HMS Glengyle
| 300px | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Class and type: | Landing Ship, Infantry (Large) |
| Name: | HMS Glengyle |
| Builder: | Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee |
| Launched: | 1939 |
| Commissioned: | 10 September 1940 |
| Out of service: | Returned to the Glen Line on 17 July 1946 |
| Renamed: | Deucalion in October 1970 |
| Fate: | Scrapped by June 1971 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 9,919 tons |
| Length: | 507 ft 6 in (154.69 m) |
| Beam: | 66 ft 4 in (20.22 m) |
| Draught: | 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m) |
| Propulsion: |
Diesel engines 2 shafts 12,000hp |
| Speed: | 18 knots (33 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 34 Officers 663 ORs |
| Complement: | 523 |
| Armament: |
3 x QF 4in Mk XVI Twin 2 x 2 pdr Mark VII Quad 12 x 20mm Mark I IA II Single |
HMS Glengyle was a Landing Ship, Infantry (Large) of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the Second World War
Contents
Design and conversion
Glengyle was built by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee, for the Glen Line, but was acquired shortly after her launch, and was converted into a fast supply ship. In April, she underwent conversion into a landing ship capable of transporting an embarked force of up to 34 Officers and 663 Other Ranks and carried 24 LCAs on davits and 3 LCMs launched by 30-ton or 50-ton derricks[1]. She was accepted into service on 10 September and, on 31 January 1941, Glengyle sailed around Africa to the Mediterranean, where she became part of Force Z.
Mediterranean and Far East service
Glengyle was part of the Bardia raid on 19–20 April 1941, and later that month was involved in the evacuation of Greece. She evacuated some 4,500 troops from Raphto and, in May, carried another 3,000 to Crete. Later in May, she and the SS Cameronia evacuated 6,000 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders as part of the evacuation of Crete. On 8 June, Glengyle was operating with the cruisers HMS Phoebe, HMAS Perth and HMS Calcutta at the start of the Syria-Lebanon Campaign. By January 1942, she was part of the Malta Convoys, carrying supplies from Alexandria, before returning to Britain in April for preparations for the Dieppe Raid. After being disguised as a tanker, she was present at the operation on 19 August.
She returned to the Mediterranean in November, where she was used to transport US troops for the Operation Torch landings, and was also involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, during which Admiral Philip Vian briefly commanded a squadron aboard her. After transporting troops to Salerno in September, Glengyle sailed to Bombay, but was then recalled to participate in Operation Shingle, the landings at Anzio. After this had been completed, she was refitted at Liverpool, before transporting the 5th Airborne Division to Bombay. She was at Trincomalee in August, and in company with the Union-Castle Line's Llanstephan Castle, she transported 3 Commando Brigade to Hong Kong, arriving shortly after the end of the War.
Post-war
Glengyle was transferred to the Australian Naval Board in October, landing a garrison at Singapore, as well as repatriating Australian troops from South-East Asia. She transported a garrison to Kure in January 1946, before returning home with liberated British prisoners of war from Manila. Glengyle was returned to the Glen Line on 17 July, and after being refitted for a return to merchant service at Vickers-Armstrongs, re-entered service on 3 March 1948. She was transferred to the Blue Funnel Line in October 1970 and was renamed Deucalion, but by June 1971 she had been broken up at Kaohsiung.
Notes
- ↑ Ladd, James D (1978). Commandos and Rangers of World War 2. London: Macdonalds and Jane's. p. 245. ISBN 0 356 08432 9.
