In early 1939, with the risk of war with Nazi Germany increasing, it was clear to the Royal Navy that it needed more escort ships to counter the threat from KriegsmarineU-boats. One particular concern was the need to protect shipping off the east coast of Britain. What was needed was something larger and faster than trawlers, but still cheap enough to be built in large numbers, preferably at small merchant shipyards, as larger yards were already busy. To meet this requirement, the Smiths Dock Company of Middlesbrough, a specialist in the design and build of fishing vessels, offered a development of its 700-ton, 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) whale catcherSouthern Pride.[1][2] They were intended as small convoy escort ships that could be produced quickly and cheaply in large numbers. Despite naval planners' intentions that they be deployed for coastal convoys, their long range meant that they became the mainstay of Mid-Ocean Escort Force convoy protection during the first half of the war. The original Flowers had the standard RN layout, consisting of a raised forecastle, a well deck, then the bridge or wheelhouse, and a continuous deck running aft. The crew quarters were in the foc'sle while the galley was at the rear, making for poor messing arrangements.[3]
The modified Flowers saw the forecastle extended aft past the bridge to the aft end of the funnel, a variation known as the "long forecastle" design. Apart from providing a very useful space where the whole crew could gather out of the weather, the added weight improved the ships' stability and speed and was retroactively applied to a number of the original Flower-class vessels during the mid and latter years of the war.
HMS Pink was on an screening mission off Normandy during the Invasion of Normandy on 27 June 1944. An unidentified U-boat launched a torpedo which struck HMS Pink crippling the ship. She was towed back to Portsmouth, declared a total loss and scrapped at Llanelly in 1947.[4]
Goodwin, Norman (2007). Castle Class Corvettes: An Account of the Service of the Ships and of Their Ships' Companies. Liskeard, UK: Maritime Books. ISBN978-1-904459-27-9.
Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-55750-048-7.
Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN1-59114-119-2.
January 06, 2023
pink, k137, pink, flower, class, corvette, that, served, royal, navy, built, henry, robb, leith, 1941, named, after, flower, nicknamed, garden, pink, commissioned, 1942, scrapped, 1947, historyunited, kingdomnamepinknamesakepinkbuilderhenry, robb, leithlaid, d. HMS Pink was a Flower class corvette that served in the Royal Navy She was built by Henry Robb in Leith in 1941 and named after the flower nicknamed garden pink She was commissioned in 1942 and scrapped in 1947 HistoryUnited KingdomNamePinkNamesakePinkBuilderHenry Robb LeithLaid down20 May 1941Launched16 February 1942Commissioned2 July 1942Stricken27 June 1944IdentificationPennant number K137FateScrapped 1947General characteristicsClass and typeFlower class corvetteDisplacement925 long tonsLength205 ft 62 m o aBeam33 ft 10 m Draught11 ft 6 in 3 51 m Propulsion1 4 cycle triple expansion reciprocating steam engine 2 fire tube Scotch boilers Single shaft 2 750 ihp 2 050 kW Speed16 kn 30 km h Range3 500 nmi 6 500 km at 12 kn 22 km h Complement85Sensors and processing systems1 SW1C or 2C radar 1 Type 123A or Type 127DV sonarArmament1 BL 4 inch 101 6 mm Mk IX gun 2 Vickers 50 cal machine gun twin 2 Lewis 303 cal machine gun twin 2 Mk II Depth charge throwers 2 Depth charge rails with 40 depth chargesDesign and description EditIn early 1939 with the risk of war with Nazi Germany increasing it was clear to the Royal Navy that it needed more escort ships to counter the threat from Kriegsmarine U boats One particular concern was the need to protect shipping off the east coast of Britain What was needed was something larger and faster than trawlers but still cheap enough to be built in large numbers preferably at small merchant shipyards as larger yards were already busy To meet this requirement the Smiths Dock Company of Middlesbrough a specialist in the design and build of fishing vessels offered a development of its 700 ton 16 knots 18 mph 30 km h whale catcher Southern Pride 1 2 They were intended as small convoy escort ships that could be produced quickly and cheaply in large numbers Despite naval planners intentions that they be deployed for coastal convoys their long range meant that they became the mainstay of Mid Ocean Escort Force convoy protection during the first half of the war The original Flowers had the standard RN layout consisting of a raised forecastle a well deck then the bridge or wheelhouse and a continuous deck running aft The crew quarters were in the foc sle while the galley was at the rear making for poor messing arrangements 3 The modified Flowers saw the forecastle extended aft past the bridge to the aft end of the funnel a variation known as the long forecastle design Apart from providing a very useful space where the whole crew could gather out of the weather the added weight improved the ships stability and speed and was retroactively applied to a number of the original Flower class vessels during the mid and latter years of the war Construction and career EditPink was laid down by Henry Robb at their shipyard at Leith on 20 May 1941 and launched on 16 February 1942 She was commissioned on 2 July 1942 HMS Pink was on an screening mission off Normandy during the Invasion of Normandy on 27 June 1944 An unidentified U boat launched a torpedo which struck HMS Pink crippling the ship She was towed back to Portsmouth declared a total loss and scrapped at Llanelly in 1947 4 References Edit Brown 2007 pp 41 43 Lambert and Brown 2008 p 3 Brown D K Nelson to Vanguard HMS Pink K 137 British Corvette Ships hit by German U boats during WWII uboat net Chesneau 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 Goodwin Norman 2007 Castle Class Corvettes An Account of the Service of the Ships and of Their Ships Companies Liskeard UK Maritime Books ISBN 978 1 904459 27 9 Lenton H T 1998 British amp Empire Warships of the Second World War Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 55750 048 7 Rohwer Jurgen 2005 Chronology of the War at Sea 1939 1945 The Naval History of World War Two Third Revised ed Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 1 59114 119 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Pink K137 amp oldid 1129141434, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
