HMS Hurricane ( H06 ) HMS " Hurricane " was an H - class destroyer that had originally been ordered by the Brazilian Navy in the late 1930s with the name " Japarua " , but was bought by the Royal Navy after the beginning of World War II in September 1939 and later renamed . When completed in June 1940 , the ship was temporarily assigned to the Home Fleet before she began escorting convoys and conducting anti - submarine patrols . She was badly damaged during a German air raid on Liverpool in May 1941 and her repairs were not completed until the beginning of 1942 . " Hurricane " was then assigned as the flotilla leader of Escort Group B1 assigned to the Mid - Ocean Escort Force , escorting convoys in the North Atlantic for the next two years . The ship was torpedoed by a German submarine on Christmas Eve 1943 , and had to be scuttled the next day as she was unable to steam back to port . Description . " Hurricane " 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 . " Hurricane " 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 , " Hurricane " 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 . She was fitted with an ASDIC set to detect submarines by reflections from sound waves beamed into the water . Wartime modifications . Little data on " Hurricane " 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 by October 1940 . The ship ' s short - range AA armament may been augmented by two Oerlikon 20 mm guns on the wings of the ship ' s bridge and the . 50 - calibre machine gun mounts may have also been replaced by a pair of Oerlikons . The ship ' s director - control tower and rangefinder above the bridge may have been removed in exchange for a Type 271 target indication radar . A Type 286 short - range surface search radar was probably also fitted mid - way through the war . The ship probably also received a HF / DF radio direction finder mounted on a pole mainmast . Service . " Japarua " was ordered by Brazil on 6 December 1937 from Vickers - Armstrongs , Barrow - in - Furness . The ship was laid down on 3 June 1938 and she was purchased by the British on 5 September 1939 after the beginning of World War II . Renamed HMS " Hurricane " , the ship was launched on 29 September and commissioned on 21 June 1940 . She was assigned to the 9th Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet upon commissioning until new construction replaced the losses suffered over the previous few months . " Hurricane " then began escorting convoys and conducting anti - submarine patrols until May 1941 . On 17 September , the ship rescued survivors of the , a small passenger ship evacuating 90 children from the United Kingdom to Canada , and the freighter . She rescued 451 survivors from the passenger - cargo liner and landed them at Greenock , Scotland on 1 May 1941 . " Hurricane " was bombed and sunk in a German air raid on Liverpool during the night of 7 / 8 May 1941 . She was struck by a bomb that passed through the hull and detonated underneath her . The explosion blew a large hole in her bottom and flooded her engine room and oil tanks . The ship ' s structure was badly damaged enough that her stern began to sag downwards and " Hurricane " was moved to Bidston Dock lest she sink and block traffic in the harbour . No one was killed in the attack , although a few crewmen received minor injuries . The ship was repaired and returned to service in January 1942 as flotilla leader of Escort Group B1 assigned to the Mid - Ocean Escort Force . " Hurricane " remained as the leader for the next two years . Whilst escorting Convoy OS 62 / KMS 36 , the ship was hit by an acoustic T5 torpedo fired by " U - 415 " on the evening of 24 December 1943 . The torpedo homed in on the ship ' s propeller noises and blew off of her stern . The explosion killed three and wounded nine of her crew , and rendered her unable to move . The following morning , she was scuttled by the destroyer at .