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HMS Loosestrife

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HMS Loosestrife FL5465.jpg
HMS Loosestrife
History
United Kingdom
NameLoosestrife
Ordered1939
BuilderHall, Russell & Company
Laid downDecember 1940
Launched25 August 1941
Commissioned25 November 1941
Decommissioned1945
FateSold into civilian service, 7 October 1946, scrapped 1962
General characteristics
Class and typeFlower-class corvette (original)
Displacement925 long tons (940 t; 1,036 short tons)
Length205 ft (62.48 m)o/a
Beam33 ft (10.06 m)
Draught11.5 ft (3.51 m)
Propulsion
  • single shaft
  • 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers
  • 1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine
  • 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed16 knots (29.6 km/h)
Range3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement85
Sensors and
processing systems
  • 1 × SW1C or 2C radar
  • 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament
  • 1 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk.IX single gun
  • 2 x double Lewis machine gun
  • 2 × twin Vickers machine gun
  • 2 × Mk.II depth charge throwers
  • 2 × Depth charge rails with 40 depth charges
  • initially with minesweeper equipment, later removed

HMS Loosestrife (K105) was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy which sailed with the North Atlantic convoys of the Second World War.

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Flower-class corvette

Flower-class corvette

The Flower-class corvette was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II by the Allied navies particularly as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers.

Corvette

Corvette

A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop-of-war.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service.

Convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.

Construction

Loosestrife was ordered from Hall, Russell & Company in 1939. She was laid down in December 1940 and launched on 25 August 1941. She was commissioned on 25 November 1941.[1]

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Hall, Russell & Company

Hall, Russell & Company

Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Keel laying

Keel laying

Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching

Ceremonial ship launching involves the performance of ceremonies associated with the process of transferring a vessel to the water. It is a nautical tradition in many cultures, dating back thousands of years, to accompany the physical process with ceremonies which have been observed as public celebration and a solemn blessing, usually but not always, in association with the launch itself.

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in active duty with its country's military forces. The ceremonies involved are often rooted in centuries-old naval tradition.

Career

Lt. H.A. Stonehouse RNR, Commander of HMS Loosestrife.[2]
Lt. H.A. Stonehouse RNR, Commander of HMS Loosestrife.[2]

Loosestrife sailed with Convoy ONS 5 (outward, northbound, slow) from Britain to North America in 1943. The convoy was made up of 42 ships, of which 12 or 13 were sunk after the convoy came under sustained attack from German submarines hunting in packs.[3] On 5 May at 02:25, Bristol City was south of Greenland and east of Newfoundland when it was sunk by a torpedo fired by the German submarine U-358, under the command of Rolf Manke. Fifteen of the 44 people on board died.[4] Manke attacked and damaged Wentworth not long after. Loosestrife picked up the survivors from both sinkings who were landed at St. Johns in Newfoundland.[5][6][7]

On 6 May 1943, Loosestrife sank German submarine U-192 in the North Atlantic south-east of Cape Farewell using depth charges (Lt. Herbert Arthur Stonehouse, RNR, commander).[1] The entire crew of 55 died.

On 4 October 1946, Loosestrife was sold. She subsequently became the merchantman Kallsevni in 1947.[1]

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Convoy ONS 5

Convoy ONS 5

ONS 5 was the 5th of the numbered ONS series of Slow trade convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The North Atlantic battle surrounding it in May 1943 is regarded as the turning point of the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II. The battle ebbed and flowed over a period of a week, and involved more than 50 Allied ships and their escorts, and over 30 U-boats. It saw heavy losses on both sides. However it was almost the last Allied convoy to do so, while losses inflicted on attacking U-boats and U-boat groups became a besetting feature of the campaign; As such it is seen as the point when the tactical and strategic advantage passed to the Allies, and ushered in the period known to Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine as Black May.

Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an island country in North America and part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It lies between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is the world's largest island. It is one of three countries that form the Kingdom of Denmark, the others being Denmark and the Faroe Islands; the citizens of all these countries are citizens of Denmark and of the European Union. The capital of Greenland is Nuuk.

Newfoundland (island)

Newfoundland (island)

Newfoundland is a large island off the east coast of the North American mainland and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It has 29 percent of the province's land area. The island is separated from the Labrador Peninsula by the Strait of Belle Isle and from Cape Breton Island by the Cabot Strait. It blocks the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River, creating the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. Newfoundland's nearest neighbour is the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

Torpedo

Torpedo

A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such a device was called an automotive, automobile, locomotive, or fish torpedo; colloquially a fish. The term torpedo originally applied to a variety of devices, most of which would today be called mines. From about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate a self-propelled underwater explosive device.

German submarine U-358

German submarine U-358

German submarine U-358 was a Type VIIC U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II.

Rolf Manke

Rolf Manke

Rolf Manke was the commander of German submarine U-358 which was responsible for the sinking of four Allied ships and one neutral ship.

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland.

German submarine U-192

German submarine U-192

German submarine U-192 was a very short-lived Type IXC/40 U-boat of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine built during World War II for service in the Battle of the Atlantic. During her maiden voyage in May 1943, she was sunk by a British warship, HMS Loosestrife on 6 May 1943.

Cape Farewell, Greenland

Cape Farewell, Greenland

Cape Farewell is a headland on the southern shore of Egger Island, Nunap Isua Archipelago, Greenland. As the southernmost point of the country, it is one of the important landmarks of Greenland.

Depth charge

Depth charge

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosive charges and a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

Herbert Arthur Stonehouse

Herbert Arthur Stonehouse

Herbert Arthur Stonehouse (1909-1984) was a British Royal Navy Reserve officer who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and bar for his service escorting convoys during the Second World War and who in 1943 sank the German submarine U-192.

Cargo ship

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usually specially designed for the task, often being equipped with cranes and other mechanisms to load and unload, and come in all sizes. Today, they are almost always built of welded steel, and with some exceptions generally have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years before being scrapped.

Source: "HMS Loosestrife", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, December 23rd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Loosestrife.

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Further Reading

German submarine U-125 (1940)

HMS Peony (K40)

German submarine U-105 (1940)

Bristol City (1919)

Wentworth (ship)

HMS Alisma (K185)

HMS Sunflower (K41)
References
  1. ^ a b c Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Loosestrife (K 105)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Commander of Corvette which attacked Atlantic Boat Pack. 15 April 1943, Londonderry". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  3. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Convoy battles ONS-5". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  4. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Bristol City". Uboat.net. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  5. ^ Offley, Edward (2012). Turning the Tide: How a Small Band of Allied Sailors Defeated the U-Boats and Won the Battle of the Atlantic. New York: Basic Books. p. 300. ISBN 978-0-465-03164-1.
  6. ^ Malcolm, Ian M. (2013). Shipping Company Losses of the Second World War. Stroud: History Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7509-5371-9.
  7. ^ Syrett, David (1994). The Defeat of the German U-boats: The Battle of the Atlantic. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-87249-984-3.
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