Frigate of the Royal Navy
History United States Name USS Liddle Builder Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard Inc. , Hingham, Massachusetts Laid down 10 May 1943 Identification DE-76 Fate Transferred to UK, returned 17 October 1945 and sold for scrap, 13 June 1946 United Kingdom Name Bligh Namesake William Bligh Launched 31 July 1943 Commissioned 23 October 1943 Identification K467 Fate Returned to US Navy on 17 October 1945 General characteristics Class and type Buckley -classdestroyer escort /Captain-class frigate Displacement 1,800 long tons (1,829 t) fully loaded Length 306 ft (93 m) overall Beam 36.5 ft (11.1 m) Draught 11 ft (3.4 m) fully loaded Speed 24 knots (44 km/h) Endurance 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) Complement Typically between 170 & 180
HMS Bligh was a Captain-class frigate active during World War II . She was named after William Bligh , commander of HMS Director at the Battle of Camperdown during the French Revolutionary War , and commander of HMS Bounty .
William Bligh in 1814 Originally destined for the US Navy as a turbo-electric (TE) type Buckley -class destroyer escortBligh was provisionally given the name USS Liddle , a name that was later reassigned to another ship . However, the delivery was diverted to the Royal Navy before the launch.
Service history
HMS Bligh served exclusively with the 5th Escort Group taking part in operations in the Eastern Atlantic , the English Channel , and off Normandy .
On 6 May 1944, Bligh , together with HMS Bickerton , HMS Aylmer and two Swordfish aircraft (Sqdn. 825) of the British escort carrier HMS Vindex , attacked and sank the U-boat U-765 52°30′N 28°28′W / 52.500°N 28.467°W / 52.500; -28.467 depth charges , resulting in the loss of 37 hands.
On 7 November 1944, an accidental firing of an anti-aircraft gun while docked at Liverpool caused both death and injury on the troopship RMS Capetown Castle .
On 27 January 1945, Bligh , along with HMS Tyler and HMS Keats attacked and destroyed the submarine U-1172 52°24′N 05°42′W / 52.400°N 5.700°W / 52.400; -5.700
References
The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War by Donald Collingwood. published by Leo Cooper (1998), ISBN 0-85052-615-9 .The Buckley-Class Destroyer Escorts by Bruce Hampton Franklin, published by Chatham Publishing (1999), ISBN 1-86176-118-X .Niestle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses During World War II . United States Naval Institute. ISBN 1-55750-641-8 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . The entries can be found here and here .
External links
