HMAS Nestor

The N-class destroyer had a displacement of 1,773 tons at standard load, and 2,550 tons at full load. Nestor was long overall and long between perpendiculars, had a beam of , and a maximum draught of . Nestor was capable of reaching . 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 Nestors career. Nestor was laid down by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited, at Govan, Scotland in 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. ==Operational history==

During sea trials, Nestor was called on to make several deployments north of the British Isles, in poor conditions. On 14 May, the sailors aboard mutinied in response to the heavy drinking sessions of the ship's captain and two other senior officers: they locked themselves in their accommodations and refused to man the ship until the officers were removed. Nestor was transferred to the Mediterranean in July, and was involved in the Malta Convoys, then performed escort duties in the South Atlantic before returning to England for refit in October. In May 1942, the destroyer was assigned back to the Mediterranean. ==Loss==

On 12 June 1942, Nestor sailed from Haifa as part of the large escort force for Operation Vigorous, a Malta Convoy consisting of 11 merchant ships carrying food, fuel, and supplies for the besieged island. began to tow Nestor, but by 05:30 on 16 June, the quantity of water taken on by the Australian ship meant that recovery was no longer practical. Nestors wartime service was recognised with four battle honours: "Bismarck 1941", "Atlantic 1941", "Malta Convoys 1941–42", and "Indian Ocean 1942". The ship's bell was recovered, and is on display at the museum at . ==Citations==