HMS Tamworth Castle

History
United Kingdom
Name	Tamworth Castle
Namesake	Tamworth Castle
Ordered	19 January 1943
Builder	Henry Robb Ltd, Leith
Laid down	25 August 1943
Launched	26 January 1944
Identification	Pennant number: K393
Fate	Transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy
Canada
Name	Kincardine
Namesake	Kincardine, Ontario
Acquired	1943
Commissioned	19 June 1944
Decommissioned	27 February 1946
Identification	Pennant number: K490
Honours and awards	Atlantic 1944–45 [1]
Fate	Sold for mercantile service
Name	Saada
Port of registry	Casablanca
In service	1947
Out of service	1953
Fate	Broken up at La Spezia, Italy in 1953
General characteristics (as built)
Type	Castle-class corvette
Displacement	1,060 long tons (1,077 t)
Length	252 ft (77 m)
Beam	36 ft 8 in (11.18 m)
Draught	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Installed power	2 × water-tube boilers 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Propulsion	1 × 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine Single screw
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Range	6,200 nmi (11,500 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	120
Sensors and processing systems	Type 272 radar Type 145 sonar Type 147B sonar
Armament	1 × QF 4-inch Mk XIX gun 1 × Squid anti-submarine mortar 1 × Depth charge rail, 15 depth charges 4–10 × 20 mm anti-aircraft cannon

HMS Tamworth Castle was a Castle-class corvette that was ordered for the British Royal Navy during the Second World War. Before completion, the ship was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and renamed HMCS Kincardine, which used the corvette as a convoy escort for the rest of the war. Following the war, the ship was sold for mercantile use to French, then Moroccan interests and was renamed Saada in 1947.

Design and description

The Castle class were an improved corvette design over their predecessor Flower class. The Flower class was not considered acceptable for mid-Atlantic sailing and was only used on Atlantic convoy duty out of need. Though the Admiralty would have preferred Loch-class frigates, the inability of many small shipyards to construct the larger ships required them to come up with a smaller vessel. The increased length of the Castle class over their predecessors ^[2] and their improved hull form gave the Castles better speed and performance on patrol in the North Atlantic and an acceptable replacement for the Flowers. ^[3] This, coupled with improved anti-submarine armament in the form of the Squid mortar led to a much more capable anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessel. ^[2] However, the design did have criticisms, mainly in the way it handled at low speeds and that the class's maximum speed was already slower than the speeds of the new U-boats they would be facing. ^[4]

A Castle-class corvette was 252 feet (77 m) long with a beam of 36 feet 8 inches (11.18 m) and a draught of 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 m) at deep load. ^{[2] [note 1]} The ships displaced 1,060 long tons (1,080 t) standard ^[2] and 1,580 long tons (1,610 t) deep load. ^{[4] [note 2]} The ships had a complement of 120. ^{[2] [note 3]}

The ships were powered by two Admiralty three-drum boilers which created 2,750 indicated horsepower (2,050 kW). This powered one vertical triple expansion engine that drove one shaft, giving the ships a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph). ^[2] The ships carried 480 tons of oil giving them a range of 6,200 nautical miles (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). ^[4]

The corvettes were armed with one QF 4-inch Mk XIX gun mounted forward. ^{[2] [note 4]} Anti-air armament varied from 4 to 10 ^[2] Oerlikon 20 mm cannons. ^[5] For ASW purposes, the ships were equipped with one three-barreled Squid anti-submarine mortar with 81 projectiles. The ships also had two depth charge throwers and one depth charge rail on the stern that came with 15 depth charges. ^[4]

The ships were equipped with Type 145 and Type 147B ASDIC. ^[4] The Type 147B was tied to the Squid anti-submarine mortar and would automatically set the depth on the fuses of the projectiles until the moment of firing. A single Squid-launched attack had a success rate of 25%. ^[6] The class was also provided with HF/DF and Type 277 radar. ^[5]

Service history

Bell from the ship

Flag from HMCS Kincardine, on display inside the Royal Canadian Legion hall in Kincardine, Ontario

Tamworth Castle, named for the castle in Tamworth, Staffordshire, was ordered on 19 January 1943. ^[7] The keel was laid on 25 August 1943 by Smiths Dock Company at their shipyard in South Bank-on-Tees. ^[8] At some point in 1943, the ship was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy ^[9] and was launched on 26 January 1944. The corvette was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy on 19 June 1944 at Middlesbrough as HMCS Kincardine, named for the town in Ontario that sits on shores of Lake Huron, with the pennant number K490. ^[8]

Kincardine worked up at Tobermory before joining the Mid-Ocean Escort Force escort group C-2 in August 1944. However, not long after joining, the ship had to return to Smiths Dock for repairs and was not available for service until mid-September. The corvette was deployed only as a local escort until 2 October when Kincardine joined a trans-Atlantic convoy as escort. Kincardine remained as an ocean convoy escort for the rest of the war. ^[8]

Kincardine returned to Canada in June 1945, where in July, she was temporarily used as a training ship attached to HMCS Cornwallis. The corvette then underwent a refit at Liverpool, Nova Scotia and was placed in reserve at Halifax in October. Kincardine was paid off at Halifax on 27 February 1946, ^[8] and sold to the French Government ^[8] on 5 September 1946. ^[9] They resold the ex-corvette to Moroccan interests in 1947 who renamed her Saada. ^{[8] [9] [note 5]} The merchant ship, which had a gross register tonnage of 1,516 tons, was owned by Les Cargos Fruitiers Cherifiens SA and had her port of registry in Casablanca. ^[10] Saada was broken up at La Spezia, Italy on 15 September 1953. ^[10]

References

Notes

1. Brown states the beam at 36.5 feet (11.1 m) and the draught at 13.5 feet (4.1 m)
2. Chesneau states the displacement at deep load as 1,590–1,630 long tons (1,620–1,660 t)
3. Brown states the complement as 99 and Johnston states the complement of Canadian ships at 112 (7 officers and 105 ratings).
4. Mk XIX = Mark 19. Britain used Roman numerals to denote Marks (models) of ordnance until after World War II. This was the nineteenth model of British QF 4-inch gun
5. Macpherson and Barrie state that it was this ship that was sold to the Burmese Navy and renamed Van Myo Aung in 1958. However, it was HMS Mariner, whose original name was Kincardine before her transfer to the Royal Navy, that was sold to Burma.

Citations

1. "Battle Honours". Britain's Navy. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
2. Chesneau, p.63
3. Brown 2007, p.142
4. Brown 2007, p.127
5. Brown 2007, p.126
6. Brown 2012, p.129
7. "HMS Tamworth Castle (K 490)". uboat.net. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
8. Macpherson and Barrie, p.164
9. Colledge, p.346
10. "Kincardine (6118329)" . Miramar Ship Index . Retrieved 13 May 2016.

Sources

• Brown, David K. (2007). Atlantic Escorts Ships: Ships, Weapons & Tactics in World War II. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84415-702-0.
• Brown, David K. (2012). Nelson to Vanguard: Warship Design and Development 1923–1945. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84832-149-6.
• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. 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 (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN   978-1-86176-281-8.
• Macpherson, Ken; Barrie, Ron (2002). The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910–2002 (Third ed.). St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing. ISBN   1-55125-072-1.