HMS Domett

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History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Eisner (DE-269)
Ordered25 January 1942 [1]
Builder Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts
Laid down7 April 1943
Launched19 May 1943
CommissionedNever
FateTransferred to United Kingdom 3 September 1943
AcquiredReturned by United Kingdom 5 March 1946
FateSold for scrapping, 3 June 1947
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
NameHMS Domett (K473)
Namesake Admiral Sir William Domett
Acquired3 September 1943
Commissioned3 September 1943
Identification Pennant number: K473
FateReturned to United States, 5 March 1946
General characteristics
Displacement1,190 long tons (1,210  t) (standard)
Length289 ft 5 in (88.2 m)
Beam35 ft 2 in (10.7 m)
Draught10 ft 1 in (3.1 m)
Installed power6,000  shp (4,500  kW) electric motors
Propulsion2 shafts; 4 diesel engines
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range6,000  nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement198
Sensors &
processing systems
Armament

HMS Domett (K473) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy built during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort USS Eisner (DE-269), she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946.

Contents

Description

The Evarts-class ships had an overall length of 289 feet 5 inches (88.2 m), a beam of 35 feet 2 inches (10.7 m), and a draught of 10 feet 1 inch (3.1 m) at full load. They displaced 1,190 long tons (1,210  t ) at (standard) and 1,416 long tons (1,439 t) at full load. [2] The ships had a diesel–electric powertrain derived from a submarine propulsion system [3] with four General Motors 16-cylinder diesel engines providing power to four General Electric electric generators which sent electricity to four 1,500- shaft-horsepower (1,100  kW ) General Electric electric motors which drove the two propeller shafts. The destroyer escorts had enough power give them a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) and enough fuel oil to give them a range of 6,000 nautical miles (11,000  km ; 6,900  mi ) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). Their crew consisted of 198 officers and ratings. [4]

The armament of the Evarts-class ships in British service consisted of three single mounts for 50-caliber 3-inch (76 mm)/50 Mk 22 dual-purpose guns; one superfiring pair forward of the bridge and the third gun aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft defence was intended to consisted of a twin-gun mount for 40-millimetre (1.6 in) Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) guns atop the rear superstructure with nine 20-millimetre (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns located on the superstructure, but production shortages meant that that not all guns were fitted, or that additional Oerlikons replaced the Bofors guns. A Mark 10 Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar was positioned just behind the forward gun. The ships were also equipped with two depth charge rails at the stern and four "K-gun" depth charge throwers. [5]

Construction and career

The ship was assigned the name USS Eisner on 23 February 1943 and laid down as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-269 by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, on 7 April 1943. She was launched on 19 May 1943 and transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease. Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS Domett (K473) on 3 September 1943 [1] simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty. On 29 June 1944 she joined the British frigates Cooke, Duckworth, and Essington and a Royal Air Force Liberator aircraft of No. 244 Squadron in a depth charge attack that sank the German submarine U-988 in the English Channel west of Guernsey at 49°37′00″N003°41′00″W / 49.61667°N 3.68333°W / 49.61667; -3.68333 (U-988 sunk) . [1]

The Royal Navy returned Domett to the U.S. Navy on 5 March 1946 and the ship was sold for scrap on 3 June 1947. [6]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "HMS Domett (K 473) of the Royal Navy - British Frigate of the Captain class". uboat.net. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  2. Whitley, p. 152
  3. Friedman, p. 143
  4. Lenton, pp. 199–200
  5. Friedman, p. 478
  6. "Eisner (DE-192)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2025.

References