HMS Spey (K246)

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

HMS Spey passing ships in a convoy during the Second World War (IWM)
History
United Kingdom
Name	Spey
Namesake	River Spey
Builder	Smiths Dock Co., South Bank-on-Tees
Laid down	18 July 1941
Launched	18 December 1941
Commissioned	19 May 1942
Identification	Pennant number: K246
Honours & awards	Atlantic 194-44 Normandy 1944 Burma 1944-45
Fate	Sold to Egypt November 1948
Egypt
Name	Rasheed
Acquired	November 1948
Fate	Scrapped, 1994
General characteristics
Class & type	River-class frigate
Displacement	1,370 long tons (1,390 t) 1,830 long tons (1,860 t) (deep load)
Length	283 ft (86.26 m) p/p 301.25 ft (91.82 m)o/a
Beam	36.5 ft (11.13 m)
Draught	9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load)
Propulsion	2 x Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp
Speed	20 knots (37.0 km/h)
Range	440 long tons (450 t; 490 short tons) oil fuel; 7,200 nautical miles (13,334 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement	107
Armament	2 × QF 4 in (102 mm) /40 Mk.XIX guns, single mounts CP Mk.XXIII up to 10 x QF 20 mm Oerlikon A/A on twin mounts Mk.V and single mounts Mk.III 1 × Hedgehog 24 spigot A/S projector up to 150 depth charges

HMS Spey (K246) was a River-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). She was active during the Second World War and was a successful anti-submarine warfare vessel, being credited with the destruction of three U-boats. In 1948 she was sold to the Egyptian Navy.

Construction

Spey was built to the RN's specifications as a Group I River-class frigate. She was laid down at Smiths Dock Co., South Bank-on-Tees on 19 July 1941 and launched on 18 December 1941. The ship was commissioned the following year and was the second ship in the Royal Navy to carry the name, after the River Spey in Scotland. She was adopted by the civil community of Letchworth in Hertfordhsire as part of Warship Week in 1942. ^[1]

War service

Spey was initially assigned to Western Approaches Command for convoy defence duties. She saw extensive service on convoy escort missions. On 11 July 1942, while operating with Convoy OS 33, she shared the credit for the sinking of U-136. ^{[1] [2] [3]} In November 1942 she was deployed to the Mediterranean for convoy defence and support of the landings in Italy, code-named Operation Torch. During this operation the troopship Thomas Stone, with 1450 troops on board, was torpedoed. Spey and destroyers Wishart and Velox stood by while she was taken in tow; Spey eventually took some 800 troops on board and delivered the to Algiers. ^[4] In April 1943 Spey was assigned to 1st Support Group, and in May assisted in the defence of convoys ONS 5, and SC 130. In February 1944, as senior ship of 10th Escort Group, Spey sank two U-boats in 24 hours, described by Blair as "a record of sorts". ^[5] On 18 February, while escorting ON 224, Spey found and attacked U-406, sinking her with depth-charges and gunfire; ^[6] The following day she found and destroyed U-386 in the same manner. ^[7] In May 1944 she was withdrawn from operations, as she was due for refit.

Following refit she sailed for Ceylon and by the end of 1944 was deployed for convoy defence and support of operations in Burma. In January 1945 this included support for landings on the northern shore of Ramree Island. In July 1945 she was prepared to support the proposed landing operations in Malaya. On return to the UK she was laid up in reserve.

Post-war service

Spey was sold to the Egyptian Navy in November 1948. She was refitted by Willougby (Plymouth) Ltd and sailed for Egypt in April 1950. ^[8] During her service with the Egyptian Navy she is reported as having been used as a submarine support ship before being scrapped. ^[9]

Successes

During her service Spey was credited with the destruction of three U-boats:

Date	U-boat	Type	Location [10]	Notes
11 July 1942	U-136	Type VIIC	33°30′N22°52′W / 33.500°N 22.867°W / 33.500; -22.867 Atlantic, NW of Madeira	d/c by Spey, British sloop Pelican and Free French destroyer Léopard [3]
18 February 1944	U-406	Type VIIC	48°32′N23°36′W / 48.533°N 23.600°W / 48.533; -23.600 Atlantic, SW of Cape Clear	d/c by Spey [6]
19 February 1944	U-386	Type VIIC	48°51′N22°41′W / 48.850°N 22.683°W / 48.850; -22.683 Atlantic	d/c by Spey [7]

References

1. "HMS Spey, frigate". naval-history.net. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
2. Blair (1996) p. 668
3. Kemp p. 84, Neistle p. 43
4. Blair (1998) p. 91
5. Blair (1998) p. 500
6. Kemp p. 170, Neistle p. 62
7. Kemp p. 170-1, Neistle p. 60
8. Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p72
9. Moore, John E (ed), Jane's Fighting Ships 1978-9, MacDonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd, London, p132
10. Locations per Kemp; other sources may differ

Bibliography

• Clay Blair (1996): Hitler’s U-Boat War Vol I:The Hunters 1939-1942. Cassell ISBN   0-304-35260-8
• Clay Blair (1998): Hitler's U-Boat War Vol II:The Hunted 1942-1945. Cassell ISBN   0-304-35261-6
• 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.
• Paul Kemp ( 1997): U-Boats Destroyed. Arms & Armour ISBN   1 85409 515 3
• Lavery, Brian (2006). River-Class Frigates and the Battle of the Atlantic: A Technical and Social History. London: National Maritime Museum. ISBN   0-948065-73-7.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1-55750-048-7.
• Marriott, Leo (1983). Royal Navy Frigates 1945–1983. Ian Allan. ISBN   0-7110-1322-5.
• Axel Niestle (1998): German U-Boat Losses during World War II. Greenhill ISBN   1 85367 352 8

External links

• Comprehensive details of the Atlantic convoys and their fates.
• HMS Spey at naval-history.net