HMS Felixstowe (J126)

History

United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Felixstowe
Builder:	Lobnitz and Company, Renfrew, Scotland
Laid down:	8 August 1940
Launched:	15 January 1941
Commissioned:	11 July 1941
Fate:	Sunk by a mine on 18 December 1943
General characteristics
Class and type:	Bangor-class minesweeper
Displacement:	673 long tons (684 t) standard 860 long tons (874 t) full
Length:	189 ft (58 m) o/a
Beam:	28 ft 6 in (8.69 m)
Draught:	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Installed power:	2,400 ihp (1,800 kW) 2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts 2 vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed:	16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range:	2,800 nmi (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	60
Armament:	1 × single QF 12-pounder (7.62 cm) anti-aircraft gun 1 × single QF 2-pounder (4 cm) AA gun or 1 × quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun

HMS Felixstowe was a Bangor-class minesweepers built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

Design and description

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. Felixstowe displaced 673 long tons (684 t) at standard load and 860 long tons (870 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 189 feet (57.6 m), a beam of 28 feet 6 inches (8.7 m) and a draught of 10 feet 6 inches (3.2 m).^[1] The ship's complement consisted of 60 officers and ratings.^[2]

She was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines (VTE), each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of 2,400 shaft horsepower (1,800 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). The ship 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 VTE-powered Bangors were armed with a QF 12-pounder (7.62 cm) anti-aircraft gun and a single QF 2-pounder (4 cm) AA gun or a quadruple mount for the Vickers .50 machine 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, their minesweeping gear could be exchanged for around 40 depth charges.^[2]

Construction and career

She was built by Lobnitz and Company, Renfrew, Scotland and launched on 22 July 1941. She served in the Mediterranean during the Second World War. Thus far she has been the only ship of the Royal Navy named after the Suffolk town of Felixstowe. She struck a mine on 18 December 1943 and sank east of Capo Ferro, Sardinia, Italy.

References

↑ Lenton, pp. 253–54
1 2 Chesneau, p. 64
1 2 Lenton, p. 254

Bibliography

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. OCLC 67375475.
Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.

External links

HMS Felixstowe at Uboat.net

Bangor-class minesweepers

Royal Navy	Ardrossan Bangor Bayfield Beaumaris Blackpool Blyth Bootle Boston Bridlington Bridport Brixham Bude Canso Caraquet Clacton Clydebank Cromarty Cromer Dornoch Dunbar Eastbourne Felixstowe Fort York Fraserburgh Greenock Guysborough Hartlepool Harwich Hythe Ilfracombe Ingonish Lantan Llandudno Lockeport Lyemun Lyme Regis (J193) Lyme Regis (J197) Middlesbrough Newhaven Padstow Parrsborough Peterhead Polruan Poole Qualicum Rhyl Romney Rothesay Rye Seaham Shippigan Sidmouth Stornoway Tadoussac Taitam Tenby Tilbury Waglan Wedgeport Whitehaven Worthing

Royal Canadian Navy	Bayfield Bellechasse Blairmore Brockville Burlington Canso Caraquet Chedabucto Chignecto Clayoquot Courtenay Cowichan Digby Drummondville Esquimalt Fort William Gananoque Georgian Goderich Granby Grandmère Guysborough Ingonish Kelowna Kenora Kentville Lachine Lockeport Mahone Malpeque Medicine Hat Melville Milltown Minas Miramichi Mulgrave Nipigon Noranda Outarde Port Hope Quatsino Quinte Red Deer Sarnia Stratford Swift Current Thunder Transcona Trois Rivières Truro Ungava Vegreville Wasaga Westmount

Royal Indian Navy	Baluchistan Bihar Carnatic Deccan Kathiawar Khyber Konkan Kumaon Malwa Orissa Oudh Rajputana Rohilkhand

List of mine countermeasure vessels of the Royal Navy

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1943

Shipwrecks	2 Dec: Fort Athabaska, John Harvey, Norlom 4 Dec: Chūyō, Kembu Maru 12 Dec: HMS Holcombe, HMS Tynedale 13 Dec: Friedrich Bischoff, U-172, U-391, U-593 15 Dec: Nevada 16 Dec: U-73 17 Dec: USS APc-21 18 Dec: HMS Felixstowe, Numakaze 20 Dec: U-850 21 Dec: Norhauk 22 Dec: Niobe 24 Dec: Dumana, USS Leary, U-645 25 Dec: HMS Hurricane 26 Dec: USS Brownson, Scharnhorst 28 Dec: Axum, T-25, T-26, Z27 29 Dec: Protée 31 Dec: HMS Clacton Unknown date: U-972

Other incidents	13 Dec: U-345 23 Dec: HMS Worcester

1942 1943 1944 November 1943 January 1944

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