HMS Rushen Castle

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox ship HMS Rushen Castle (K372) was a Template:Sclass2 built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Completed in 1944, the ship escorted convoys to and from Gibraltar and the UK. After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, she served on air-sea rescue duties in British waters. Rushen Castle was reduced to reserve in 1946. She was sold to the Air Ministry in 1960 and her conversion into a weather ship was finished the following year. The ship was renamed Weather Surveyor at that time. She was sold out of service in 1977 and converted into a salvage vessel. The ship was sold for scrap in 1982 and broken up in Germany.

Design and description

The Castle-class corvette was a stretched version of the preceding Template:Sclass2, enlarged to improve seakeeping and to accommodate modern weapons. The ships displaced Template:Convert at standard load and Template:Convert at deep load. The ships had an overall length of Template:Convert, a beam of Template:Convert<ref name=l7/> and a deep draught of Template:Convert. They were powered by a four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine driving one propeller shaft using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers.<ref>Goodwin, p. 2</ref> The engine developed a total of Template:Convert and gave a speed of Template:Convert. The Castles carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of Template:Convert at Template:Convert. The ships' complement was 99 officers and ratings.<ref name=l7>Lenton, p. 297</ref>

The Castle-class ships were equipped with a single [[QF 4 inch Mk XVI naval gun|QF Template:Convert Mk XVI]] dual-purpose gun forward, but their primary weapon was their single three-barrel Squid anti-submarine mortar. This was backed up by one depth charge rail and two throwers for 15 depth charges. The ships were fitted with two twin and a pair of single mounts for [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|Template:Convert Oerlikon]] AA guns.<ref>Campbell, p. 63; Lenton, p. 297</ref> Provision was made for a further four single mounts if needed. They were equipped with Type 145Q and Type 147B ASDIC sets to detect submarines by reflections from sound waves beamed into the water. A Type 272 search radar and a HF/DF radio direction finder rounded out the Castles' sensor suite.<ref>Goodwin, p. 3</ref>

Construction and career

Ordered on 6 February 1943, Rushen Castle was laid down at Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson at their shipyard in Wallsend on 8 April. The ship was launched on 16 July and completed on 24 February 1944. After several weeks of training in Western Approaches Command's Anti-Submarine Training School at Tobermory, Mull, she was assigned to Escort Group B2 on 16 March on the Gibraltar-UK route. Rushen Castle remained on this route despite being transferred to Escort Group B21 in September and then to the Liverpool Escort Group in December. The ship's last convoy reached port on 27 June 1945, even though Germany had surrendered on 8 May. Rushen Castle was then assigned to Plymouth Command for air-sea rescue duties. The ship was refitted from October 1945 to January 1946 and was then reduced to reserve at Devonport.<ref>Goodwin, pp. 277–283</ref>

She received a brief refit from 24 September to 2 October 1947 when the Royal Navy was thinking to offering her to the Royal New Zealand Navy, but that service opted for larger Template:Sclass2s instead. Rushen Castle was offered to the Air Ministry in 1956 for use as a weather ship, but was not sold until 23 September 1960. Her conversion was completed at Blyth on November 1961 and she was renamed Weather Surveyor. She was sold in July 1977 and converted to a salvage vessel.<ref>Goodwin, pp. 277, 283</ref> The ship was departed under tow on 11 May 1982 to be scrapped in Germany.<ref>Colledge, Warlow & Bush, p. 374</ref>

Bibliography

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• Warwick, Colin, 1997. Really Not Required, Pentland Press, Template:ISBN

External links

• Weather Surveyor at www.weatherships.co.uk, including several pictures.