Captain class frigate
Encyclopedia
The Captain class were 78 frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, constructed in the United States, launched in 1942–1943 and delivered to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
under the provisions of Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
. They served in World War II as convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
escorts, anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
vessels and coastal forces control frigates. They were drawn from two classes of destroyer escort
Destroyer escort
A destroyer escort is the classification for a smaller, lightly armed warship designed to be used to escort convoys of merchant marine ships, primarily of the United States Merchant Marine in World War II. It is employed primarily for anti-submarine warfare, but also provides some protection...
; 32 from the Evarts class
Evarts class destroyer escort
The Evarts class destroyer escorts were destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1942–1944. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. They were also known as the GMT or "short hull" DE class, with GMT standing for General Motors Tandem Diesel...
and 46 from the Buckley class
Buckley class destroyer escort
The Buckley class destroyer escorts were 102 destroyer escorts launched in the United States in 1943 - 1944. They served in World War II as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare ships. The lead ship was USS Buckley which was launched on 9 January 1943. The ships had General Electric steam...
.
Post-war nearly all the surviving Captain class ships were returned to the US Navy as quickly as possible to reduce the amount payable under the provisions of the Lend-Lease agreement.
Early history
In June 1941 His Majesty's Government asked the United States to design, build and supply an escort vessel that was suitable for anti-submarine warfare in deep open ocean situations. The requested particulars were a length of 300 feet (91.4 m), a speed of 20 knots (39 km/h), a dual purposeDual purpose gun
A dual purpose gun is a naval artillery mounting designed to engage both surface and air targets.-Description:Second World War-era capital ships had four classes of artillery: the heavy main battery, intended to engage opposing battleships and cruisers ; a secondary battery for use against enemy...
main armament and an open bridge
Bridge (ship)
The bridge of a ship is the room or platform from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is underway the bridge is manned by an OOW aided usually by an AB acting as lookout...
. The United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
had been looking into the feasibility of such a vessel since 1939 and Captain E. L. Cochrane of the Bureau of Shipping
American Bureau of Shipping
The American Bureau of Shipping is a classification society, with a mission to promote the security of life, property and the natural environment, primarily through the development and verification of standards for the design, construction and operational maintenance of marine-related facilities...
- who during his visit to the United Kingdom in 1940 looked at Royal Navy corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
s and Hunt class destroyer
Hunt class destroyer
The Hunt class was a class of Destroyer escort of the Royal Navy. The first vessels were ordered early in 1939, and the class saw extensive service in World War II, particularly on the British East Coast and Mediterranean convoys. They were named after British fox hunts...
s - had come up with a design for such a vessel. This design had anticipated a need for large numbers of vessels of this type, and had sought to remove the major bottleneck of production for vessels of this type: reduction gearing required for the steam turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
machinery of destroyers. Production of reduction gears could not be easily increased, as the precision machinery required for their construction alone took over a year to produce. Therefore, a readily-available and proven layout of diesel-electric
Diesel-electric
Diesel-electric transmission or diesel-electric powertrain is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion.A diesel-electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors...
machinery, also used on submarines, was adopted. When the United Kingdom made their request, Admiral Stark
Harold Rainsford Stark
Harold Rainsford Stark served as an officer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. Stark was the US Navy's 8th Chief of Naval Operations, from August 1, 1939 to 26 March 1942....
(USN) decided to put these plans into motion and recommended that the British order be approved. Gibbs and Cox, the marine architects charged with creating working plans, had to make several alterations to the method of production and to Captain Cochrane's original design, most notably dropping another production bottleneck - the five inch /38 caliber gun - and replacing it with the three inch /50 caliber gun, which allowed a third gun to be added in a superfiring position ("B") forward. The result was a vessel that could be produced at half the cost of a fleet destroyer.
