HMS Portchester Castle

History
United Kingdom
Name	Portchester Castle
Ordered	6 February 1943
Builder	Swan Hunter, Wallsend
Laid down	17 March 1943
Launched	21 June 1943
Identification	Pennant number: K362
Fate	paid off 1947 and broken up 14 May 1958
General characteristics
Class & type	Castle-class corvette
Displacement	1,010 long tons (1,030 t) (standard)
Length	252 ft (76.8 m)
Beam	33 ft (10.1 m)
Draught	13 ft 9 in (4.2 m) (deep load)
Installed power	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers 2,880  ihp (2,150 kW)
Propulsion	1 shaft, 1 triple-expansion engine
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Range	6,500  nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	99
Sensors & processing systems	Type 145 and Type 147 ASDIC Type 272 search radar HF/DF radio direction finder
Armament	1 × QF 4 in (102 mm) DP gun 2 × twin, 2 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns 1 × 3-barrel Squid anti-submarine mortar 1 × depth charge rail and 2 throwers; 15 depth charges

HMS Portchester Castle was a Castle-class corvette built in 1943 and scrapped in 1958. She was the only ship of the Royal Navy to be named after Portchester Castle in Hampshire. She was involved in the sinking of two German U-boats during her wartime career. Post-war she was used in two feature films and a comedy.

Construction and career

She was launched on 21 June 1943 at Swan Hunter shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Sinking of U-484

On 9 September 1944 Portchester Castle and Helmsdale sank the German submarine U-484 in the North Atlantic north-west of Ireland, in position 55°45′N11°41′W / 55.750°N 11.683°W / 55.750; -11.683 . ^[1]

Sinking of U-1200

As one of four ships in 30th Escort Group under the command of Denys Rayner, Portchester Castle shared in the sinking of the German submarine U-1200 ^[2] south of Ireland (in position 50°24′N09°10′W / 50.400°N 9.167°W / 50.400; -9.167 ) on 11 November 1944, along with her sister ships Launceston Castle, Pevensey Castle and Kenilworth Castle. ^[1]

Decommissioning

She was paid off in 1947 and scrapped at Troon, Scotland on 14 May 1958. ^[3]

Film appearances

In 1951 Portchester Castle was employed to represent the fictitious HMS Saltash Castle in the film The Cruel Sea (1953). The ship was also seen in the film The Man Who Never Was (1955) and The Navy Lark (1959). In both Sea and Lark she is shown wearing the pennant number F362 rather than her own K362.^{[ citation needed ]}

Citations

1. "HMS Portchester Castle at u-boat.net" . Retrieved 26 April 2009.
2. "U-1200 at u-boat.net" . Retrieved 26 April 2009.
3. "HMS Portchester Castle at Battleships-Cruisers website" . Retrieved 26 April 2009.

Bibliography

• Campbell, N. J. M. (1980). "Great Britain (including Empire Forces)". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 2–85. 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 from the 15th Century to the Present (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN   978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC   67375475.
• Goodwin, Norman; compiled by (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.
• Rayner, D.A., Escort: The Battle of the Atlantic, London: William Kimber, pp. 224–229