HMAS Nestor (G02) - Design and Construction

Design and Construction

The N class destroyer had a displacement of 1,773 tons at standard load, and 2,550 tons at full load. Nestor was 356 feet 6 inches (108.66 m) long overall and 229 feet 6 inches (69.95 m) long between perpendiculars, had a beam of 35 feet 8 inches (10.87 m), and a maximum draught of 16 feet 4 inches (4.98 m). Propulsion was provided by Admiralty 3-drum boilers connected to Parsons geared steam turbines, which provided 40,000 shaft horsepower to the ship's two propellers. Nestor was capable of reaching 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). The ship's company consisted of 249 officers and sailors at the time she was sunk.

The ship's armament consisted of six 4.7-inch QF Mark XII guns in three twin mounts, a single 4-inch QF Mark V gun, a 2-pounder 4-barrel Pom Pom, four 0.5-inch machine guns, four 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns, four .303 Lewis machine guns, two Pentad torpedo launcher tube sets (with 10 torpedoes carried), two depth-charge throwers and one depth-charge chute (with 45 charges carried). The 4-inch gun was removed later in Nestor's career.

Nestor was laid down by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, at Govan, Scotland on 26 July 1939. She was launched on 9 July 1940 by the daughter of one of the shipyard directors. Nestor was commissioned into the RAN on 3 February 1941; although manned and commissioned as an Australian warship, the destroyer remained the property of the Royal Navy. The destroyer's name came from the mythological ruler. The ship cost 398,960 pounds to build.