On August 15, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
authorised the construction of 50 of the new Evarts-class design as BDE 1 - 50 (British Destroyer Escort) as part of the 1799 program (a plan to supply 1799 ships to the Royal Navy), The turbo-electric
Turbo-electric
A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine into electric energy and electric motors to convert it back into mechanical energy to power the driveshafts....
powered Buckley class were not part of the first order and were authorised later by Public Law 440 effective February 6, 1942. The Royal Navy placed orders in November 1941 with four ship yards: Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
, Mare Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
and Puget Sound Navy Yard. When the United States entered the war, they too adopted the BDE design. The BDE designation was retained by the first six destroyer escorts (BDE 1, 2, 3, 4, 12 and 46) transferred to the United Kingdom. Of the initial 50 ordered, these were the only ones the Royal Navy received; the rest were reclassified as destroyer escort (DE) on January 25, 1943 and taken over by the United States Navy. By the end of World War II the Royal Navy had received 32 Evarts and 46 Buckleys from Boston Navy Yard, Mare Island Navy Yard and Bethlehem-Hingham
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
.
The Royal Navy classified these ships as frigates, as they lacked the torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s necessary to be classified as destroyers. For those used to Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
-designed ships the Captains were unfamiliar: they had no break forward of the forecastle and a graceful shear to deck-line from the forecastle to midship, and the Evarts had daringly rakish cowls on top of the funnels. Those that served on these ships came to view these features as being very handsome. Some of the differences from British designed vessels that would have been most noticeable to the crews were the provision of bunks rather than hammocks, and the use of welds rather than rivets in the design.
Royal Navy alterations
On first arrival in the United Kingdom the first port of call for most of the Captains was Pollock Dock, BelfastPort of Belfast
Belfast Harbour is a major maritime gateway in Northern Ireland, serving the Northern Ireland economy and increasingly that of the Republic of Ireland...
where the ships were modified in order to match Admiralty requirements. In all there was 109 items in the alterations and additions list for the Evarts and 94 for the Buckleys.
Some of the main design difference between the Royal Navy frigates and the US Navy destroyer escorts were that the Buckley class did not have the forward torpedo tubes fitted (the Evarts class was not designed to carry torpedo tubes) and the ice cream makers, the iced water fountains, the dishwashers were removed, the "cafeteria" messing system discontinued and the replacing of the primitive American two-seat "thunder trough" toilets (which did not offer even so much as a simple canvas screen to spare blushes) with an enclosed water closet.
Further alterations were:
Sea-keeping equipment
- A standard Royal Navy 27 feet (8 m) whalerWhaleboatA whaleboat is a type of open boat that is relatively narrow and pointed at both ends, enabling it to move either forwards or backwards equally well. It was originally developed for whaling, and later became popular for work along beaches, since it does not need to be turned around for beaching or...
was fitted on the port side of the funnel, in addition to the US issue ships boat on the starboard side. - Oiling fairleadFairleadA fairlead is a device to guide a line, rope or cable around an object, out of the way or to stop it from moving laterally. Typically a fairlead will be a ring or hook. The fairlead may be a separate piece of hardware, or it could be a hole in the structure....
s were fitted to the edge of the hull by the anchor winch. - Additional lifesaving rafts were fitted, big ones fitted on sloping launch skids aft of the funnel and small ones fitted aft of the searchlights.
- Crow's nestCrow's nestA crow's nest is a structure in the upper part of the mainmast of a ship or structure, that is used as a lookout point.This position ensured the best view of the approaching hazards, other ships or land. It was the best device for this purpose until the invention of radar.In early ships it was...
. - Wind deflectors were fitted on the leading edge of the bridge area and a canvas covered shelter on the quarterdeck for depth charge crews to provide better weather protection.
- The steel work around the binnacleBinnacleA binnacle is a waist-high case or stand on the deck of a ship, generally mounted in front of the helmsman, in which navigational instruments are placed for easy and quick reference as well as to protect the delicate instruments. Its traditional purpose was to hold the ship's magnetic compass,...
(the enclosure containing the compass) was replaced by non-ferrous materials.
Gunnery
- The bridge layout was significantly altered, of which the biggest part was the addition of a two-tier directorDirector (military)A director, also called an auxiliary predictor, is a mechanical or electronic computer that continuously calculates trigonometric firing solutions for use against a moving target, and transmits targeting data to direct the weapon firing crew....
which improved visibility and gave better protection to the equipment. - Gun shields were fitted to the main armament; on some Captains, a spray and blast shield was fitted to B gun only.
