Frigate of the Royal Navy
HMS Fitzroy on 25 April 1944
History
United States
Name unnamed (DE-88)
Ordered 10 January 1942[ 1]
Builder Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard , Hingham , Massachusetts
Laid down 24 August 1943[ 2]
Launched 1 September 1943[ 2]
Completed 16 October 1943[ 2]
Commissioned never
Fate Transferred to United Kingdom 16 October 1943[ 1]
Acquired Returned by United Kingdom 5 January 1946[ 2]
Stricken 7 February 1946[ 2]
Fate Sold for scrapping 23 May 1946[ 2]
United Kingdom
Name HMS Fitzroy (K553)
Namesake Vice Admiral Sir Robert FitzRoy (1805–1865), British naval officer who was commanding officer of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin 's voyage of 1831–1836[ 3]
Acquired 16 October 1943[ 1]
Commissioned 16 October 1943[ 1]
Decommissioned 1945[ 4]
Fate Returned to United States 5 January 1946[ 2]
General characteristics
Displacement 1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length 306 ft (93 m)
Beam 36.75 ft (11.2 m)
Draught 9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion
Two Foster-Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers
GE 13,500 shp (10,070 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW)
Electric motors for 12,000 shp (8,900 kW)
Two shafts
Speed 24 knots (44 km/h)
Range 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement 186
Sensors and processing systems
Armament
Notes Pennant number K553
The second HMS Fitzroy (K553) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II . Originally constructed as a United States Navy Buckley -class destroyer escort , she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1945.
Construction and transfer
The ship was laid down as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-88 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard , Inc., in Hingham , Massachusetts , on 24 August 1943 and launched on 1 September 1943.[ 2] She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 16 October 1943.[ 2]
Service history
Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as the frigate HMS Fitzroy (K553) on 16 October 1943 simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty. On 27 March 1945 she joined the British frigates HMS Byron (K508) and HMS Redmill (K554) in sinking with depth charges the German submarine U-722 in the North Atlantic Ocean near the Hebrides at 57°09′00″N 006°55′00″W / 57.15000°N 6.91667°W / 57.15000; -6.91667 (U-722 sunk ) . On 8 April 1945 she joined Byron in a depth-charge attack which sank the German submarine U-1001 in the North Atlantic south-west of Land's End , England , at 49°19′00″N 010°23′00″W / 49.31667°N 10.38333°W / 49.31667; -10.38333 (U-1001 sunk ) .[ 1]
The Royal Navy decommissioned Fitzroy later in 1945 and returned her to the U.S. Navy on 5 January 1946.[ 2]
Disposal
The U.S. Navy struck Fitzroy from its Naval Vessel Register on 7 February 1946. She was sold on 23 May 1946 for scrapping.[ 2]
References
External links