/45 guns Mark IV on mounts CP Mk.V 2 × Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns on twin mount "Hazemeyer" Mk.IV 4 × anti-aircraft mountings; Single Bofors 40 mm Mk.III Single QF 2 - pdr Mk.VIII Mk.XVI Single Oerlikon 20 mm P Mk.III Twin Oerlikon 20 mm Mk.V 8 (2x4) tubes for 21 inch (533 mm) torpedoes Mk.IX 4 throwers and 2 racks for 96 depth charges

HMS Cossack was a Royal Navy C-class destroyer launched on 10 May 1944.^[1]

Operational Service

Cossack became leader of the 8th Destroyer Squadron in 1945, remaining leader of the Flotilla until 1956.^[2] Between 1950 and 1952 she was commanded by Varyl Begg.^[3] She saw action at the Battle of Pusan Perimeter during the Korean War.^[4] On 18 May 1951, Cossack intercepted the cargo ship Nancy Moller off Hainan, China. The ship was carrying a cargo of rubber bound for a Chinese port in contravention of a United Nations embargo.^[5][6] Nancy Moller was escorted back to Singapore.^[7]

Cossack supported Operation Grapple, the series of British nuclear weapons tests in 1957.^[2] On 8 December 1959 she arrived back at Devonport Dockyard after 15 years service in the Far East.^[2][8] The ship was scrapped in 1961.^[1]

References

1. "C Class Destroyers". battleships-cruisers. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
2. "Cossack Home: Fifteen years in Far East". Navy News. January 1960. p. 3. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
3. Royal Navy Senior Appointments, Colin Mackie
4. Marolda 2007, p. 20
5. "Rubber Cargo Seized". The Times. No. 52005. London. 19 May 1951. col C, p. 6.
6. "International: What the Embargo Means". Time. No. Monday, 28 May 1951. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010.
7. "The Nancy Moller at Singapore". The Times. No. 52009. London. 24 May 1951. col A, p. 4.
8. Critchley 1982, p. 100

Publications

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Critchley, Mike (1982). British Warships Since 1945. Vol. Part 3: Destroyers. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 0-9506323-9-2.
• Marolda, Edward (2007). The US Navy in the Korean War. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-487-8.
• Marriott, Leo (1989). Royal Navy Destroyers Since 1945. Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1817-0.
• Raven, Alan; Roberts, John (1978). War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes. London: Bivouac Books. ISBN 0-85680-010-4.
• Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.