HMS Snipe (U20)

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

History
United Kingdom
Name	Snipe
Namesake	Snipe
Ordered	8 December 1942
Builder	William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton
Laid down	21 September 1944
Launched	20 December 1945
Commissioned	9 September 1946
Decommissioned	1953
Identification	Pennant number: U20
Fate	Scrapped in 1960
General characteristics
Class and type	Modified Black Swan-class sloop
Displacement	1,350 tons
Length	283 ft (86 m)
Beam	38.5 ft (11.7 m)
Propulsion	Geared turbines two shafts
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h) at 4,300 hp (3,200 kW)
Complement	192 men + 1 Cat
Armament	6 × QF 4 in Mk XVI anti-aircraft guns 12 × 20 mm anti-aircraft guns

HMS Snipe was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton on 21 September 1944, launched on 20 December 1945 and commissioned on 9 September 1946, with the pennant number U20. ^[1]

Construction and design

Snipe was originally planned to be built in the Royal Navy's 1940 Supplemental shipbuilding programme, by the Clydebank shipbuilder John Brown & Company, but this order was cancelled, and Snipe and sister ship Sparrow were re-ordered from William Denny and Brothers on 8 December 1942. ^{[2] [3]} Snipe was laid down at Denny's Dumbarton shipyard on 21 September 1944, was launched on 20 December 1945 and completed on 9 September 1946. ^{[4] [5]} She was allocated the Pennant number U20, which changed to F20 in 1947, when Snipe, like all other sloops in the Royal Navy, was redesignated as a frigate. ^{[6] [7]} Snipe was the sixth ship of that name to serve with the Royal Navy. ^[8]

The modified Black Swans were 299 ft 6 in (91.29 m) long overall and 283 ft 0 in (86.26 m) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 38 feet 6 inches (11.73 m) and a draught of 11 ft 4 in (3.45 m) at deep load. ^[9] Displacement was 1,350–1,490 long tons (1,370–1,510 t) standard and 1,880–1,950 long tons (1,910–1,980 t) deep load depending on the armament and equipment fitted. ^[10] Two Admiralty three-drum water-tube boilers provided steam to Parsons geared steam turbines which drove two shafts. The machinery was rated at 4,300 shp (3,200 kW), giving a speed of 19.75 kn (22.73 mph; 36.58 km/h). ^[11]

The ship's main gun armament (as fitted to all the Modified Black Swans) consisted of 3 twin QF 4 inch (102 mm) Mk XVI guns, in dual purpose mounts, capable of both anti-ship and anti-aircraft use. ^[11] Close-in anti-aircraft armament varied between the ships of the class, with Snipe completing with two twin and two single 40 mm Bofors guns. ^[12] Anti-submarine armament consisted of a split Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar, mounted either side of the 'B' 4-inch mount, together with 110 depth charges. ^[13] The Modified Black Swans had a crew of 192 officers and other ranks. ^[11]

Service

Snipe joined the North America and West Indies Station after commissioning in September 1946. ^[14] Two apparent attempts at sabotage were noted in September 1946, with powder being found on a thermometer pocket on one of the ship's turbines. One of the ship's engineers was convicted at court martial of failing to report the sabotage, preventing it from being properly investigated, and was severely reprimanded by the court. ^[15] In January–February 1948, Snipe took the Governor of the Falkland Islands, Miles Clifford, on a tour of British dependencies in the Antarctic, with the ship helping to re-establish British bases in Graham Land and the South Shetland Islands. Snipe encountered the Argentine minesweeper Seaver and tug Charrue in the South Shetlands, and while both sides accused the other of trespassing in territorial waters, relationships between the Argentine and British crews were described as cordial, with food supplies being exchanged. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]} The ship remained at this station, at the except for returning to the United Kingdom for a return to service until 1952, when she joined a flotilla of frigates in the Home Fleet. ^[20]  In February 1953, Snipe landed a party of Royal Marines on Deception Island in Antarctica to destroy an Argentinian and a Chilean military base; an action known as the Deception Island incident. ^[21]

After attending the Coronation Review in June 1953, she joined the Fleet Reserve at Devonport. The ship was then transferred to Barry's Reserve Fleet Subdivision and placed on the destruction list for demolition by J Cashmore in Newport in Monmouth. It arrived in tow at the demolition site on 2 August 1960. ^[20]

References

1. "HMS Snipe (U 20) of the Royal Navy - British Sloop of the Modified Black Swan class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
2. Hague 1993, pp. 6–7.
3. Friedman 2008, pp. 67–69, 333.
4. Hague 1993, p. 82.
5. Friedman 2008, p. 333.
6. Hague 1993, p. 118.
7. Critchley 1992, p. 2.
8. Colledge & Warlow 2006, p. 325.
9. Friedman 2008, p. 321.
10. Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, pp. 57–58.
11. Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 57.
12. Hague 1993, p. 83.
13. Hague 1993, pp. 22, 83.
14. Critchley 1992, p. 17.
15. "Sabotage Attempts in Warship". The Times . No. 50756. 9 May 1947. p. 3.
16. "Expedition to Antarctica". The Times. No. 50984. 2 February 1948. p. 3.
17. "At Deception Island: H.M.S. Snipe Meets Argentines". The Times. No. 50988. 6 February 1948. p. 3.
18. "The Voyage Of H.M.S. Snipe". The Times. No. 51009. 2 March 1948. p. 10.
19. "The Argentine Trespass: Bases in the Falkland Islands Dependencies: H.M.S. Snipe's Encounter". The Times. No. 51009. 2 March 1948. p. 5.
20. "HMS Snipe, sloop". www.naval-history.net. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
21. Howkins, Adrian (2017). Frozen Empires: An Environmental History Of The Antarctic Peninsula. Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN   978-0197533550.

• 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.
• Critchley, Mike (1992). British Warships Since 1945: Part 5: Frigates. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN   0-907771-13-0.
• Friedman, Norman (2008). British Destroyers and Frigates: The Second World War and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84832-015-4.
• Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   0-85177-146-7.
• Hague, Arnold (1993). Sloops: A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN   0-905617-67-3.

Further reading

• Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen, eds. (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947-1995. Annapolis, Maryland, US: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-55750-132-7.