- Two-inch rocket flare projectors were fitted to the B gun; six if the spray and blast shield was fitted, three if not.
- Vertically fired "snowflake" parachute flare projectors were fitted to the bridge wings.
- A two pounder (40mm) "pom-pom"QF 2 pounder naval gunThe 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1.575 inch British autocannon, used famously as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing...
bowchaserChase gunThe chase guns, usually distinguished as bow chasers and stern chasers were cannons mounted in the bow or stern of a sailing ship...
was fitted to Captains to serve as Coastal Forces control frigates hunting E-boats. - The MK IV elevating column OerlikonOerlikon ContravesRheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products...
mountings were replaced with the simpler MK V1A mountings. - Additional 40mm BoforsBofors 40 mm gunThe Bofors 40 mm gun is an anti-aircraft autocannon designed by the Swedish defence firm of Bofors Defence...
and Oerlikon guns were mounted in place of the removed torpedo tubes; those Captains that were to serve as Coastal Forces control frigates had extra guns fitted.
Anti-submarine
- More depth chargeDepth chargeA depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s were fitted on the upper deck each side of the ship (allowing for about 200 in total). - The Captains were eventually given Type 144 series Asdic, an upgrade from the Type 128D.
- Royal Navy smoke floats were fitted above the depth charges. There were in addition to the US Navy chemical smoke cylinders fitted to the stern of the Captains which were retained.
- A FoxerFoxerFoxer, was the codename for a British built acoustic decoy, used to confuse German acoustic homing torpedoes like the G7es torpedo during the Second World War. A US version codenamed FXR was deployed in 1943. A Canadian version was also built called the CAT...
was fitted to the aft of the Captains (and most other Atlantic escort vessels) during 1944 to counter the new acoustic torpedoesG7es torpedoThe G7es or Zaunkönig T-5 was a torpedo employed by German U-boats during World War II. It was known as the GNAT to the British.- Description :...
.
Communications
- A medium frequency direction finding antenna (MF/DF) fitted in front of the bridge and high frequency direction finding (HF/DF, "Huffduff") Type FH 4 antenna fitted on top of mast.
- In addition to the standard US Navy long range position fixing setLORANLORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters in multiple deployment to determine the location and speed of the receiver....
, a Royal Navy short range position fixing setGEE (navigation)Gee was the code name given to a radio navigation system used by the Royal Air Force during World War II.Different sources record the name as GEE or Gee. The naming supposedly comes from "Grid", so the lower case form is more correct, and is the form used in Drippy's publications. See Drippy 1946....
was fitted. - Two high frequency radio-telephones were fitted for communication with aeroplanes.
- A radio-receiving set tuned to the frequencies used for ship-to-ship communication by German U-boats and E-boats was fitted and a German-speaking rating carried.
- Four coloured fighting lights were fitted to aid recognition at night.
- A radarRadarRadar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
interrogation system was fitted which was able to challenge ships at sea, only ships fitted with the system would be able to reply.
Normandy invasion
HMS Dacres, HMS Kingsmill and HMS Lawford were converted to headquarters ships for use during Operation NeptuneOperation Neptune
The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...
. These ships had their aft three inch (76 mm) gun and all the depth charge gear removed and the superstructure extended to provide accommodation for extra Staff Officers; two deckhouses were built for the additional radios needed and a small main mast was added to support the many extra aerials. Four more Oerlikons were fitted bringing the total to 16, and a number of radar sets fitted (Type 271 centimetric target identification and Type 291 air warning, and the associated Types 242 and 253 IFF sets
Identification friend or foe
In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe is an identification system designed for command and control. It is a system that enables military and national interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles, or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing and range from the...
). The complement was now 141, with a headquarters staff of 64.
Machinery
The Evarts class had diesel-electric machinery, based on an arrangement used for submarines. There were two shaftsDriveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, propeller shaft, or Cardan shaft is a mechanical component for transmitting torque and rotation, usually used to connect other components of a drive train that cannot be connected directly because of distance or the need to allow for relative movement...
