The Bangor class was designed as a small minesweeper that could be easily built in large numbers by civilian shipyards; as steam turbines were difficult to manufacture, the ships were designed to accept a wide variety of engines. Hythe displaced 656 long tons (667 t) at standard load and 820 long tons (830 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 174 feet (53.0 m), a beam of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 m) and a draught of 10 feet 3 inches (3.1 m).[1] The ship's complement consisted of 60 officers and ratings.[2]
She was powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of 2,000 shaft horsepower (1,500 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). Hythe carried a maximum of 160 long tons (163 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3]
The turbine-powered Bangors were armed with a 12-pounder 3-inch (76 mm)anti-aircraft gun and a single QF 2-pounder (4 cm) AA gun. In some ships the 2-pounder was replaced a single or twin 20 mm Oerlikon AA gun, while most ships were fitted with four additional single Oerlikon mounts over the course of the war.[3] For escort work, her minesweeping gear could be exchanged for around 40 depth charges.[2]
Construction and career
Hythe was built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Troon, Scotland and commissioned in 1941. Her pennant number was J 194. So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Hythe, after the town of Hythe in Kent, however, the SS Hythe, a cross-channel ferry of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway, built by Denny, Dumbarton, was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1914, converted to a minesweeper and became HMS Hythe; whilst in later use as a troop carrier she was run down by HMS Sarnia off Cape Helles in the Dardanelles on 28 October 1915 and sank with the loss of 155 lives.
hythe, j194, hythe, bangor, class, minesweeper, built, royal, navy, during, second, world, historyunited, kingdomnamehms, hythebuilderailsa, shipbuilding, troonlaid, down20, july, 1940launched4, september, 1941commissioned5, march, 1942fatesunk, german, submar. HMS Hythe was a Bangor class minesweeper built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War HistoryUnited KingdomNameHMS HytheBuilderAilsa Shipbuilding Co Ltd TroonLaid down20 July 1940Launched4 September 1941Commissioned5 March 1942FateSunk by German submarine U 371 on 11 October 1943General characteristicsClass and typeBangor class minesweeperDisplacement656 long tons 667 t standard 820 long tons 833 t fullLength174 ft 53 m o aBeam28 ft 6 in 8 69 m Draught10 ft 3 in 3 12 m Installed power2 000 ihp 1 500 kW 2 Admiralty 3 drum boilersPropulsion2 shafts 2 steam turbinesSpeed16 knots 30 km h 18 mph Range2 800 nmi 5 200 km 3 200 mi at 10 knots 19 km h 12 mph Complement60Armament1 single 12 pounder 3 inch 76 mm anti aircraft gun 1 single QF 2 pounder 4 cm AA gun Contents 1 Design and description 2 Construction and career 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External linksDesign and description EditThe Bangor class was designed as a small minesweeper that could be easily built in large numbers by civilian shipyards as steam turbines were difficult to manufacture the ships were designed to accept a wide variety of engines Hythe displaced 656 long tons 667 t at standard load and 820 long tons 830 t at deep load The ship had an overall length of 174 feet 53 0 m a beam of 28 feet 6 inches 8 7 m and a draught of 10 feet 3 inches 3 1 m 1 The ship s complement consisted of 60 officers and ratings 2 She was powered by two Parsons geared steam turbines each driving one shaft using steam provided by two Admiralty three drum boilers The engines produced a total of 2 000 shaft horsepower 1 500 kW and gave a maximum speed of 16 knots 30 km h 18 mph Hythe carried a maximum of 160 long tons 163 t of fuel oil that gave her a range of 2 800 nautical miles 5 200 km 3 200 mi at 10 knots 19 km h 12 mph 3 The turbine powered Bangors were armed with a 12 pounder 3 inch 76 mm anti aircraft gun and a single QF 2 pounder 4 cm AA gun In some ships the 2 pounder was replaced a single or twin 20 mm Oerlikon AA gun while most ships were fitted with four additional single Oerlikon mounts over the course of the war 3 For escort work her minesweeping gear could be exchanged for around 40 depth charges 2 Construction and career EditHythe was built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Troon Scotland and commissioned in 1941 Her pennant number was J 194 So far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Hythe after the town of Hythe in Kent however the SS Hythe a cross channel ferry of the South Eastern and Chatham Railway built by Denny Dumbarton was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in 1914 converted to a minesweeper and became HMS Hythe whilst in later use as a troop carrier she was run down by HMS Sarnia off Cape Helles in the Dardanelles on 28 October 1915 and sank with the loss of 155 lives Hythe saw service in the Mediterranean Sea during the Second World War where she was based in Malta as part of the 14th 17th Minesweeper Flotilla She was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U 371 commanded by Waldemar Mehl on 11 October 1943 off Bougie Algeria References Edit Lenton pp 253 54 a b Chesneau p 64 a b Lenton p 254Bibliography EditChesneau Roger ed 1980 Conway s All the World s Fighting Ships 1922 1946 Greenwich UK Conway Maritime Press ISBN 0 85177 146 7 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 Lenton H T 1998 British amp Empire Warships of the Second World War Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 048 7 External links EditHelgason Gudmundur HMS Hythe J 194 German U boats of WWII uboat net http www wrecksite eu wreck aspx 137093 Minesweeping at MaltaCoordinates 37 4 N 5 0 E 37 067 N 5 000 E 37 067 5 000 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Hythe J194 amp oldid 1090252306, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
