HMS Rochester (L50)

HMS Rochester (L50) was a Shoreham-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and was a successful anti-submarine warfare vessel, being credited with the destruction of five U-boats.

HMS Rochester in 1945
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Rochester
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Laid down: 24 November 1930
Launched: 16 July 1931
Completed: 24 March 1932
Identification: Pennant number: L50 (later U50)
Fate: Sold for scrapping January 1951
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: Shoreham-class sloop
Displacement: 1,150 tons
Length: 281 ft (86 m)
Beam: 35 ft (11 m)
Draught: 8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)
Propulsion:
  • Geared turbines
  • two shafts
  • 2,000 shp (1,500 kW)
Speed: 16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement: 95
Armament:
  • 2 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk V guns (2×1)
  • 4 .5" MG A/A (1×4)

Construction

Rochester was ordered on 4 December 1929 under the 1929 Building Programme from HM Dockyard at Chatham, Kent. She was laid down on 24 November 1930, launched 16 July 1931, and completed 24 March 1932. Designed as a general-purpose vessel, Rochester served on the South Atlantic and East Indies stations on patrol and contraband control until the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939.

Rochester underwent several modifications while in service; in winter 1939 she refitted as a convoy escort. In June 1941 she received Type 271 radar. In May 1942 she was equipped with Type 291 air defence radar and HF/DF.[2]

Service history

At the outbreak of the Second World War Rochester returned to the UK for refitting, and in March 1940 was deployed to convoy escort in the Western Approaches. In July 1940 she assisted in the destruction of U-26, which was attacking convoy OA 175.[3]

After a further refit in summer 1940, after which her pennant number was changed to U50 Rochester returned to the North Atlantic.

In May 1941, while escorting convoy OB 318 with 7th Escort Group, Rochester and two others attacked and damaged U-94, forcing her to break off the attack and retire.[4]

After a further refit Rochester was assigned to 37 EG, deployed as convoy escort on the Gibraltar and South Atlantic routes. In October 1941 while with convoy HG 75 Rochester, with corvette Mallow, took part in the destruction of U-204.[5] In February 1942, with 43 EG escorting convoy OS 18, Rochester and corvette Tamarisk intercepted U-82 in transit from US East Coast and destroyed her.[6]

In July 1942, while with OS 35, Rochester took part in the destruction of U-213.[7] In the autumn of 1942 Rochester was part of the naval force for Operation Torch.

In July 1943 Rochester, with OS 51 as part of 39 EG took part in the destruction of U-135.[8]

In October 1943 Rochester and 39 EG, escorting convoy SL 138/MKS 28, were involved in a five-day battle with Schill U-boat group resulting in the loss of one ship sunk and one U-boat destroyed.[9]

In summer 1944 Rochester was involved in Operation Neptune, the naval component of the Normandy landings. In June 1944 she was in action with a U-boat in the English Channel. The U-boat (possibly U-988) escaped, though corvette Pink was damaged.[10]

In November 1944 Rochester went for final refit, decommissioning as an escort vessel and re-equipping as a training ship. In March 1945 she joined the establishment of HMS Dryad, the navigation school at Portsmouth.

In September 1949 Rochester was decommissioned for the final time and in January 1951 was sold for scrap.[2]

Battle Honours

During her service Rochester was awarded three battle honours.[11]

Successes

During her service Rochester was credited with the destruction of five U-boats:

Date U-boat Type Location[12] Notes
3 July 1940U-26IASW of Bishop's Rock
48°03′N 11°30′W		d/c by Gladiolus, Sund H/10Sqdn, gunfire and ramming by Rochester[13][14]
19 October 1941U-204VIICStraits of Gibraltar
36°46′N 06°02′W		d/c by Rochester, Mallow off Cape Spartel[15][16]
6 February 1942U-82VIICNE of Azores
44°10′N 23°52′W		encountered OS 18, sunk by Rochester, Tamarisk[17][18]
31 July 1942U-213VIICS of Azores
36°45′N 22°50′W		attacked OS 35, d/c by Erne, Sandwich and Rochester[19][20]
15 July 1943U-135VIICE of Canary Islands
28°20′N 13°17′W		attacked OS 51, sunk by Rochester, Mignonette, Balsam[21][22]

Notes
  1. Conway p56
  2. G Mason, navalhistory.net
  3. Blair I, p170-1
  4. Blair I, p278
  5. Blair I, p392
  6. Blair I, p501-2
  7. Blair I, p669
  8. Blair II p345
  9. Blair II p446
  10. Blair II, p590
  11. Warlow p
  12. Locations per Kemp; other sources may differ
  13. Kemp p66
  14. Neistle p29 (fails to mention Rochester)
  15. Kemp p173-4
  16. Neistle p46
  17. Kemp p79
  18. Neistle p44
  19. Kemp p125
  20. Neistle p116
  21. Kemp p131
  22. Neistle p45
gollark: V5 is Mini.
gollark: We don't even have a V6.
gollark: No.
gollark: It was NOT a gollarious program.
gollark: I'm not sure why quintopia thought they were impersonating me.

References
  • Clay Blair, Hitler’s U-Boat War Vol I (1996). ISBN 0-304-35260-8
  • Clay Blair : Hitler's U-Boat War Vol II (1998) ISBN 0-304-35261-6
  • R Gardiner, R Gray : Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921 (1985) ISBN 0-85177-245-5
  • Paul Kemp : U-Boats Destroyed ( 1997) . ISBN 1-85409-515-3
  • Axel Neistle : German U-Boat Losses during World War II (1998). ISBN 1-85367-352-8
  • Warlow, B : Battle Honours of the Royal Navy (2004) ISBN 1-904459-05-6
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