HMS Khartoum

HMS Khartoum (F45)

Navy:	Royal Navy
Type:	Destroyer
Class:	K
Pennant:	F 45
Built by:	Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd. (Wallsend-on-Tyne, U.K.)
Laid down:	27 Oct, 1937
Launched:	6 Feb, 1939
Commissioned:	6 Nov, 1939
Complement:	183
Lost:	23 June, 1940. in pos.c(12.38'N, 43.24'E) Was heavily damaged by fire, and beached in the Red Sea off Perim after a gunfire action with the Italian submarine Torricelli. Declared a constructive total loss.

History:	The fire aboard Khartoum broke out 5 and a half hours after the sinking of the Torcelli. Toricelli was sunk at 0624 local time by RN. destroyers HMS Kingston, HMS Kandahar and Khartoum as well as the sloop HMS Shoreham. The fire aboard Khartoum started at 1150. A torpedo air flask exploded propelling the warhead through the deck house of number 3 4.7\" mount. A ruptured oil tank for the mount started the fire which led eventually to the loss of the ship. Her loss seems more due to inexperienced damage control. The Admiralty inquest ruled out damage from enemy action and sabotage but captured members of the Toricelli\'s crew were housed aboard. (Primary source are Admiralty records used in the book, "The Kelly's" by Christopher Langtree on page 106.) 23 Jun, 1940 The Italian submarine Torricelli was forced to the surface and sunk off Perim in gun-battle by the British destroyers HMS Kandahar, HMS Kingston, HMS Khartoum and the British sloop HMS Shoreham. Khartoum and Shoreham were hit by shells from the Torricelli. Khartoum was destroyed by fire a few hours after the battle.