HMS Rushen Castle (K372)

HMS Rushen Castle on the River Tyne, February 1944
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Rushen Castle
Namesake	Castle Rushen
Builder	Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd
Launched	16 July 1943
Commissioned	23 February 1944
Identification	Pennant number: K372
Fate	Transferred to British Air Ministry 26 September 1960
United Kingdom
Name	Weather Surveyor
Acquired	26 September 1960
Commissioned	21 December 1961
Identification	IMO number:  5387180
Fate	Sold on 15 July 1977 and converted to a salvage vessel. Scrapped 1983
General characteristics
Class and type	Castle-class corvette
Displacement	1,010 long tons (1,030  t) (standard) 1,510 long tons (1,530 t) (deep load)
Length	252 ft (76.8 m)
Beam	33 ft (10.1 m)
Draught	14 ft (4.3 m)
Installed power	2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers 2,880  ihp (2,150  kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts, 2 geared steam turbines
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 and processing systems	Type 145 and Type 147 ASDIC Type 277 search radar HF/DF radio direction finder
Armament	1 × single 4 in (102 mm) gun 2 × twin, 2 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns 1 × 3-barrel Squid anti-submarine mortar 15 × depth charges, 1 rack and 2 throwers

HMS Rushen Castle (K372) was a Castle-class corvette of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. She was named after Castle Rushen in Castletown, Isle of Man.

Built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Ltd, she was launched on 16 July 1943 and finished on 23 February 1944 - she served as a convoy escort during the Second World War.

She was transferred to the British Air Ministry on 26 September 1960 for use as a weather ship, and was commissioned as Weather Surveyor on 21 December 1961. She was sold on 15 July 1977 and converted to a salvage vessel. She was scrapped at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht in the Netherlands in 1983.

The wartime commanding officer, R. C. Warwick, RNR, published a book, Really Not Required, detailing his wartime experience on this ship and his previous command, the anti-submarine trawler HMS Saint Loman.

Publications

• 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.
• Warwick, Colin, 1997. Really Not Required, Pentland Press, ISBN   1858214777

External links

• Weather Surveyor at www.weatherships.co.uk, including several pictures.