 HMS Barglow | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators | |
| Completed | 74 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type | Boom defence vessel |
| Displacement | 533 long tons (542 t) |
| Length | 41.14 m (135 ft 0 in) |
| Beam | 7.77 m (25 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 3.81 m (12 ft 6 in) |
| Speed | 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) |
| Complement | 30 |
| Armament | 1 × 12-pounder gun |
The Bar class were a class of boom defence vessels of the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy and South African Navy during World War II.
| Name | Ship builder | Launched | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMAS Koala | Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company, Sydney | 14 November 1939 | Sold in 1969 |
| HMAS Kangaroo | Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company, Sydney | 4 May 1940 | Sold in 1967 |
| HMAS Karangi | Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Company, Sydney | 16 August 1941 | Sold in 1966 |
| Name | Ship builder | Commissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAS Somerset (ex HMS Barcross) | Blythe S.B. Co | 21 January 1943 | Decommissioned 31 March 1986. Museum ship, Cape Town from 2 September 1988 until scrapping in April 2024 [3] |
| SAS Fleur (ex HMS Barbrake) | William Simons & Co, Renfrew, Scotland) | 15 February 1943 | Sunk by naval gunfire off Simonstown on 8 October 1965 [3] |
The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers.
The Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II, from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945.
HMS Wessex was one of eight W-class destroyers built for the Royal Navy during World War II. Completed in 1944, the ship spent most of the war assigned to the Eastern and Pacific Fleets. She screened British aircraft carriers as their aircraft attacked targets in the Japanese-occupied Nicobar Islands, the Dutch East Indies and Okinawa.
Hatsutaka was the lead vessel in the Hatsutaka-class of medium-sized minelayers of the Imperial Japanese Navy, which was in service during World War II. She was designed as an improved version of Shirataka anti-submarine netlayer. However, during the Pacific War, due to the critical shortage of escort patrol ships, she was fitted with depth charge racks, her minelaying rails were removed, and she was used primarily for convoy escort duties.
SAS Somerset was a Bar-class boom defence vessel of the South African Navy, formerly preserved as a museum ship in Cape Town. It was scrapped in April 2024. Formerly HMS Barcross, it operated in Saldanha Bay, was transferred to South Africa Naval Forces during World War II, and was purchased by South Africa in 1947.
HMS Polyanthus was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 30 November 1940 from Leith Docks on the Firth of Forth, at an estimated cost of £55,000. Polyanthus was sunk by the German submarine U-952 using new German weapons technology on 20 September 1943 about 1,000 miles southwest of Reykjavík during convoy escort duty in the Battle of the North Atlantic.
The second HMS Mounsey (K569) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort DE-524, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946.
HMCS Chebogue was a River-class frigate that served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. She served primarily as an ocean convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. She was named for Chebogue, Nova Scotia. During the war she was torpedoed and declared a constructive loss.
HMSAS Protea was a survey ship of the South African Navy. The ship was originally built as a Flower-class corvette for the Royal Navy during World War II and served as HMS Rockrose. Rockrose was initially assigned to convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic after her completion in 1941 but was later transferred to South African waters and then to the Far East with the same mission. She returned home in 1945 and was paid off.
HMSAS Bloemfontein was an Algerine-class minesweeper built for the Royal Navy in Canada during World War II. The ship was originally HMS Rosamund and spent several years clearing minefields in European waters after she was completed in 1945 before she was placed in reserve. Rosamund was purchased by South Africa in 1947 and renamed HMSAS Bloemfontein in 1948.
L'Escarmouche was a River-class frigate in the service of the Free French Naval Forces (FFNL) during World War II. Launched as HMS Frome in 1943, the ship was transferred to the Free French Naval forces and served in the postwar French Navy until her decommissioning in 1960.
HMS Aubrietia (K96) was a Flower-class corvette built for the Royal Navy (RN) from 1941-1946. She was active as a convoy escort in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. In May 1941, Aubrietia sighted and depth charged the German submarine U-110, leading to its capture and the seizure of a German Naval Enigma and its Kurzsignale code book.
HMS Dianella was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.
HMS Teviot (K222) was a River-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN) from 1942–1955. She served in convoy defence duties in the North Atlantic and Eastern Fleet during World War II. After the war, she served in the South African Navy as HMSAS Teviot before returning to Royal Navy service after six months. Teviot was built to the RN's specifications as a Group I River-class frigate.
HMS Cuckmere (K299) was a River-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN) in 1943. Cuckmere was originally to be built for the United States Navy, having been laid down as PG-104, but was transferred to the Royal Navy as part of Lend-Lease and finished to the RN's specifications as a Group II River-class frigate. She was first Royal Navy ship to carry the name Cuckmere.
HMS Tweed (K250) was a River-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). Tweed was built to the RN's specifications as a Group I River-class frigate, though Tweed was one of the few powered by a turbine engine. She served in the North Atlantic during World War II.
The Southern class was a class of whale-catcher ships requisitioned from a commercial whaling company for service during the Second World War. The whalers were converted for anti-submarine and minesweeping duties and were in use in the British Royal Navy and South African Navy. Six ships were built in Germany for the Southern Whaling Company and after the war, one was retained in the South African Navy, one had been sunk by a mine and four were sold back to commercial whaling companies.
