![]() ![]() The British ships returned to Gibraltar on 4 February and began preparing for Operation Grog, a naval bombardment of Genoa, that was successfully carried out five days later. On 31 January 1941, Force H, including Foresight, departed Gibraltar to carry out Operation Picket, an unsuccessful night torpedo attack by eight of Ark Royal 's Fairey Swordfish on the Tirso Dam in Sardinia. She returned home for a refit after the battle and was damaged by a near-miss during a German air raid on Liverpool on the night of 21/22 December. Ten days later, they attacked Dakar where Foresight and the destroyer Inglefield sank the French submarine Persée and Foresight sank the submarine Bévéziers on the 25th. On 13 September, Force H rendezvoused with a convoy that was carrying troops intended to capture Dakar from the Vichy French. A few days later, they participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir against the Vichy French ships stationed there. In late June, the 8th DF was ordered to Gibraltar where they were to form the escorts for Force H. ![]() She played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign in early 1940. World War II began in September and she was tasked to escort the larger ships of the fleet during this time. The 6th DF was renumbered the 8th Destroyer Flotilla in April 1939, and Foresight remained assigned to it until July 1940. All of the F-class destroyers were assigned to the 6th Destroyer Flotilla (DF) of the Home Fleet, and, Foresight, unlike her sisters, did not leave home waters during the 1930s. The ship cost 245,428 pounds, excluding government-furnished equipment such as the armament. Construction and career įoresight was ordered on 17 March 1933 from Cammell Laird and was laid down at their Birkenhead shipyard on 31 July, launched on 29 June 1934, and completed on. By July 1942, a Type 286 short-range surface search radar was fitted as was a HF/DF radio direction finder mounted on a pole mainmast. Around this time, she probably had two single 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon light AA guns installed abreast the bridge. Wartime modifications īetween October 1940 and April 1941, Foresight had her rear torpedo tubes replaced by a 12-pounder AA gun. One depth charge rack and two throwers were fitted 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 38 shortly after the war began. The F class was fitted with two above-water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, they had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0.5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun. The ships mounted four 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts, designated 'A', 'B', 'X', and 'Y' in sequence from front to rear. The ships' complement was 145 officers and ratings. Foresight carried a maximum of 470 long tons (480 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 6,350 nautical miles (11,760 km 7,310 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h 17 mph). The turbines developed a total of 36,000 shaft horsepower (27,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h 40.9 mph). They were powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by three Admiralty three-drum boilers. The ships had an overall length of 329 feet (100.3 m), a beam of 33 feet 3 inches (10.1 m) and a draught of 12 feet 6 inches (3.8 m). They displaced 1,405 long tons (1,428 t) at standard load and 1,940 long tons (1,970 t) at deep load. The F-class ships were repeats of the preceding E-class destroyers. She was torpedoed by an Italian aircraft on 12 August and had to be scuttled the next day. Later that year, Foresight participated in Operation Pedestal, another convoy to Malta. The ship escorted numerous convoys to Malta in 1941 and Arctic convoys during 1942. Foresight was sent to Gibraltar in mid-1940 and formed part of Force H where she participated in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir and the Battle of Dakar. The ship escorted the larger ships of the fleet during the early stages of World War II and played a minor role in the Norwegian Campaign of 1940. Unlike her sister ships, she does not appear to have been attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in 1935–36 during the Abyssinia Crisis, nor did she enforce the arms blockade imposed by Britain and France on both sides of the conflict the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939. She was assigned to the Home Fleet upon completion. HMS Foresight was one of nine F-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. 20 × depth charges, 1 rack and 2 throwers.2 × quadruple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes.2 × quadruple 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) machine guns.4 × single QF 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mk IX guns. ![]()
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