. Four Winton 278A 16-cylinder engines, with a combined rating of 7040 bhp, driving General Electric Company
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
(GE) generators (4,800 kW) supplied power to two GE electric motors, with an output of 6000 shp, for 20 knots (39 km/h). It had been intended to provide a further set of this machinery, for an output of 12000 shp to make the design speed of 24 knots (47 km/h), but hull production greatly outstripped that of the machinery, therefore only one set of machinery was used per ship.
To make the designed speed, the Buckleys had turbo-electric
Turbo-electric
A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine into electric energy and electric motors to convert it back into mechanical energy to power the driveshafts....
machinery. Two Foster-Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boiler
Water-tube boiler
A water tube boiler is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which heats water in the steam-generating tubes...
s supplied steam to GE 13500 shp steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW). Electric motors for 12000 shp drove the two shafts each fitted with a three-bladed propeller of solid manganese-bronze that was 8.5 feet (2.6 m) in diameter.
This all electric drive-train was considered particularly innovative at the time (although the Catherine class minesweeper
Auk class minesweeper
The Auk class were Allied minesweepers serving with the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy during the Second World War. In total, there were 95 Auks built.-Design and development:...
s had a similar arrangement).
Ships companies
The Captains had a crew of either 156 (Evarts) and 186 (Buckley) officers and ratingNaval rating
A Naval Rating is an enlisted member of a country's Navy, subordinate to Warrant Officers and Officers hence not conferred by commission or warrant...
s. The bulk of the ratings were Hostilities Only and all had to be trained from scratch in which ever branch of the Navy they had chosen to serve. After about six weeks square bashing and getting physically fit, they moved onto the job training. Many of the senior non-commissioned officer
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
s were pre-war regular service who had been promoted.
Engineering personnel were faced with the added complication of power plants not normally found in the Royal Navy. Initially, they were trained alongside US Navy personnel at purpose-built facilities in the General Electric Company factories at Cleveland and Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, being awarded a certificates at the end of their training; later, training was provided in the United Kingdom.
Ship's companies were shipped over to the USA by them taking passage from the Clyde or Liverpool to New York on liners such as the RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary
RMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
. On arriving in New York, the crews were initially assigned to HMS Saker
HMS Saker
HMS Saker, also known as HMS Saker I, HMS Saker II and HMS Saker III, has historically been the ship to which Royal Naval personnel serving in the United States of America are assigned...
until they were reassigned to a Captain class frigate. Later, some of the Captains were ferried across the Atlantic by crews of the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
coming to the United Kingdom to collect River class
River class frigate
The River class frigate was a class of 151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the North Atlantic....
frigates ordered by the Canadians.
Ships
Naming
It was the intention of the Admiralty that these ships were to named after Captains that served with Vice-Admiral Horatio NelsonHoratio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
but as building continued, it became necessary to delve back further into history for names of Admirals and Captains of reputation.
66 of the 78 frigates bear names that had not previously been allocated earlier Royal Navy ships. Lawford, Louis, Manners, Moorsom, Mounsey, Narborough, Pasley and Seymour had been previously used for destroyers during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Rupert
HMS Rupert
Several ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Rupert or derivatives of the name, after Prince Rupert of the Rhine, son of Frederick V, Elector Palatine and a famous Royalist cavalry commander during the English Civil War....
was the fifth of that name since 1666. Torrington was the fourth of that name since 1654. Holmes had been used once before in 1671 and Fitzroy had previously been used for a survey vessel in 1919.
