Black Swan class sloop
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 HMS Cygnet |
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| General Characteristics |  |
|---|---|
| Displacement: | 1,250 tons (original) 1,350 tons (modified) |
| Length: | 283 ft (86.3 m) |
| Beam: | 38 ft (12 m) |
| Draught: | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | Geared turbines, 2 shafts: 3600 hp (2.68 MW) (original) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h) (original) 20 knots (37 km/h) (modified) |
| Range: | 7,500 miles at 12 knots (13,900 km at 22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 180 (original); 192 (modified) |
| Armament: | Six 4 inch (100 mm) AA guns (3x2) Four 2 pdr AA pom-pom; four 0.5 inch (13 mm) AA (original) |
The Black Swan class and Modified Black Swan class were two classes of sloop of the Royal Navy and Royal Indian Navy. Eight Black Swans were launched between 1939 and 1943; twenty-nine modified Black Swans were launched between 1942 and 1945.
Like corvettes, sloops were specialized convoy-defence vessels, with anti-aircraft and anti-submarine capability. They were designed to have a longer range than a destroyer at the expense of a lower top speed, while remaining capable of outrunning surfaced Type VII and Type IX U-boats.
In World War II, Black Swan-class sloops sank 29 U-boats. The most famous sloop commander was Captain Frederic John Walker. His sloop Starling became one of the most successful submarine hunters, taking part in the sinking of eleven U-boats.
After the war, sloops continued in service with the Royal Navy, Egyptian Navy, Indian Navy, Pakistani Navy and the West German Navy. In April 1949, Amethyst was attacked on the Yangtze River by the Communist People's Liberation Army.
Several Black Swan sloops fought in the Korean War.
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[edit] Black Swan class
- Godavari, launched on 21 March 1943 (Others), to Pakistan as Sind
- Jumna, launched on 16 November 1940 (Others)
- Narbada, launched on 21 December 1942 (Others); to Pakistan as Jhelum
- Sutlej, launched on 1 October 1940
- Black Swan, launched on 7 July 1939 (Others)
- Erne, launched on 5 August 1940
- Flamingo, launched on 18 April 1939 to West Germany as Graf Spee
- Ibis, launched on 28 November 1940; sunk by Italian torpedo bombers off Algiers on 10 November 1942
[edit] Modified Black Swan class
- Actaeon, launched on 25 July 1945 (Others); to West Germany as Hipper
- Alacrity, launched on 1 September 1944 (Others)
- Amethyst, launched on 7 May 1943
- Chanticleer, launched on 24 September 1942 A total loss on 18 November 1943 by U-515 (Henke).
- Crane, launched on 9 November 1942 (Others)
- Cygnet, launched on 28 July 1942
- Hart, launched on 7 July 1943; to West Germany as Scheer
- Hind, launched on 30 September 1943
- Kite, launched on 13 October 1942; sunk by U-344 on 21 August 1944
- Lapwing, launched on 16 July 1943; sunk by U-968 on 20 March 1945
- Lark, launched on 28 August 1943; damaged beyond repair by U-968 on 17 February 1945
- Magpie, launched on 30 December 1941 (Others)
- Mermaid, launched on 11 November 1943; to West Germany as Scharnhorst
- Modeste, launched on 29 January 1944
- Nereide, launched on 29 January 1944
- Opossum, launched on 30 November 1944
- Peacock, launched on 11 December 1943
- Pheasant, launched on 21 December 1942
- Redpole, launched on 25 February 1943
- Snipe, launched on 20 December 1945
- Sparrow, launched on 18 February 1946
- Starling, launched on 14 October 1942
- Whimbrel, launched on 25 August 1942; to Egypt as El Malek Farouq
- Wild Goose, launched on 14 October 1942
- Woodcock, launched on 26 November 1942
- Woodpecker, launched on 29 June 1942; sunk by U-256 on 27 February 1944
- Wren, launched on 11 August 1942
[edit] Black Swans sunk or destroyed in combat
- In World War II:
- Ibis was sunk by Italian torpedo bombers off Algiers on 10 November 1942
- Woodpecker was seriously damaged by an acoustic homing torpedo fired by U-256 on 20 February 1944 whilst escorting convoy ON-224. The ship sank a week later on 27 February whilst under tow during an Atlantic storm.
