HMS Asphodel (K56)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Asphodel.

History
United Kingdom
Name	Asphodel
Namesake	Asphodel
Builder	George Brown and Company, Greenock
Laid down	20 October 1939
Launched	25 May 1940
Commissioned	11 September 1940
Identification	Pennant number: K56
Fate	Sunk by U-575, 10 March 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Flower-class corvette
Displacement	925 long tons
Length	205 ft (62 m) o/a
Beam	33 ft (10 m)
Draught	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Propulsion	1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers Single shaft 2,750  ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h)
Range	3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h)
Complement	85
Sensors and processing systems	1 × SW1C or 2C radar 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament	1 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk.IX gun 2 × Vickers .50 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Lewis .303 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Mk.II Depth charge throwers 2 × Depth charge rails with 40 depth charges

HMS Asphodel was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by George Brown and Company in 1940. She was named after Asphodel. Commissioned in 1940 and sunk by U-575 on 10 March 1944.

Design and description

In early 1939, with the risk of war with Nazi Germany increasing, it was clear to the Royal Navy that it needed more escort ships to counter the threat from Kriegsmarine U-boats. One particular concern was the need to protect shipping off the east coast of Britain. What was needed was something larger and faster than trawlers, but still cheap enough to be built in large numbers, preferably at small merchant shipyards, as larger yards were already busy. To meet this requirement, the Smiths Dock Company of Middlesbrough, a specialist in the design and build of fishing vessels, offered a development of its 700-ton, 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) whale catcher Southern Pride . ^{[1] [2]} They were intended as small convoy escort ships that could be produced quickly and cheaply in large numbers. Despite naval planners' intentions that they be deployed for coastal convoys, their long range meant that they became the mainstay of Mid-Ocean Escort Force convoy protection during the first half of the war. The original Flowers had the standard RN layout, consisting of a raised forecastle, a well deck, then the bridge or wheelhouse, and a continuous deck running aft. The crew quarters were in the foc'sle while the galley was at the rear, making for poor messing arrangements. ^[3]

The modified Flowers saw the forecastle extended aft past the bridge to the aft end of the funnel, a variation known as the "long forecastle" design. Apart from providing a very useful space where the whole crew could gather out of the weather, the added weight improved the ships' stability and speed and was retroactively applied to a number of the original Flower-class vessels during the mid and latter years of the war.

Construction and career

Asphodel was laid down by George Brown and Company at their shipyard at Greenock, on 20 October 1939 and launched on 25 May 1940. She was commissioned on 11 September 1940.

HMS Asphodel was escorting convoy SL-150 with combination of MKS-41 off Cape Finisterre. German submarine U-575 launched a torpedo which struck the Asphodel and escaped soon after. Only 5 sailors from Asphodel were rescued by HMS Clover while 92 others went down with Asphodel. ^[4]

References

1. Brown 2007, pp. 41–43.
2. Lambert and Brown 2008, p. 3.
3. Brown D K, Nelson to Vanguard
4. "HMS Asphodel (K 56) (British Corvette) - Ships hit by German U-boats during WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 25 October 2020.

Sources

• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-85177-146-7.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. 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.
• 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.