HMS Amethyst was a modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Alexander Stephen and Sons of Linthouse, Govan, Scotland on 25 March 1942, launched on 7 May 1943 and commissioned on 2 November 1943, with the pennant number U16. After the Second World War she was modified and redesignated as a frigate, and renumbered F116.
 Amethyst during the Second World War
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Amethyst |
| Builder | Alexander Stephen and Sons, Govan |
| Laid down | 25 March 1942 |
| Launched | 7 May 1943 |
| Commissioned | 2 November 1943 |
| Identification | Pennant number: U16 (later F116) |
| Fate | Scrapped 19 January 1957 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Modified Black Swan-class sloop |
| Displacement | 1,350 tons |
| Length | 283 ft (86 m) |
| Beam | 38.5 ft (11.7 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h) at 4,300 hp (3,200 kW) |
| Complement | 192 men + 1 cat |
| Armament |
|
Second World War
editDuring the Second World War, Amethyst was deployed mostly on anti-submarine patrols and escort duties. She attacked and sank the U-boat U-1276 with depth charges on 20 February 1945. U-1276 had just sunk HMS Vervain, a Flower-class corvette. The action took place in the North Atlantic, south of Waterford, and resulted in the loss of all 49 of the U-boat's crew.
During the war Amethyst was credited, along with the sloops Starling, Peacock, Hart, and frigate Loch Craggie, with sinking the German submarine U-482 in the North Channel on 16 January 1945. The British Admiralty withdrew this credit in a post-war reassessment.[1]
The Amethyst incident
editOn 20 April 1949, Amethyst was on her way from Shanghai to Nanking (now Nanjing) when she was fired upon by the People's Liberation Army. This became known as the Amethyst incident. Amethyst was trapped in China until 30 July 1949, when she escaped under cover of darkness.
For the 1957 film Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst, Amethyst was brought out of reserve to play herself. As the engines were no longer operational, her sister ship Magpie was used for shots of the ship moving. Amethyst was scrapped shortly after the filming was finished.[2]
See also
editCitations
edit- ^ Blair (2000), 630-631.
- ^ "The Yangtse Incident:the story of HMS Amethyst". British Lion Films. British Lion Holdings Ltd. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
General and cited references
edit- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Hague, Arnold (1993). Sloops: A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-67-3.
Further reading
edit- Blair, Clay (2000). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945. New York: Modern Library. ISBN 0-679-64033-9.
- Leslie Frank, Yangtse River Incident 1949: The Diary of Coxswain Leslie Frank: HMS Amethyst - Yangtse River 19/4/49 to 31/7/49 (2004) ISBN 1-84342-756-7
- Edwyn Gray, Frigate Under Fire: HMS Amethyst's 100 Days of Hell (1987)
- Malcolm H. Murfett, Hostage on the Yangtze: Britain, China, and the Amethyst Crisis of 1949 (1991) ISBN 0-87021-289-3