- Kite was sunk by U-344 on 21 August 1944 whilst the ship was escorting aircraft carriers which were covering the Arctic convoy JW-59.
- Lark was damaged beyond repair by U-968 on 17 February 1945
- Lapwing was sunk by U-968 on 20 March 1945
- In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War:
- El Malek Farouq was sunk by two MTM explosive motor boats of the Israeli Defence Forces on 21 October 1948.
[edit] U-boats sunk by Black Swans
- U-213 was sunk east of the Azores by Erne, Rochester and Sandwich on 31 July 1942.
- U-124 was sunk west of Oporto by the corvette Stonecrop and Black Swan on 2 April 1943.
- U-202 was sunk at 0030hrs on 2 June 1943 south-east of Cape Farewell, Greenland, in position 56.12N, 39.52W, by depth charges and gunfire from Starling on 2 June 1943.
- U-449 was sunk north-west of Cape Ortegal by Wren, Woodpecker, Kite and Wild Goose on 24 June 1943.
- U-462 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by a Handley-Page Halifax and Wren, Kite, Woodpecker, Wild Goose and Woodcock on 30 July 1943.
- U-504 was sunk north-west of Cape Ortegal by Kite, Woodpecker, Wren and Wild Goose on 30 July 1943.
- U-226 was sunk east of Newfoundland by Starling, Woodcock and Kite on 6 November 1943.
- U-538 was sunk south-west of Ireland by the frigate Foley and Crane on 21 November 1943.
- U-119 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by Starling on 24 June 1943.
- U-842 was sunk by Starling and Wild Goose on 6 November 1943.
- U-592 was sunk south-west of Ireland by Starling, Wild Goose and Magpie on 31 January 1944.
- U-762 was sunk by Woodpecker and Wild Goose on 8 February 1944.
- U-734 was sunk south-west of Ireland by Wild Goose and Starling on 9 February 1944.
- U-238 was sunk south-west of Ireland by Kite, Magpie and Starling on 9 February 1944.
- U-424 was sunk south-west of Ireland by Wild Goose and Woodpecker on 11 February 1944.
- U-425 was sunk in the Barents Sea by Lark and the corvette Alnwick Castle on 17 February 1945.
- U-264 was sunk by Woodpecker and Starling on 19 February 1944.
- U-1276 was sunk south of Waterford by Amethyst on 20 February 1945.
- U-327 was sunk in the English Channel by the frigates Labuan and Loch Fada and Wild Goose on 27 February 1945.
- U-653 was sunk by a Fairey Swordfish from the escort carrier Vindex, Starling and Wild Goose on 15 March 1944.
- U-961 was sunk east of Iceland by Starling on 29 March 1944.
- U-962 was sunk north-west of Cape Finisterre by Crane and Cygnet on 8 April 1944.
- U-473 was sunk south-west of Ireland by Starling, Wren and Wild Goose on 6 May 1944.
- U-333 was sunk west of the Scilly Isles by Starling and the frigate Loch Killin on 31 July 1944.
- U-608 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by Wren and a B-24 Liberator on 10 August 1944.
- U-385 was sunk in the Bay of Biscay by Starling and a Shorts Sunderland on 11 August 1944.
- U-198 was sunk near the Seychelles by the frigate Findhorn and HMIS Godavari on 12 August 1944.
- U-354 was sunk in the Barents Sea by Mermaid and Peacock, the frigate Loch Dunvegan and the destroyer Keppel on 24 August 1944.
- U-394 was sunk in the Norwegian Sea by a Fairey Swordfish from the escort carrier Vindex, the destroyers Keppel and Whitehall and the sloops Mermaid and Peacock on 2 September 1944.
[edit] See also
- List of Royal Navy ships
- List of naval ships of Egypt
- List of ship launches in 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946
