HMS Wild Goose (U45)
Encyclopedia
HMS Wild Goose (U45) was a Black Swan-class
Black Swan class sloop
The Black Swan class and Modified Black Swan class were two classes of sloop of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy. Thirteen Black Swans were launched between 1939 and 1943, including four for the Royal Indian Navy; twenty-four Modified Black Swans were launched between 1942 and 1945, including...
sloop
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
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...
. She was one of several ships of that class that took part in the famous "six in one trip" in 1943 (in which six 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 were sunk in one patrol).
She was built at Yarrow shipyards in Scotstoun
Scotstoun
Scotstoun is a historic district of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Yoker and Knightswood to the west, Victoria Park, Broomhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde to the south...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. She was launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 14 October 1942.
On 22 May 1943 she was deployed on her first mission along with Wren, Woodpecker, Cygnet, Starling
HMS Starling (U66)
HMS Starling was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan, Scotland, launched on 14 October 1942, and commissioned on 1 April 1943....
and Kite
HMS Kite (U87)
HMS Kite was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy, commanded by Lt Cmdr Segram RN and once commanded by the famous U-boat hunter Captain Frederic John Walker...
on anti-submarine operations supporting the outward passage of Atlantic Convoy ONS8.
On 18 December 1943 she was taken in hand for repair in Liverpool, redeploying at the end of January 1944.
On 31 January 1944 she sank U-592 with Starling
HMS Starling (U66)
HMS Starling was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company at Govan, Scotland, launched on 14 October 1942, and commissioned on 1 April 1943....
and Magpie
HMS Magpie (U82)
HMS Magpie was a Royal Navy Modified Black Swan class sloop launched in 1943 and broken up in 1959. She was the seventh Royal Navy ship to bear the name...
and later joined the Woodpecker and Kite
HMS Kite (U87)
HMS Kite was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy, commanded by Lt Cmdr Segram RN and once commanded by the famous U-boat hunter Captain Frederic John Walker...
, taking part in the sinking of U-762 (8 February 1944), U-238 & U-734 (9 February 1944), U-424 (11 February 1944) and U-653 (15 March 1944)
At the end of May 1944 she returned to Liverpool for more repairs, whilst here she was selected to take part in Operation Neptune
Operation 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...
to prevent U-Boat attacks on the D-Day invasion convoys. On 1 July 1944 she was released from Neptune and despatched to Belfast for refit, completing in September 1944.
During February and March 1945 she was deployed to the English Channel, taking part in the sinking of U-327 by Lauban and sinking U-683 herself. Following VE day on 6 May 1945 she was nominated for transfer to 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...
following her second refit. By the time the refit had completed in September 1945 the Japanese had surrendered and the Wild Goose was therefore surplus to requirements and was Paid off and reduced to reserve status.
She was later recommissioned in 1946 and deployed to the Persian Gulf, spending the rest of her service career in the Middle East before finally decommissioning in 1955.
The Wild Goose was sold for breaking up in February 1956, and arrived at the breakers at Bo’ness on the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
near Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
on 26 February 1956.