HMS Cranstoun (K511) was a Captain-class frigate of the British Royal Navy that served in the last two years of World War II. The ship was laid down as a Buckley-class destroyer escort at the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard at Hingham, Massachusetts on 9 June 1943, with the hull number DE-82, and launched on 28 August 1943. The ship was transferred to the UK under Lend-Lease on 13 November 1943,[3] and named after Captain James Cranstoun, an officer who served in the American Revolutionary and French Revolutionary Wars.

History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Cranstoun
BuilderBethlehem Hingham Shipyard
Laid down9 June 1943
Launched28 August 1943
Commissioned13 November 1943
Decommissioned3 December 1945
Stricken7 February 1946
Honours and
awards
  • English Channel
  • North Foreland[1]
FateSold for scrapping, 20 November 1947
General characteristics
Class and typeCaptain-class frigate
Displacement
  • 1,400 long tons (1,422 t) standard
  • 1,740 long tons (1,768 t) full
Length
  • 306 ft (93 m) o/a
  • 300 ft (91 m) w/l
Beam36 ft 9 in (11.20 m)
Draught9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion
  • 2 × Foster Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers
  • GE 13,500 shp (10,067 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW)
  • Electric motors 12,000 shp (8,948 kW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Range5,500 nmi (10,200 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement186
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Service record
Commanders:
  • Lt. Eric W. Rainey, RN
  • (23 November 1943 – 23 June 1945)
  • A/Lt.Cdr. Alfred S. Miller, DSC, RNZNVR
  • (23 June–September 1945)
  • A/Lt.Cdr. John P. Kilbee, RNR
  • (September–October 1945)[2]
Victories: U-1063 (15 April 1945)

Service history

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Cranstoun served as a convoy escort, and was attached to the Nore Command, and then the 19th Escort Group.[4]

At 21:14 on the evening of 15 April 1945 Cranstoun and Loch Killin, while part of the escort to Convoy TBC 128, detected the U-1063 in Bigbury Bay, Devon. The two ships mounted a coordinated attack, with Loch Killin using her Squid anti-submarine mortar three times and Cranstoun her Hedgehog mortar once, to force the U-boat to the surface. Burges then also joined the attack, as the U-boat was illuminated by the ship's searchlights and fired on with 20 mm and 40 mm guns. U-1063 attempted to escape, but Loch Killin attacked with depth charges and sank her. Only 17 of the crew survived.[5]

Cranstoun was returned to the U.S. Navy on 3 December 1945, struck from the Navy List on 7 February 1946, and sold for scrapping on 20 November 1947.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Tynan, Roy (2006). "Captain Class Frigate - Battle Honours". captainclassfrigates.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  2. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur (2011). "Allied Warships of WWII : HMS Cranstoun". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  3. ^ a b Smolinski, Mike (2010). "Destroyer Escort Photo Index - HMS Cranstoun (K511)". navsource.org. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  4. ^ Collingwood, Donald (1998). The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War. Barnsley: Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-85052-615-9.
  5. ^ Phillips, Stephen (2003). "Into the Lion's Den: The Loss of U-1063". ubootwaffe.net. Archived from the original on 30 July 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2011.