HMS Cubitt (K512) was a of the British 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...

 that served during 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...

. The ship was laid down as a at the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard at Hingham, Massachusetts

Hingham, Massachusetts

Hingham is a town in northern Plymouth County on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and suburb in Greater Boston. The United States Census Bureau 2008 estimated population was 22,561...

 on 9 June 1943, with the hull number

Hull number

Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. A lower number implies an older vessel. The precise usage varies by country and type....

 DE-83, and launched on 11 September 1943. The ship was transferred to the UK under 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...

 on 17 November 1943, and named after Captain J. Cubitt, a Navy officer who commanded the frigate in 1661.

Service history

Cubitt was assigned to Nore Command

Nore Command

The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Command.-History:The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the River Medway...

, serving in the 21st Escort Group based at Harwich

Harwich

Harwich 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...

. She did not take part in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, but was afterwards deployed escorting convoys to and from the landing beaches. Towards the end of 1944 Cubitt became a Coastal Forces Control Frigate (CFCF), controlling a flotilla of 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 operating in the Channel and North Sea to counter the threat of enemy E-Boats.

In February 1945 Cubitt was refitted at Tilbury

Tilbury

Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...

. Her 2-pounder "pom pom"

QF 2 pounder naval gun

The 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...

 bow chaser was removed, the two 20 mm Oerlikons mounted in front of the bridge were replaced with two single 40 mm Bofors, and splinter shields were fitted to her 3 inches (76.2 mm) guns.

On the night of 7/8th April 1945 Cubitt and were on patrol with their MTB's when Cubitt encountered a large group of E-Boats. She opened fire, and two were severely damaged and a third was hit before they could move out of range, but a patrolling aircraft then attacked and drove them towards the MTB's, resulting in a fierce close-quarter action. A 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...

 and an E-Boat collided, and Cubitt picked up casualties from another MGB that was on fire. The following night Rutherford and Cubitt were on patrol off Ostend

Ostend

Ostend  is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....

, when an aircraft directed Rutherford towards a formation of E-Boats, and in five minutes two E-boats were sunk and several others damaged. Cubitt managed to fire a few shots as the E-boats fled under cover of a smoke screen.

Cubitt visited several Dutch ports immediately after they were liberated, and after VE Day

Victory in Europe Day

Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...

 escorted ships to Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

 and Brunsbüttel

Brunsbüttel

Brunsbüttel is a town in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany that lies on the mouth of the Elbe river, near the North Sea. It is the location of the western entrance to the Kiel Canal, the eastern entrance being located at Kiel-Holtenau...

. Cubitt was then assigned to "Operation Deadlight

Operation Deadlight

Operation Deadlight was the code name for the scuttling of U-boats surrendered to the Allies after the defeat of Germany near the end of World War II....

", towing surrendered U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

s from Loch Ryan

Loch Ryan

Loch Ryan is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland...

 out into the North Atlantic where they were sunk.

Cubitt was returned to the U.S. Navy on 4 March 1946, 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 12 April 1946, and sold for scrapping on 7 March 1947.