HMS Duchess ( H64 ) HMS " Duchess " was a D - class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s . The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet before she was transferred to the China Station in early 1935 . She was temporarily deployed in the Red Sea during late 1935 during the Abyssinia Crisis , before returning to her duty station where she remained until mid - 1939 . " Duchess " was transferred back to the Mediterranean Fleet just before the Second World War began in September 1939 . Whilst escorting the battleship back to the British Isles , she was accidentally rammed by the battleship in thick fog and sank with heavy loss of life on 12 December 1939 . Description . " Duchess " 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 . " Duchess " carried a maximum of of fuel oil that gave her a range of at . The ship ' s complement was 145 officers and men . The ship mounted four 45 - calibre QF 4 . 7 - inch Mk IX guns in single mounts . For anti - aircraft ( AA ) defence , " Duchess " had a single 12 - pounder ( 3 - inch ( 76 . 2 mm ) ) gun and two quadruple Mk I mounts for the 0 . 5 - inch Vickers Mk III machine gun . She was fitted with two above - water quadruple torpedo tube mounts for torpedoes . One depth charge rail and two throwers were fitted ; 20 depth charges were originally carried , but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began . Service . " Duchess " was ordered on 2 February 1931 under the 1930 Naval Estimates and was laid down at the yards of the Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company , Jarrow on 12 June 1931 . She was launched on 19 July 1932 and commissioned on 24 January 1933 , at a total cost of £229 , 367 , excluding equipment supplied by the Admiralty , such as weapons , ammunition and wireless equipment . The ship was initially assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean and made a brief deployment to the Persian Gulf and Red Sea in September – November 1933 . Upon her return , her superheater s were repaired at Malta between 18 December and 6 January 1934 . She was given a refit at Chatham Dockyard from 3 September to 23 October to prepare the ship for service on the China Station . " Duchess " arrived in Hong Kong in January 1935 where she joined the 8th Destroyer Flotilla . The ship was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet in the Red Sea from September to November during the Abyssinian Crisis . She made a number of good - will visits during her time on the station as well as conducted anti - piracy patrols . During a typhoon at Hong Kong on 2 September 1937 , a merchant ship crushed " Duchess " s stern when it dragged its anchors . Her repairs were not completed until 14 October . The ship remained on the station until late August 1939 , when the imminent start of the Second World War caused the Admiralty to order her to take up her war station with the Mediterranean Fleet at Malta . " Duchess " arrived there on 12 October and remained in the Mediterranean for the next two months . In December the ship , along with her sisters , and , was assigned to escort the battleship HMS " Barham " back to the UK , and they departed Gibraltar on 6 December . During the morning of 12 December , " Barham " collided with " Duchess " off the Mull of Kintyre in heavy fog . The destroyer capsized and her depth charges exploded , killing 124 of her crew including her commanding officer Lieutenant commander Robin White who was stuck in his sea cabin when the sliding door jammed .