HMS Ekins

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HMS Ekins (K552)
HMS Ekins off Harwich, England, on 12 November 1944.
History
United States
NameUnnamed (DE-87)
Builder
Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down5 July 1943[1]
Launched2 October 1943[1]
Completed29 November 1943[1]
CommissionedNever
FateTransferred to United Kingdom 29 November 1943[1]
Stricken25 June 1945[1]
Fate
  • Nominally returned by United Kingdom June 1945[2]
  • Sold March 1947 for scrapping[1]
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Ekins (K552)
NamesakeCaptain Sir Charles Ekins (1768-1855), British naval officer who was commanding officer of HMS Superb at the bombardment of Algiers in 1816[5]
Acquired29 November 1943[1]
Commissioned29 November 1943[3]
Decommissioned1945[4]
IdentificationPennant number K552
Fate
General characteristics
Displacement1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length306 ft (93 m)
Beam36.75 ft (11.2 m)
Draught9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion
Speed24 knots (44 km/h)
Range5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement186
Sensors and
processing systems
  • SA & SL type radars
  • Type 144 series Asdic
  • MF Direction Finding antenna
  • HF Direction Finding
    Type FH 4 antenna
Armament

HMS Ekins (K552) was a British

Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy that served 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

launched on 2 October 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 29 November 1943.[1]

Service history

Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as the frigate HMS Ekins (K552) on 29 November 1943 simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty.

After workup at

Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, forming part of the escort of a convoy from the River Thames to the invasion beaches on 6 June, and continuing to escort convoys to Normandy until September.[7] On 21 July 1944 she joined the British frigate Curzon in sinking with depth charges and Hedgehog the German submarine U-212 in the English Channel south of Brighton, England, at 50°27′00″N 000°13′00″W / 50.45000°N 0.21667°W / 50.45000; -0.21667 (U-212 sunk).[3][8]

In September 1944, Ekins was transferred to the 16th Destroyer Flotilla based at

COMINT equipment to intercept German radio transmissions.[9] She was also fitted with a 2-pounder (40 mm) gun as a bow chaser, mounted in the bow of the ship for close-in engagements against E-boats.[10]

On the night of 24/25 December 1944, Ekins, in conjunction with sister ship Thornborough, the frigate Caicos and the corvette Shearwater, disrupted an attempt by German E-boats of the 8th Schnellboot Flotilla to operate against the convoy route to Antwerp,[11] while on 1 January 1945, Ekins sank a German Seehund midget submarine off Ostend.[12][13] On 11/12 April 1945 Ekins sank two German Linsen explosive motor boats.[14] On the night of 12/13 April Ekins and the Hunt-class destroyer Hambledon encountered a force of 12 German E-boats laying mines in the approaches to the Scheldt estuary. Two E-boats were damaged.[15][16]

On 16 April 1945, Ekins set off two ground mines in the

decommissioned later in 1945.[1][3][17][18]

Disposal

The Royal Navy nominally returned Ekins to the U.S. Navy in June 1945.[2] The U.S. Navy struck her from its Naval Vessel Register on 25 June 1945. She was sold in March 1947 for scrapping in the Netherlands,[1] and she was scrapped at Dordrecht later that year.[2]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Ekins (DE-87) HMS Eakins (K-552)
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-87021-652-X
    , p. 120.
  3. ^ a b c uboat.net HMS Ekins (K 552)
  4. ^ Per uboat.net HMS Ekins (K 552), Ekins was not carried on the Royal Navy's October 1945 list, strongly implying that she was decommissioned earlier in 1945.
  5. ^ Captain Class Frigate Association: HMS Ekins K552 (DE 87)
  6. ^ Elliot 1977, p. 254.
  7. ^ Elliot 1977, pp. 254–255.
  8. ^ Blair 2000, p. 602.
  9. ^ Elliot 1977, pp. 255, 527.
  10. ^ Elliot 1977, pp. 261, 263.
  11. ^ Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 321.
  12. ^ Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 325.
  13. ^ Roskill 1961, p. 271.
  14. ^ Roskill 1961, p. 279.
  15. ^ Rohwer and Hümmelchen 1992, p. 347.
  16. ^ Roskill 1962, p. 277.
  17. ^ H.M. Ships Damaged or Sunk by Enemy Action 1952, p. 292.
  18. ^ Elliot 1977, pp. 255–256.

References

External links


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