HMS Burges (K347) was a , built in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 as a , and transferred to 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...

 under the terms 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...

, which served in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. She was named after Captain Richard Rundell Burges, commander of , who was killed at the battle of Camperdown

Battle of Camperdown

The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...

 on 11 October 1797.

The name Burges was originally assigned to the Evarts-class destroyer escort, BDE-16, laid down on 14 March 1942. When that ship was retained by the United States Navy and renamed , the name was transferred to another ship.

The new Burges (BDE-12) was laid down on 8 December 1942 by the 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...

, and launched on 26 January 1943. The ship was transferred to the Royal Navy on 2 June 1943 and commissioned the same day.

Service history

Operating as a Royal Navy ship, Burges served in the Atlantic in late 1943 and early 1944. In 1944, she moved to a zone of operations in the North Sea. The last months of World War II saw her active in the English Channel.

The destroyer escort was returned to 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...

 at New York on 27 February 1946. She was determined to be surplus to the needs of the Navy, and her name was struck from the Navy List

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

on 28 March 1946. In November 1946, she was sold to George H. Nutman, Inc., of Brooklyn, N.Y. She was scrapped on 31 July 1947.

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