HMS Curzon (K513) 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 23 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-84, and launched on 18 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 20 November 1943, and named after either Captain Henry Curzon

Henry Curzon

Admiral Henry Curzon was a Royal Navy officer who held commands during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....

, who commanded at the First Battle of Groix

First Battle of Groix

The First Battle of Groix was a naval engagement that took place on 16 and 17 June 1795 during the French Revolutionary War off the west coast of France...

 (1795), or Captain Edward Curzon who commanded at the Battle of Navarino

Battle of Navarino

The naval Battle of Navarino was fought on 20 October 1827, during the Greek War of Independence in Navarino Bay , on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. A combined Ottoman and Egyptian armada was destroyed by a combined British, French and Russian naval force...

 (1827). There is official uncertainty about which is correct.

Service history

Curzon was attached to the 16th Escort Group, based at Sheerness

Sheerness

Sheerness 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....

, part of 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...

, for coastal convoy escort duty. She was not involved in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, but afterwards escorted convoys to the invasion beaches. On 21 July Curzon and sank the south of Beachy Head

Beachy Head

Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m above sea level. The peak allows views of the south...

.

Towards the end of 1944 Curzon 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.

On the night of 22/23 December 1944, Curzon, , the destroyer and the sloop 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 they engaged a group of mine-laying E-boats. Curzon sank S912 and damaged two others. On 14/15 January 1945 Curzon and the destroyer were on patrol off Westkapelle, when a group of five E-boats fired on a convoy with long range torpedoes, claiming two hits. Curzon and Cotswold attacked, scattering the enemy. At 01:27 on 17 January 1945 Curzon and Cotswold were patrolling off the Scheldt

Scheldt

The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...

 estuary when they made radar contact with two groups of E-Boats. Cotswold attacked the nearest group, while Curzon closed to within 3,000 yards of the other before opening fire. The enemy laid a smoke screen and retreated at high speed into shallow water. The E-boats regrouped and attempted another attack, but it was also repulsed.

Curzon was then 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.

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...

 Curzon was refitted for service with the British Pacific Fleet

British Pacific Fleet

The British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...

, but this assignment was later cancelled, and she remained in home waters until returned to the U.S. Navy on 27 March 1946.