![August 1942: Q class destroyer HMS QUALITY on the Tyne, U.K. - Photo James Henry Cleet, FRPS [1876-1959]. | by Kookaburra2011](http://live.staticflickr.com/5303/5657843111_aa31836a6b.jpg)
Kookaburra2011
August 1942: Q class destroyer HMS QUALITY on the Tyne, U.K. - Photo James Henry Cleet, FRPS [1876-1959].
4407. This is one of a series of official ship portraits taken of HMS QUALITY for the British Ministry of Defence in August 1942, and shortly before her commmissioning on Sept. 7 that year.
The 1705-2500 ton destroyer, built by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson at Wallsend on Tyne, was one of the five 'Q' class ships to eventually come to the RAN. Two ship, HMAS QUICKMATCH and HMAS QUIBERON, were Australian manned and had been directly commissioned into the RAN on completion during WWII. Three of their six sister ships, QUEENBOROUGH, QUADRANT and QUALITY were passed to the RAN, initially on loan, in Sydney in late October 1945, after the end of WWII.
As we have now discussed many times, finally presentesd to the RAN on a permanent basis, four of the ships were converted to Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigates in the 1950s, but QUALITY was not converted. Laid up in 1950 she spent the remainder of her time tied up alongside HMAS SHROPSHIRE in Athol Bight.
The penny has finally dropped for us on why QUALITY was not also converted, and in fact got little usage in the RAN. We hink she was probably used largely as a source of spare parts to keep the other ships in service - but that is speculation on our part. EDIT: And wrong. See 'Additional In formation' from comments.
QUALITY was sold to the Mitsubishi Co. of Tokyo on April 10, 1958 for scrapping.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN COM,MENTS BELOW. From Les Roberts:
The RAN Volume of the Australian Centenary History of Defence states that capping of the Defence Budget and the cost overruns of the other four Q Class conversions meant that QUALITY's conversion was cancelled in 1954.
We had some really excellent companion images to this photo at pic NOs 761, 762, starting here:
www.flickr.com/photos/41311545@N05/3987110138/
This photo: James Henry Cleet, FRPS [1876-1959] . Mr Cleet , from South Shields , UK, it was frequently used as an official photographer by the British Ministry of Defence . Many of his official warship portraits are held in the Imperial War Museum. This photo is also held in the RAN's Heritage Collection, where it is image NO. 02831.
August 1942: Q class destroyer HMS QUALITY on the Tyne, U.K. - Photo James Henry Cleet, FRPS [1876-1959].
4407. This is one of a series of official ship portraits taken of HMS QUALITY for the British Ministry of Defence in August 1942, and shortly before her commmissioning on Sept. 7 that year.
The 1705-2500 ton destroyer, built by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson at Wallsend on Tyne, was one of the five 'Q' class ships to eventually come to the RAN. Two ship, HMAS QUICKMATCH and HMAS QUIBERON, were Australian manned and had been directly commissioned into the RAN on completion during WWII. Three of their six sister ships, QUEENBOROUGH, QUADRANT and QUALITY were passed to the RAN, initially on loan, in Sydney in late October 1945, after the end of WWII.
As we have now discussed many times, finally presentesd to the RAN on a permanent basis, four of the ships were converted to Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigates in the 1950s, but QUALITY was not converted. Laid up in 1950 she spent the remainder of her time tied up alongside HMAS SHROPSHIRE in Athol Bight.
The penny has finally dropped for us on why QUALITY was not also converted, and in fact got little usage in the RAN. We hink she was probably used largely as a source of spare parts to keep the other ships in service - but that is speculation on our part. EDIT: And wrong. See 'Additional In formation' from comments.
QUALITY was sold to the Mitsubishi Co. of Tokyo on April 10, 1958 for scrapping.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN COM,MENTS BELOW. From Les Roberts:
The RAN Volume of the Australian Centenary History of Defence states that capping of the Defence Budget and the cost overruns of the other four Q Class conversions meant that QUALITY's conversion was cancelled in 1954.
We had some really excellent companion images to this photo at pic NOs 761, 762, starting here:
www.flickr.com/photos/41311545@N05/3987110138/
This photo: James Henry Cleet, FRPS [1876-1959] . Mr Cleet , from South Shields , UK, it was frequently used as an official photographer by the British Ministry of Defence . Many of his official warship portraits are held in the Imperial War Museum. This photo is also held in the RAN's Heritage Collection, where it is image NO. 02831.