HMS Honeysuckle was a Flower-class corvette that served with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. She served as an ocean escort in the Battle of the Atlantic.[1][2][3]

HMS Honeysuckle coming alongside the aircraft carrier Trumpeter in the Kola Inlet
History
United Kingdom
NameRhododendron
Ordered31 August 1939
BuilderScotlandFerguson Shipbuilders. Ltd., Port Glasgow
Laid down26 October 1939
Launched22 April 1940
Commissioned14 September 1940
Out of service1950 – sold to T.W. Ward
IdentificationPennant number: K27
FateSold 1950; scrapped November 1950
General characteristics
Class and typeFlower-class corvette (original)
Displacement925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons)
Length205 ft (62.48 m)o/a
Beam33 ft (10.06 m)
Draught11.5 ft (3.51 m)
Propulsion
  • single shaft
  • 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers
  • 1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine
  • 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed16 knots (29.6 km/h)
Range3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement85
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × SW1C or 2C radar
  • 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament
  • 1 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk.IX single gun
  • 2 x double Lewis machine gun
  • 2 × twin Vickers machine gun
  • 2 × Mk.II depth charge throwers
  • 2 × depth charge rails with 40 depth charges
  • initially with minesweeper equipment, later removed

Background

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The ship was commissioned on 31 August 1939 by Harland and Wolff from Port Glasgow in Scotland.[4]

War service

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On 20 September 1941, HMS Honeysuckle picked up 51 survivors from the CAM ship Empire Burton, which was torpedoed by the German U-boat U-74. That same day, she picked up an additional 22 survivors from the tanker T.J. Williams, which has torpedoed by a different U-boat, U-552. On 4 July 1943, she picked up 276 survivors from the merchant St. Essylt, which was torpedoed by U-375 off of Algeria.[1]

Fate

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She was scrapped in 1950 at Grays.[5]

Sources

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  • Gardiner, Robert (1987). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
  • Preston, Antony; Raven, Alan (1982). Flower Class Corvettes. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-559-2.
  • Friedman, Norman (2008). British Destroyers & Frigates - The Second World War and After. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-015-4.

References

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  1. ^ a b "HMS Honeysuckle (K 27) of the Royal Navy - British Corvette of the Flower class - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  2. ^ "HMS honeysuckle in the Great War - The Wartime Memories Project -". www.wartimememoriesproject.com. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  3. ^ "HMS Honeysuckle - World Naval Ships Directory". www.worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  4. ^ Friedman, Norman s. 340
  5. ^ "Flower Class Corvettes HMS Honeysuckle". www.worldnavalships.com. Retrieved 29 March 2017.