1/48 SCALE TYPE II HUNT CLASS DESTROYER
L108 HMS PUCKERIDGE
Under the 1939 War Emergency Programme shipbuilders J S White had successfully won contracts for the construction of four Hunt-class destroyers - HMS Tetcott, HMS Silverton, HMS Southwold and HMS Puckeridge. Laid down on 1 June 1940 (almost two months before Tetcott), Puckeridge was commissioned on 30 July 1941.
The career of HMS Puckeridge was to be far removed from that of her sister-ship Tetcott. Around 20:15 on 6 September 1943 whilst en route alone taking important messages to Oran, she was hit by two of four torpedoes fired by the German submarine U-617 and sank about 40 nautical miles east of Gibraltar in position 36º06'N, 04º44'W - 129 men were rescued and 62 men were lost with the ship.
At a scale of 1/48 and at almost six feet in length, this outstanding model of Puckeridge, built by Mr Richard Hale, illustrates the fine lines of the class and gives us an opportunity to picture HMS Tetcott as she may have appeared 'in the flesh'...
Sincere thanks is given to Mr Richard Hale for giving permission to reproduce these photographs here.