General Information
HMS Duchess (H64) was a D-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy. Built by the Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company in County Durham, she was laid down on the 12th June 1931 and commissioned on the 24th January 1933. She measures 100.3m long, has a beam of 10.1m and a draft of 3.8m.

Pre-War
Initially, she was assigned to the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean, having a brief deployment to the Persian Gult and Red Sea from September-November 1933. After a brief refit, she was sent to Hong Kong to join the 8th Destroyer Flotilla, and was attached to the Mediterranean Fleet from September-November 1935 due to the Abyssinian Crisis, after which she was sent back to Hong Kong.

World War II
With WWII imminent, the Admiralty sent her to Malta, rejoining the Mediterranean Fleet. In December 1939, she and her sister ships HMS Delight, Duncan and Dainty, were assigned to escort the Queen Elizabeth-class battleship HMS Barham back to the UK. 6 days after leaving Gibraltar, HMS Barham collided with her in heavy fog, which caused HMS Duchess to capsize and her depth charges exploded, killing 124 of her crew, including the commanding officer.