HMS Plym (K271) was a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Navy between 1943 and 1952. The ship was destroyed in the United Kingdom's first nuclear weapon test, Operation Hurricane in 1952.
Plym saw extensive service on Atlantic convoy escort missions. Plym, along with HMS Bann, HMS Teviot and HMS Trent, provided anti-submarine escort to the convoy WS-33 which arrived in South Africa from the United Kingdom on 9 October 1943 with critical reinforcements for service in Burma.
Although data acquisition would have been simplified by detonating the bomb from a tower above the ground or sea surface, it was conducted aboard Plym in order to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon being smuggled into a British harbour aboard a ship.
plym, k271, other, ships, with, same, name, plym, river, class, frigate, that, served, royal, navy, between, 1943, 1952, ship, destroyed, united, kingdom, first, nuclear, weapon, test, operation, hurricane, 1952, plym, underway, 1943history, united, kingdom, n. For other ships with the same name see HMS Plym HMS Plym K271 was a River class frigate that served in the Royal Navy between 1943 and 1952 The ship was destroyed in the United Kingdom s first nuclear weapon test Operation Hurricane in 1952 HMS Plym underway on 12 May 1943History United Kingdom NamePlym NamesakeRiver Plym BuilderSmiths Dock Co South Bank on Tees Laid down1 August 1942 Launched4 February 1943 Commissioned16 May 1943 Decommissioned1952 IdentificationPennant number K271 FateDestroyed on 3 October 1952 in the Operation Hurricane nuclear bomb test in the Montebello Islands Western Australia General characteristics Class and typeRiver class frigate Displacement1 370 long tons 1 390 t 1 830 long tons 1 860 t deep load Length283 ft 86 26 m p p 301 25 ft 91 82 m o a Beam36 5 ft 11 13 m Draught9 ft 2 74 m 13 ft 3 96 m deep load Propulsion2 Admiralty 3 drum boilers 2 shafts reciprocating vertical triple expansion 5 500 ihp 4 100 kW Speed20 knots 37 km h 23 mph Range7 500 nautical miles 13 890 km at 15 knots 27 8 km h Endurance646 long tons 656 t oil fuel Complement140 Armament2 QF 4 in 102 mm 40 Mk XIX single mounts CP Mk XXIII up to 10 QF 20 mm Oerlikon A A on twin mounts Mk V and single mounts Mk III 1 Hedgehog 24 spigot A S projector up to 150 depth charges Contents 1 Construction 2 Service history 2 1 Operation Hurricane 3 ReferencesConstruction editPlym was built to the Royal Navy s specifications as a Group II River class frigate She was laid down by Smiths Dock Co at their yard in South Bank on Tees on 1 August 1942 and launched on 4 February 1943 She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 16 May 1943 as HMS Plym K271 and was named after the River Plym in Devon England which flows into the English Channel at Plymouth Service history editPlym saw extensive service on Atlantic convoy escort missions Plym along with HMS Bann HMS Teviot and HMS Trent provided anti submarine escort to the convoy WS 33 which arrived in South Africa from the United Kingdom on 9 October 1943 with critical reinforcements for service in Burma Operation Hurricane edit Plym was used as the detonation platform for the UK s first nuclear weapon in Operation Hurricane A 25 kiloton atom bomb was detonated a few seconds before 09 30 local time on 3 October 1952 approximately 400 metres 440 yd from the island of Trimouille in the Monte Bello Islands Western Australia nbsp Plym exploding during Operation Hurricane on 3 October 1952 Although data acquisition would have been simplified by detonating the bomb from a tower above the ground or sea surface it was conducted aboard Plym in order to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon being smuggled into a British harbour aboard a ship References editColledge 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Plym K271 amp oldid 1161865484, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
