HMS Faulknor (H62)

HMS Faulknor was the flotilla leader for the F-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during the 1930s. The ship had a particularly active operational role during World War II, being awarded 11 battle honours, and was known as "The hardest worked destroyer in the Fleet". She was the first ship to sink a German U-boat, took part in the Norwegian Campaign, served with Force H in the Mediterranean on the Malta Convoys, escorted convoys to Russia and across the Atlantic, and saw action during the invasions of Sicily, Italy and Normandy, and was at the liberation of the Channel Islands. She was then decommissioned and sold for scrap in late 1945.

Description

As the flotilla leader for the F-class destroyers, Faulknor was built to the same design as Exmouth, flotilla leader for the preceding E-class destroyers, which marked a return to building flotilla leaders to an enlarged design, the most obvious difference being the additional 4.7-inch (120 mm) gun between the funnels. Overall, she was only slightly larger than the other F-class destroyers in terms of length, beam, and draught, although she displaced an additional 90 long tons (91 t) tons, and had a complement of 175 officers and ratings, compared to the standard F-class complement of 145.