Evarts class
| Name | Pennant | U.S. Hull No. |
|---|---|---|
| K310 | (B)DE-1 | |
| K311 | (B)DE-2 | |
| K312 | (B)DE-3 | |
| K313 | (B)DE-4 | |
| K347 | (B)DE-12 | |
| K470 | DE-266 | |
| K471 | DE-267 | |
| K472 | DE-268 | |
| K473 | DE-269 | |
| K316 | (B)DE-46 | |
| K474 | DE-270 | |
| K478 | DE-274 | |
| K475 | DE-271 | |
| K479 | DE-275 | |
| K480 | DE-276 | |
| K481 | DE-277 | |
| K476 | DE-272 | |
| K477 | DE-273 | |
| K566 | DE-521 | |
| K570 | DE-525 | |
| K571 | DE-526 | |
| K482 | DE-278 | |
| K483 | DE-279 | |
| K484 | DE-280 | |
| K514 | DE-516 | |
| K516 | DE-518 | |
| K565 | DE-520 | |
| K515 | DE-517 | |
| K568 | DE-523 | |
| K567 | DE-522 | |
| K569 | DE-524 | |
| K564 | DE-519 | |
Buckley class
(DE-71) (DE-72) (DE-73) (DE-52) (DE-74) (DE-75) (DE-76) (DE-77) (DE-78) (DE-55) (DE-79) (DE-58) (DE-80) (DE-94) (DE-81) (DE-82) (DE-83) (DE-84) (DE-85) (DE-86) (DE-64) (DE-61) (DE-87)
(DE-67) (DE-88) (DE-91) (DE-573) (DE-572) (DE-574) (DE-569) (DE-89) (DE-90) (DE-92) (DE-95) (DE-96) (DE-93) (DE-98) (DE-563) (DE-564) (DE-97) (DE-565) (DE-568) (DE-566) (DE-567) (DE-570) (DE-571)
Camouflage and insignia
Following standard Royal Navy protocols, all of the Captains had large pennant numberPennant number
In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...
s painted on the sides and stern of the hull, usually in blue, red or black. The escort groups to which most of the Captains were assigned had their own individual insignia, where these distinctive and colourful designs were painted on the side of the ship's funnel, and if the ship was home to the escort group senior officer it would also have a coloured band painted around the top of the funnel (usually in blue or red). The ship's waterline was always in black.
A total of five different camouflage schemes were employed on the Captains.
- The ships came from the shipyards in light grey with a few light blue stripes.
- For those Captains assigned to the North Atlantic, a scheme consisting of light and dark blues and greens, with some soft white was adopted as it was believed that this would blend with the sea colour in bad weather.
- For those Captains assigned to the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
in 1944 (Coastal Forces control frigates and those assigned to Operation Neptune as headquarters ships), a bold design in black, blue, light grey and white was adopted. - For those Captains assigned to the 16th Flotilla (HarwichHarwichHarwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
) and 21st Flotilla (SheernessSheernessSheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
) operating in the North SeaNorth SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and English Channel, a scheme consisting of horizontal upper deck divisions of light and dark grey (as used by the US Navy) was adopted. - Early in 1945, a scheme was adopted that was to be common to all Royal Navy ships, consisting of white with a sky blue stripe along the hull.
Operations
The Captains were primarily used to provide an anti-submarine cover to the convoys they escorted, however a small number of ships were converted to act as coastal forces control frigates and as headquarters ships during Operation Neptune.Collectively, the Captains gained battle honours for service in Arctic (Russian Convoys)
Arctic convoys of World War II
The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...
, Atlantic, Biscay
Biscay
Biscay is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lord of Biscay. Its capital city is Bilbao...
, English Channel, Normandy (D-Day on 6 June 1944 and subsequent related operations), North Foreland and Walcheren
Operation Infatuate
Operation Infatuate was the codename given to Anglo-Canadian operation during the Second World War to open the port of Antwerp to shipping and relieve logistical constraints. The operation was part of the wider battle of the Scheldt and involved two assault landings from the sea by the 4th Special...
