H.
M.
S. R E S O U R C E
Heavy Repair Ship ordered from Vickers Armstrong at Barrow
on 16th February 1927 under the 1926/27 Estimates and launched on 27th November
1928. She was intended for use as an Accommodation Ship as well as to provide
repair services for warships if dockyard facilities could not be used. The 2nd RN warship to bear this name, introduced for a 6th
Rate in 1778. The designed complement of 581 included repair staff but this
increased during WW2. The ship displaced
12,300 tons and had an overall length of 530 feet with a beam of 83 ft and a
draught of 22 feet 4 inches at full load.. Her steam
turbines drove two shafts with Shaft Horsepower of 7,500 and gave a speed of 15
knots. Four 4" Low Angle gun mountings were fitted on build.
B a t t l
e H o n o u r s
EGYPT 1801- FALKLAND ISLANDS
1982*
(* See Post
War Notes.)
H e r a l d i c D a t a
Badge: On a Field Blue, a
Sea-Unicorn Silver horned Gold.
M o t t o
Passim Ut Orim:
'Everywhere as of yore'
S y n o p s i s o f
W a r S e r v i c e
1 9 3 9
September Deployed at
Malta for support of ships of Mediterranean Fleet
to
December
1 9 4 0
January Malta
deployment in continuation.
to
Transferred to Freetown for temporary duty pending arrival of permanent
facility.
December Returned to
Mediterranean after arrival of HMS EDINBURGH CASTLE.
1 9 4 1 t o 1 9 4 3
Mediterranean support in continuation. based at Alexandria
1 9 4 4
Mediterranean support duties in continuation.
Transferred to Trincomalee for service with Eastern Fleet
Nominated for service in Pacific.
1 9 4 5
January Eastern
Fleet support in continuation
to
March
April
Passage to join British
Pacific Fleet.
May Deployed
at US Navy Forward Base, Leyte with HM
Depot Ships ARTIFEX and TYNE.
Provided repair facilities for British Pacific Fleet after completion of first
phase of attacks
on
Sakishima-Gunto airfields
(Operation ICEBERG ONE. See THE FORGOTTEN FLEET by J Winton.) and WAR WITH
JAPAN
(HMSO)
June Passage
to British base at Manus, Admiralty Islands.
Deployed at Manus with Feet Train for support and accommodation service.
July Manus
service in continuation.
to
August
P o s
t W a r N o t e s
HMS RESOURCE returned to UK after VJ Day and was deployed
as Senior Officer's ship in the Reserve Fleet at Portsmouth until 1951 when she
was Paid-Off. The ship was placed on the Disposal List in 1953 and was sold to BISCO the next year for demolition by TW Ward.. She arrived in tow at the breaker’s yard in Inverkeithing
near Rosyth during February 1954. This name was carried forward
in 1966 when used for a Fleet Replenishment Ship
of
the Royal Fleet Auxiliary which served during the Falklands conflict and was
awarded the Battle Honour FALKLAND ISLANDS 1982.
