the first eight ships to be transferred, Welles soon took on board the prospective crew (six British officers and 120 enlisted men) for familiarization. Three days later, on 9 September 1940, Welles was decommissioned and turned over to the Royal Navy. Her American name was struck from the United States Navy list on 8 January 1941. As HMS Cameron Simultaneously, the destroyer was renamed HMS Cameron (I05). Initially, the warship suffered problems with a faulty generator which delayed her sailing for the British Isles. After finally getting underway for England, the destroyer made port at Plymouth on 13 November, after a stop-over at Belfast, Northern Ireland. Cameron shifted to Portsmouth three days later, and was slated to receive her first major overhaul since coming under the White Ensign. However, she was never to finish this as, on 5 December 1940, Luftwaffe bombers struck Portsmouth while Cameron lay defenseless in drydock no. 8. A high explosive bomb severely damaged the ship, capsizing her. Judged unsuitable for return to active sea service, Cameron was eventually refloated on 23 February 1941 and allocated for use as a hulk. United States Navy experts consequently subjected the ship to close scrutiny to derive damage control measures which could be applicable to ships of her type still in service with the Navy. As such, she presented them with what John Alden, in his book, Flush Decks and Four Pipes, termed the most extreme case of hull damage seen by Americans until and were blasted by Japanese bombs at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Admiralty records indicate that Cameron fulfilled a useful purpose. The Admiralty Committee on Shock in Ships conducted shock tests on the hulk between July 1942 and September 1943. Paid off on 5 October 1943, Cameron remained in dockyard hands at Portsmouth until towed to Falmouth in November 1944, where she was subsequently broken up for scrap. References External links http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/257.htm Clemson-class destroyers Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1919 ships Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers of the Royal Navy Town-class destroyers converted from Clemson-class destroyers World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom Destroyers sunk by aircraft Maritime incidents in December 1940 Ships sunk by German aircraft