.
| Date | Submarine | Position Sunk | Ships | Fate of Submarine Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 17, 1943 | U-841 | 59°57′N 31°06′W | HMS Byard | 27 lost and 27 survivors |
| November 21, 1943 | U-538 | 45°40′N 19°35′W | HMS Foley | 55, all hands Lost |
| November 23, 1943 | U-648 | 42°40′N 20°37′W | HMS Bazely, HMS Blackwood, HMS Drury | 50, all hands Lost |
| November 25, 1943 | U-600 | 40°31′N 22°07′W | HMS Bazely, HMS Blackwood | 54, all hands Lost |
| January 8, 1944 | U-757 German submarine U-757 German submarine U-757 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. Launched from Werk 140at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven Lower Saxony , U-757 served with 6th U-boat Flotilla from February 28, 1942 to January 8, 1944 under the command of... |
50°33′N 18°03′W | HMS Bayntun | 49, all hands Lost |
| February 26, 1944 | U-91 German submarine U-91 (1941) German submarine U-91 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the German Kriegsmarine that saw service during World War II. The U-boat completed six wartime patrols and sank one warship totalling , and damaged four for a total of .... |
49°45′N 26°20′W | HMS Affleck, HMS Gore, HMS Gould | 36 lost and 16 survivors |
| March 1, 1944 | U-358 | 45°46′N 23°16′W | HMS Affleck, HMS Gore, HMS Gould, HMS Garlies | 50 lost and one survivor |
| March 16, 1944 | U-392 | 35°55′N 05°41′W | HMS Affleck | 52, all hands lost |
| May 6, 1944 | U-765 | 52°30′N 28°28′W | HMS Bickerton, HMS Bligh, HMS Aylmer | 37 lost and 11 survivors |
| June 25, 1944 | U-269 | 50°01′N 02°59′W | HMS Bickerton | 13 lost and 39 survivors |
| June 29. 1944 | U-988 | 49°37′N 03°41′W | HMS Duckworth, HMS Cooke, HMS Domett, HMS Essington | 50, all hands lost |
| July 18, 1944 | U-672 | 50°03′N 02°30′W | HMS Balfour | 52 survivors |
| July 21, 1944 | U-212 | 50°27′N 00°13′W | HMS Curzon, HMS Ekins | 49 all hands Lost |
| July 26, 1944 | U-214 | 49°58′N 03°30′W | HMS Cooke | 48, all hands lost |
| August 5, 1944 | U-671 | 50°23′N 00°06′E | HMS Stayner | 47 lost and five survivors |
| August 14, 1944 | U-618 | 47°22′N 04°39′W | HMS Duckworth, HMS Essington | 61, all hands lost |
| August 24, 1944 | U-445 | 47°21′N 05°50′W | HMS Louis | 52, all hands lost |
| January 26, 1945 | U-1051 | 53°39′N 05°23′W | HMS Aylmer, HMS Bentinck, HMS Calder, HMS Manners | 47. all hands lost |
| January 27, 1945 | U-1172 | 52°24′N 05°42′W | HMS Tyler, HMS Keats, HMS Bligh | 52, all hands lost |
| February 3, 1945 | U-1279 | 61°21′N 02°00′E | HMS Bayntun, HMS Braithwaite | 48, all hands lost |
| February 14, 1945 | U-989 | 61°36′N 01°35′W | HMS Bayntun, HMS Braithwaite | 47, all hands lost |
| February 17, 1945 | U-1278 | 61°32′N 01°36′E | HMS Bayntun | 48, all hands lost |
| February 27, 1945 | U-1208 | 49°56′N 06°06′W | HMS Duckworth, HMS Rowley | 49, all hands lost |
| March 26, 1945 | U-399 | 49°56′N 05°22′W | HMS Duckworth | 46 lost and one survivor |
| March 27, 1945 | U-722 | 57°09′N 06°55′W | HMS Fitzroy, HMS Redmill, HMS Byron | 44, all hands lost |
| March 27, 1945 | U-905 | 58°34′N 05°46′W | HMS Conn | 45, all hands lost |
| March 29, 1945 | U-1169 | 49°58′N 05°25′W | HMS Duckworth, HMS Rowley | 49, all hands lost |
| March 30, 1945 | U-965 | 58°19′N 05°31′W | HMS Conn, HMS Rupert, HMS Deane | 51, all hands lost |
| April 8, 1945 | U-1001 | 49°19′N 10°23′W | HMS Fitzroy, HMS Byron | 45, all hands lost |
| April 8, 1945 | U-774 | 49°58′N 11°51′W | HMS Bentinck, HMS Calder | 44, all hands lost |
| April 15, 1945 | U-1063 | 50°08′N 03°53′W | HMS Cranstoun, HMS Burges | 29 lost and 17 survivors |
| April 15, 1945 | U-285 | 50°13′N 12°48′W | HMS Grindall, HMS Keats | 44, all hands lost |
| April 21, 1945 | U-636 | 55°50′N 10°31′W | HMS Bentinck, HMS Bazely, HMS Drury | 42, all hands lost |
| April 29, 1945 | U-286 | 69°29′N 33°37′E | HMS Cotton | 51, all hands lost |
In addition, Captain class frigates which operated with Coastal Forces, (Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
s, Motor Gun Boat
Motor Gun Boat
Motor Gun Boat was a Royal Navy term for a small military vessel of the Second World War. They were physically similar to the Motor Torpedo Boats but equipped with a mix of guns instead of torpedoes. Their small size and high speed made them difficult targets for E-boats or torpedo bombers, but...
