HMS Myngs (R06)
| Myngs |
|
|---|---|
 The identical HMS Zebra |
|
| Technical specifications | |
| Ship type : | destroyer |
| Displacement : | 1,830 ts standard 2,530 ts maximum |
| Length: | 110.6 m |
| Width: | 10.9 m |
| Draft : | 3.1 m |
| Drive : | 2 Admirality 3-drum steam boiler Parsons steam turbines with single gear 40,000 HP (29.8 MW ) |
| Fuel supply: | |
| Speed: | 36 kn (66.7 km / h ) |
| Range: | 4,675 nm at 20 kn |
| Crew: | 225 (as flotilla leader) |
| Armament: (originally) |
4 × 4.7- inch (119-mm) guns (4 * 1) 2 × 40- mm - Flak (1 * 2) 6 × 20-mm-Flak (2 * 2, 2 * 1) 8 × 21 inch torpedo tubes |
The HMS Myngs (R06) was a Z-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that was used in World War II , handed over to Egypt in 1955 and sunk in the Red Sea in 1970 under the name al-Qahir .
history
The keel of the ship was laid on May 27, 1942 at Vickers Armstrong in Newcastle upon Tyne , the launch took place on May 31, 1943, the commissioning on June 23, 1944. It was named after the British privateer and admiral Sir Christopher Myngs , who fell in the four-day battle (around 1625–1666). The ship was the flotilla leader of the 10th Emergency Flotilla formed from the ships of the Z-class and was mainly used as an escort for convoys and fleet units. a. in the northern sea convoys JW 65 and RA 64 .
Commanders were Lieutenant Commander Charles Wickham Malins, DSC , RN , from March 13 to July 9, 1944 , and Commander Manley Lawrence Power, CBE , RN, from July 9 to November 17, 1944 (awarded the DSO as Commanding Officer on November 10, 1944 ), from November 17, 1944 to July 11, 1945 Commander Peter Grenville Lyon Cazalet, DSC, RN, and from July 11, 1945 Commander John Hamilton Allison, DSO, RN, who was still in command in October 1945.
As relatively modern ships, the Z-Class destroyers initially remained in active service after 1945, while many older vehicles were decommissioned. In 1955, the British government sold the Myngs to the Egyptian Navy , which they renamed al-Qahir . After an overhaul in India , the ship was sunk by Israeli warplanes in the Red Sea off the southern Egyptian coast on the morning of May 16, 1970 . This incident belongs in the context of the so-called war of attrition from 1968 to 1970 between Israel and Egypt.
The wreck, located in a restricted military area, was officially dived for the first time in 2007, the exact location has been kept secret so far. The bow of the ship with the foremost turret protrudes from the water, while the maximum depth at the stern is 22 m. The al-Qahir was badly damaged by the air attack, but still shows numerous interesting details such as the 4.7-inch gun turrets or the torpedo tubes. Since there has been no diving tourism worth mentioning up to now, the wreck has, in addition to many small parts stolen by souvenir hunters elsewhere, also a great wealth of fish and coral growth. According to divers who have visited the ship, the destroyer has the potential to become one of the Red Sea's most popular wrecks for recreational divers.
literature
- MJ Whitley: Destroyers of World War Two. Arms and Armor Press, London 1988, ISBN 0-85368-910-5