HMS Lapwing (U62)
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Lapwing |
Ordered | 27 March 1941 |
Builder | Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company |
Laid down | 17 December 1941 |
Launched | 16 July 1943 |
Completed | 21 March 1944 |
Identification | Pennant number U62 |
Fate | Sunk by U-968, 20 March 1945 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Modified Black Swan-class sloop |
Complement | 192 |
HMS Lapwing (U62) was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy.[1]
Named after the
On 20 March 1945 HMS Lapwing was escorting part of the Russian Convoy JW 65 to Murmansk, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-968. Hit amidships she sank within 20 minutes with the loss of 158 lives. 61 men were rescued.[2]
Construction and design
Lapwing was one of eight Modified Black Swan-class sloops ordered by the
Lapwing was 299 ft 6 in (91.29 m)
The ship's main gun armament (as fitted to all the Modified Black Swans) consisted of 3 twin
Lapwing was
HMS Lapwing Memorial
Lapwing’s memorial stone was unveiled in The Close Garden, Saffron Walden.
In December 1941, Saffron Walden Borough and Rural Councils decided to band together to raise £120,000 to adopt a ship and have the Saffron Walden coat of arms painted on its quarter deck. Through a tremendous fund-raising effort the town succeeded and was allocated HMS Lapwing in June 1942, whereupon townsfolk began knitting essentials for the crew, exchanging letters and even hanging the Lapwing crest in the Town Hall where it remains to this day.
References
- ^ "HMS Lapwing (U 62) (British Sloop) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". www.uboat.net.
- ^ a b "HMS Lapwing, Saffron Walden, Essex, UK - Specific Veteran Memorials on Waymarking.com". www.waymarking.com.
- ^ Hague 1993, p. 6
- ^ Friedman 2008, p. 333
- ^ Elliott 1977, p. 141
- ^ a b Friedman 2008, p. 67
- ^ Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 58
- ^ Friedman 2008, p. 321
- ^ Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, pp. 57–58
- ^ a b Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 57
- ^ Hague 1993, p. 83
- ^ Hague 1993, p. 22
- ^ Hague 1993, p. 82
- ^ "Lapwing". Scottish Built ShipsThe History of Shipbuilding in Scotland. Caledonian Marine Research Trust. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ Hague 1993, p. 118
- ^ Hague 1993, p. 95
- ^ Friedman 2008, p. 68
Bibliography
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (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.
- Elliott, Peter (1977). Allied Escort Ships of World War II: A complete survey. London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-356-08401-9.
- Friedman, Norman (2008). British Destroyers and Frigates: The Second World War and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-015-4.
- Hague, Arnold (1993). Sloops: A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-67-3.
- Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Ruegg, Bob; Hague, Arnold (1993). Convoys to Russia: 1941–1945. Kendal, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-66-5.
External links
- HMS Lapwing at Naval-history.net