HMCS Hespeler
As HMCS Hespeler during the Second World War
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Guildford Castle |
Namesake | Guildford Castle |
Ordered | 19 January 1943 |
Builder | Henry Robb Ltd, Leith |
Laid down | 25 May 1943 |
Launched | 13 November 1943 |
Identification | Pennant number: K378 |
Fate | Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy |
Canada | |
Name | Hespeler |
Namesake | Hespeler, Ontario |
Acquired | 1943 |
Commissioned | 28 February 1944 |
Decommissioned | 15 November 1945 |
Identification | Pennant number: K489 |
Honours and awards | Atlantic 1944–45[1] |
Fate | Sold for mercantile service |
Name |
|
Port of registry | |
In service | 1946 |
Out of service | 28 January 1966 |
Fate | Destroyed by fire 1966 |
General characteristics (as built) | |
Type | Castle-class corvette |
Displacement | 1,060 long tons (1,077 t) |
Length | 252 ft (77 m) |
Beam | 36 ft 8 in (11.18 m) |
Draught | 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
Range | 6,200 nmi (11,500 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Complement | 120 |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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HMCS Hespeler was a
Design and description
The Castle class were an improved corvette design over their predecessor
A Castle-class corvette was 252 feet (77 m)
The ships were powered by two
The corvettes were armed with one
The ships were equipped with Type 145 and Type 147B
Construction and career
Guildford Castle, named for
Following her commissioning, Hespeler worked up at
On 9 September 1944, while on patrol south of the
In March 1945, Hespeler returned to Canada and began a refit upon arrival at
Mercantile service
In 1946, Hespeler was sold for mercantile use to
In 1965, her flag returned to Liberia and the ship was renamed Westar.[8][9] While en route from Greece to Vancouver, on 28 January 1966 the ship was refueling at Sarroch, Sardinia when a fire broke out in her engine room. The ship was beached and one Canadian and one British sailor were killed[15] and three others injured.[13][16] Westar was taken to La Spezia, Italy to be scrapped on 30 April 1966.[8][13]
References
Notes
- ^ Brown states the beam at 36.5 feet (11.1 m) and the draught at 13.5 feet (4.1 m)
- ^ Chesneau states the displacement at deep load as 1,590–1,630 long tons (1,616–1,656 t)
- ^ Brown states the complement as 99 and Johnston states the complement of Canadian ships at 112 (7 officers and 105 ratings).
- ^ Mk XIX = Mark 19. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the nineteenth model of British QF 4-inch gun
- ^ Miramar claims that Capri was renamed Stella Maris in 1958 and that the port of registry was changed to Panama at the same time.
Citations
- ^ "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Chesneau, p.63
- ^ Brown 2007, p.142
- ^ a b c d e Brown 2007, p.127
- ^ a b Brown 2007, p.126
- ^ Brown 2012, p.129
- ^ "HMS Guildford Castle (K 489)". uboat.net. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Macpherson and Barrie, p.163
- ^ a b Colledge, p.297
- ^ Paterson, p.40
- ^ Niestlé, p.69
- ^ Johnston, p.221
- ^ a b c "Hespeler (5340326)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ a b Price, Jo-Ann (12 July 1959). "Old Corvette Lets Tourists 'Discover' Seaway". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ "2 Sailors Die in Ship Fire". The Day. Associated Press. 31 January 1966. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ "2 Canadians Die". Ottawa Citizen. Reuters. 26 January 1966. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
References
- Brown, David K. (2007). Atlantic Escorts Ships: Ships, Weapons & Tactics in World War II. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-702-0.
- Brown, David K. (2012). Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923–1945. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-149-6.
- Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Goodwin, Norman (2007). Castle Class Corvettes: An Account of the Service of the Ships and of Their Ships' Companies. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN 978-1-904459-27-9.
- Johnston, Mac (2008). Corvettes Canada: Convoy Veterans of World War II Tell Their True Stories. Mississauga, Ontario: John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. ISBN 978-0-470-15429-8.
- ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 (Third ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN 1-55125-072-1.
- Niestlé, Alex (2014). German U-boat Losses During World War II: Details of Destruction. Barnsley, UK: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-84832-210-3.
- Paterson, Lawrence (2008). Dönitz's Last Gamble: The Inshore U-boat Campaign 1944–45. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-714-3.
- ISBN 1-59114-119-2.