s and US Navy PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
s) sank at least two two-man submarines
Midget submarine
A midget submarine is any submarine under 150 tons, typically operated by a crew of one or two but sometimes up to 6 or 8, with little or no on-board living accommodation...
, and were involved in the destruction of at least 26 E-Boats, one KFK patrol vessel (coastal escort vessels constructed to a fishing-vessel design), two minesweepers, and the shooting down of a Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
aeroplane.
| Date | Ship | Incident | Casualties |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1, 1944 | HMS Gould | Torpedoed and sunk by U-358 south-west of Ireland in position 45°46′N 23°16′W. | Loss of 123 hands. |
| June 8, 1944 | HMS Lawford | Hit by a Glide bomb Glide bomb A glide bomb is an aerial bomb modified with aerodynamic surfaces to modify its flight path from a purely ballistic one to a flatter, gliding, one. This extends the range between the launch aircraft and the target. Glide bombs are often fitted with control systems, allowing the controlling aircraft... launched from a German aeroplane History of the Luftwaffe during World War II The German Luftwaffe was one of the strongest, most doctrinally advanced, and most battle-experienced air forces in the world when World War II started in Europe in September 1939. Officially unveiled in 1935, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, its purpose was to support Adolf Hitler's... in her hull, port side midships, which blew out the bottom of the ship which quickly sank, off J1 Sector of Gold Beach Gold Beach Gold Beach was the code name of one of the D-Day landing beaches that Allied forces used to invade German-occupied France on 6 June 1944, during World War II.... on D-Day+2. |
Loss of 26 hands. |
| June 11, 1944 | HMS Halstead | Torpedoed by an E-boat in mid channel off Normandy which blew off her bow section, she was written off as Constructive Total Loss. | Loss of 27 hands. |
| June 15, 1944 | HMS Blackwood | Torpedoed by U-764, the forward part of ship was blown off, the hulk sank at 04.10Hrs the next morning. | Loss of 60 hands. |
| June 26, 1944 | HMS Goodson | Torpedoed by U-984 approximately 38 nautical miles (70 km) south of Portland Bill in position 50°00′N 02°48′W badly damaged towed back to port and assessed as a Constructive Total Loss. | No fatalities. |
| August 22, 1944 | HMS Bickerton | Torpedoed by U-354 during Operation Goodwood in the Barents Sea, in position 72°42′N 19°11′E seriously damaged and ship abandoned, sunk by own forces. | Loss of 39 hands. |
| November 1, 1944 | HMS Whitaker | Torpedoed by U-483 off Malin Head, near Loch Swilly, Ireland; she seriously damaged, and towed back to Belfast. Declared a Constructive Total Loss. | Loss of 92 hands. |
| November 2, 1944 | HMS Mounsey | Torpedoed by U-295 outside the Kola Inlet Kola Peninsula The Kola Peninsula is a peninsula in the far northwest of Russia. Constituting the bulk of the territory of Murmansk Oblast, it lies almost completely to the north of the Arctic Circle and is washed by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast... but managed to limp back to Polyarnoe where she was patched up by the Russians and managed to get back to Belfast Port of Belfast Belfast Harbour is a major maritime gateway in Northern Ireland, serving the Northern Ireland economy and increasingly that of the Republic of Ireland... before Christmas for permanent repairs. |
Loss of 10 hands. |
| December 6, 1944 | HMS Bullen | Torpedoed midships and sunk off Cape Wrath by U-775 in position 58°42′N 04°12′W. | Loss of 55 hands. |
| December 25, 1944 | HMS Dakins | Hit a ground mine off the Belgium coast, she was towed into Antwerp where she was declared Constructive Total Loss. | No fatalities. |
