HMS Kelly was laid down on 26th August 1937 at Hawthorn Leslie Shipbuilders on Tyneside and launched on October 1938. She became the ship of Captain (D) Lord Louis Mountbatten in August 1939 and was preparing to serve in the Mediterranean when hostilities broke out. Lord Mountbatten had HMS Kelly and a few of the other ships in his Flotilla painted pink because he noticed that a passenger line whose ships were painted a similar colour tended to disappear on the horizon around twilight. Apparently the ships crews were the centres of a few brawls because of the taunts from other sailors... Kelly and the 5th Flotilla initially served in home and northern waters, until in late Autumn 1939 she was damaged at the stern by a magnetic mine, where upon she was towed back to the builders yard for repairs which lasted until February 1940. In May Kelly was hit again this time by a torpedo in No.l boiler room, causing flooding in both boiler rooms and nearly resulted in the loss of the ship, once again she was towed back to Tyneside for repairs which took until December. In late April 1941 Kelly and the rest of the 5th Flotilla were finally deployed to the Mediterranean, taking up escort duties Kelly became involved in the Battle of Crete in May 1941.
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