HMS Prince Charles (1941)

Civilian service
Prince Charles was originally ordered by the Belgian government in 1929 as part of a series of four fast ferries for cross-channel use, and was completed in 1930. The ship was named after Prince Charles of Belgium.

After the war, Prince Charles resumed her cross-channel service without incident before being scrapped in December 1960.

Operation Jubilee
Prince Charles was used in the ill-fated landings at Dieppe in 1942, along with her sister ships, Prince Leopold, Prince Albert and Princess Astrid. All four ships originally served on the same pre-war Ostend–Dover route.

Operation Archery
Prior to commencing Operation Archery, the operation's task force assembled at Scapa Flow and travelled from there to Sullom Voe, arriving at 13:30 on 25 December 1941. During the passage both Prince Charles and another transport, HMS Prince Leopold reported several defects, resulting in the forward compartments of Charles being flooded to a depth of 14 ft. At 16:15, the decision was taken to delay the operation by 24 hours because of the seaworthiness of Prince Charles, and the expected poor weather en route. Prince Charles was assisted in having water pumped out by HMS Chiddingfold (L31), and as a result all repairs were completed by 14:00 hours on 26 December. The force set sail at 16:00 hours on the same day.

Omaha Beach landings
Prince Charles also took part in the D-Day landings, transporting 300 US Rangers to Omaha Beach, and carrying wounded soldiers back to the UK. During the landings, it lost three of its attached landing craft.