British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy
History
United States
Name unnamed (DE-571)
Builder Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard , Hingham , Massachusetts
Laid down 20 October 1943
Launched 12 December 1943
Completed 28 January 1944
Commissioned never
Fate Transferred to United Kingdom 28 January 1944
Stricken 19 May 1945
Acquired Returned by United Kingdom 3 December 1945
Fate Sold 9 January 1947 for scrapping
United Kingdom
Name HMS Whitaker (K580)
Namesake Vice Admiral Sir Edward Whitaker (1660–1735), British naval officer who distinguished himself as commanding officer of HMS Dorsetshire in 1704
Acquired 28 January 1944
Commissioned 28 January 1944
Decommissioned March 1945[ 1]
Fate
General characteristics
Displacement 1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length 306 ft (93 m)
Beam 36.75 ft (11.2 m)
Draught 9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion
Two Foster-Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers
GE 13,500 shp (10,070 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW)
Electric motors for 12,000 shp (8,900 kW)
Two shafts
Speed 24 knots (44 km/h)
Range 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement 186
Sensors and processing systems
Armament
Notes Pennant number K580
The second HMS Whitaker (K580) , and the first to enter service, was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II . Originally constructed as a United States Navy Buckley class destroyer escort , she served in the Royal Navy from 1944 to 1945.
Construction and transfer
The ship was laid down as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-571 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard , Inc., in Hingham , Massachusetts , on 20 October 1943 and launched on 12 December 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 28 January 1944.
Service history
The ship was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy [ 1] as the frigate HMS Whitaker (K580) on 28 January 1944 simultaneously with her transfer. She served on patrol and escort duty and operated in support of the invasion of Normandy in the summer of 1944.
The German submarine U-483 torpedoed Whitaker at 0210 hours on 1 November 1944, off Malin Head on the north coast of Ireland at position 55°30′00″N 007°39′00″W / 55.50000°N 7.65000°W / 55.50000; -7.65000 (HMS Whitaker (K580) torpedoed ) . Damage control measures brought the resultant fires under control by 0320 hours but not before the ship had lost much of her bow and suffered 79 dead.[ 2] Towed first to Londonderry Port , Northern Ireland , and then to Belfast , Northern Ireland, Whitaker was declared a constructive total loss , remained inactive for the rest of World War II, and was decommissioned in March 1945.[ 1] The U.S. Navy struck her from its Naval Vessel Register on 19 May 1945.
The Royal Navy returned Whitaker to the U.S. Navy on 3 December 1945.
Disposal
After her return to the U.S. Navy, Whitaker remained in the United Kingdom for ultimate disposition. She was sold to John Lee of Belfast on 9 January 1947 for scrapping.
Citations
References
External links
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in November 1944
Shipwrecks
1 Nov: USS Abner Read , TA20 , HMS Whitaker
2 Nov: Fort Lee
3 Nov: Akikaze
5 Nov: Kiebitz , Nachi , PB-107 , TA21
7 Nov: USS Albacore , HM LST-420
8 Nov: USS Growler
9 Nov: U-537
10 Nov: Gokoku Maru , USS Mount Hood
11 Nov: Hamanami , Naganami , USS Scamp , Shimakaze , U-771 , U-1200 , Wakatsuki
12 Nov: HMAS Marlean , Tirpitz
13 Nov: Akebono , Akishimo , Hatsuharu , Hatsu Maru , I-12 , I-38 , Kiso , Okinami
17 Nov: USS LST-6 , Mayasan Maru , NKI 01 , Shin'yō (ex-Scharnhorst )
18 Nov: I-41 , Seisho Maru
20 Nov: USS Mississinewa , HMAS ML 827
21 Nov: Kongō , Urakaze
22 Nov: Hokkai Maru , HMS Stratagem
24 Nov: Hansa
25 Nov: Kumano , HMCS Shawinigan , Shimotsuki , Sumida , U-482 , Yasoshima
27 Nov: Rigel
28 Nov: U-80 , PB-105 , Yu 2
29 Nov: Fushimi , I-365 , Shinano
Unknown date: Mogador , U-479 , U-1020
Other incidents
10 Nov: USS Abarenda , USS Alhena , USS Argonne , USS Aries , USS Cacapon , USS Cebu , HMS Hydra , USS Kyne , USS Lyman , USS Mindanao , USS Oberrender , USS Petrof Bay , USS Piedmont , USS Potawatomi , USS Preserver , USS Saginaw Bay , USS Talbot , USS Walter C. Wann , USS YMS-238 , USS Young
13 Nov: U-1052
17 Nov: HMAS ML 827 , Seisho Maru
23 Nov: Gus W. Darnell
27 Nov: USS Gar
28 Nov: USS Spearfish
30 Nov: HMS Duff