HMS Kandahar (F28)
HMS Kandahar was a K-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s, named after the Afghan city of Kandahar.Description
The K-class destroyers were repeats of the preceding J class, except that they were not fitted for minesweeping gear. They displaced at standard load and at deep load. The ships had an overall length of, a beam of and a draught of. They were powered by 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. The ships carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave them a range of at. The ship's complement was 183 officers and men.
The ships were armed with six 4.7-inch Mark XII guns in twin mounts, two superfiring in front of the bridge and one aft of the superstructure. For anti-aircraft defence, they had one quadruple mount for 2-pounder "pom-pom" guns and two quadruple mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III anti-aircraft machinegun. The K-class ships were fitted with two above-water quintuple mounts for torpedoes. The ship was fitted with two depth charge throwers and one rack for 20 depth charges.Construction and career
Kandahar was launched on 21 March 1939. On 21 February 1941, in company with sister ship and the cruiser, she captured the German blockade runner off Iceland. On 19 December 1941, she was part of British Force K, tasked to intercept an Italian convoy bound for Tripoli when she was irreparably damaged by a newly laid Italian mine whilst attempting to rescue the stricken cruiser. She was scuttled the next day by the destroyer. 73 men went down with the ship.