| December 26, 1944 | HMS Capel | Torpedoed by one of two torpedoes fired by U-486 German submarine U-486 German submarine U-486 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.On December 24, 1944, U-486 torpedoed the five miles off the coast of Cherbourg, France. This resulted in the death of over 750 Allied soldiers... , she sank having had her bows blown off. This happened north-north-east of Cherbourg, in position 49°50′N 01°41′W. |
Loss of 76 hands. |
| December 26, 1944 | HMS Affleck | Torpedoed by one of two torpedoes fired by U-486 German submarine U-486 German submarine U-486 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II.On December 24, 1944, U-486 torpedoed the five miles off the coast of Cherbourg, France. This resulted in the death of over 750 Allied soldiers... , which seriously damaged her stern. She was towed back to port and assessed as a Constructive Total Loss. This happened off Cherbourg. |
Loss of 9 hands. |
| January 26, 1945 | HMS Manners | Torpedoed by U-1051 off the Isle of Man Isle of Man The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is... . She was towed back to Barrow-in-Furness and declared a Constructive Total Loss. |
Loss of 43 hands. |
| April 15, 1945 | HMS Ekins | Hit two ground mines in the Scheldt Estuary, towed back to port and put into dry dock, when water was pumped out she broke her back and was written off as Constructive Total Loss. | No fatalities |
| April 27, 1945 | HMS Redmill | Torpedoed by U-1105 25 nautical miles (46 km) west of Silgo Bay, Ireland in position 54°23′N 10°36′W towed in to Belfast with serious damage. Written off as a Constructive Total Loss. | Loss of 24 hands. |
| April 29, 1945 | HMS Goodall | Torpedoed by U-286 outside the Kola Inlet 69°29′N 33°38′E. HMS Goodall was the last ship of the Royal Navy sunk in the European theatre of World War Two. | Loss of 98 hands. |
Post war
At the end of World War II most of the surviving Captains were returned to the US Navy as quickly as possible to reduce the amount payable under the provisions of the Lend-Lease agreement. The last of the Captains returned was HMS Hotham, which in the post-war period served as a floating power station in Singapore until early 1948 when she sailed for Portsmouth, becoming the base for a Royal Navy Engineering research team which was experimenting with gas turbine engines. Hotham was returned on April 25, 1952 and simultaneously transferred back to the United Kingdom under the Mutual Defence Assistance ProgramMutual Defense Assistance Act
The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Europe...
. The partially-stripped vessel was later returned to United States custody in February 1956.
Memorial
On April 17, 2005 a memorial to the Captains, those that served, and those killed in action in them was dedicated at the National Memorial ArboretumNational Memorial Arboretum
The National Memorial Arboretum is a national site of remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It gives its purpose as:-Origins:...
near Alrewas
Alrewas
Alrewas is a large village and civil parish within Lichfield District, in Staffordshire, England. It lies on the A38 road, approximately 5 miles north of Lichfield...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
.
See also
- List of destroyer escorts of the United States Navy
- List of frigate classes of the Royal Navy
External links
- http://www.desausa.org/ Destroyer Escort Sailors Association (DESA).
- http://www.ussslater.org/ USS Slater, the Destroyer Escort Historical Museum.
- http://www.captainclassfrigates.co.uk/ the Captain Class Frigates Association.
- http://www.uboat.net uboat.net - Allied Warships - Captain class Frigates
- http://www.nationalmemorialarboretum.org/ The National Memorial Arboretum
- Convoy escort movements for Captain-class frigates