HMS Highlander ( H44 ) HMS " Highlander " was an H - class destroyer that had originally been ordered by the Brazilian Navy with the name " Jaguaribe " in the late 1930s , but was bought by the Royal Navy after the beginning of World War II in September 1939 and later renamed . When completed in March 1940 , she was assigned to the 9th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet . The ship was assigned to convoy escort duties in June with the Western Approaches Command , sinking one German submarine in October . " Highlander " was transferred to Freetown , Sierra Leone in mid - 1941 to escort convoys off West Africa , but returned to the United Kingdom in August . She became flotilla leader of Escort Group B - 4 of the Mid - Ocean Escort Force in early 1942 and continued to escort convoys in the North Atlantic for the rest of the war . The ship became a target ship after the war ended and was sold for scrap in mid - 1946 . Description . " Highlander " displaced at standard load and at deep load . The ship had an overall length of , a beam of and a draught of . She was powered by Parsons geared steam turbines , driving two shafts , which developed a total of and gave a maximum speed of . Steam for the turbines was provided by three Admiralty 3 - drum water - tube boilers . " Highlander " carried a maximum of of fuel oil , giving her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 152 officers and men . The vessel was designed for four 45 - calibre 4 . 7 - inch Mk IX guns in single mounts , designated ' A ' , ' B ' , ' X ' , and ' Y ' from front to rear , but ' Y ' gun was removed to compensate for the additional depth charges added . For anti - aircraft ( AA ) defence , " Highlander " had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the 0 . 5 inch Vickers Mark III machine gun . She was fitted with two above - water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes . One depth charge rail and two throwers were originally fitted , but this was increased to three sets of rails and eight throwers while fitting - out . The ship ' s load of depth charges was increased from 20 to 110 as well . " Highlander " was completed without a director - control tower ( DCT ) so the three remaining 4 . 7 - inch low - angle guns fired in local control using ranges provided by a rangefinder . She was fitted with an ASDIC set to detect submarine s by reflections from sound waves beamed into the water . Wartime modifications . Little data on " Highlander " s modifications during the war has survived , although it is known that she had her rear torpedo tubes replaced by a 12 - pounder AA gun in July 1940 . The ship ' s short - range AA armament was later augmented by two Oerlikon 20 mm guns on the wings of the ship ' s bridge and the . 50 - calibre machine gun mounts were replaced by a pair of Oerlikons . It is uncertain if the ship ' s director - control tower was installed before a Type 271 target indication radar was installed above the bridge . At some point , the ship was converted to an escort destroyer . ' A ' gun was replaced by a Hedgehog anti - submarine spigot mortar and additional depth charge stowage replaced the 12 - pounder high - angle gun . A Type 286 short - range surface search radar was fitted as well as a HF / DF radio direction finder mounted on a pole mainmast . History . She was originally ordered as " Jaguaribe " on 16 December 1937 by the Brazilian Navy . The ship was laid down by John I . Thornycroft and Company at Woolston , Hampshire on 28 September 1938 and was purchased by the British on 5 September 1939 after the beginning of World War II . Renamed HMS " Highlander " , she was launched on 16 October and commissioned on 18 March 1940 . After working up at Portland Harbour , she was assigned to the 9th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet and began escort duty on 11 April . Six days later , the ship ran aground in the Shetland Islands and was moderately damaged . Re - floated , " Highlander " was repaired at Hull between 20 April and 19 May . She escorted the battlecruiser to Scapa Flow and arrived there on 24 May . The flotilla was transferred to the Western Approaches Command in mid - June and " Highlander " rescued survivors of the torpedoed armed merchant cruiser en route to Plymouth . Later in the month , the ship escorted ships evacuating Allied troops from French ports on the Atlantic coast ( Operation Ariel ) . " Highlander " then rejoined the 9th Destroyer Flotilla on convoy escort duties until January 1941 . During this time , she was briefly refitted in mid - July with a 12 - pounder AA gun replacing her rear set of torpedo tubes and , together with her sister , the ship sank the on 30 October . On 1 December , she escorted the torpedoed Canadian destroyer to Barrow - in - Furness for repairs . " Highlander " began a longer refit at Hawthorn Leslie ' s shipyard at Hebburn from 30 January to 23 March 1941 . After its completion , the ship was briefly assigned to Force H at Gibraltar , before continuing on to Freetown to begin escort duties with the 18th Destroyer Flotilla there . She remained there until August when she was transferred to Londonderry where she was later assigned to the 28th Escort Group of Western Approaches Command . " Highlander " was refitted and rearmed from 2 February – 18 March 1942 at Tilbury . She became flotilla leader for Escort Group B4 and was assigned to the Mid - Ocean Escort Force when her refit was completed . The ship and her consorts escorted Convoy SC 122 through the largest convoy battle of the war in March 1943 ; " Highlander " was unsuccessfully attacked by and during the battle . The ship was given an extensive overhaul at Troon from 28 December – 12 April 1944 that was lengthened when she was damaged in a collision with a tugboat . Upon its completion , she rejoined her group and remained with them until September when she was transferred to Escort Group B2 and became its flotilla leader . " Highlander " crushed her bow on 15 April 1945 when she struck some ice ; she had to be towed to Bay Bulls , Newfoundland , for temporary repairs . She received permanent repairs at nearby St . John ' s from 17 April to 24 July . The ship reached Portsmouth five days later and later sailed to Rosyth for service as a target ship for aircraft . " Highlander " was placed in Category C reserve on 19 January 1946 and was approved for scrapping on 19 February 1946 . She was sold on 27 May , but demolition did not begin until May 1947 .