HMS Launceston Castle (K397) was a Castle-class corvette of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, named after Launceston Castle in Cornwall. The ship was constructed during the Second World War and saw service primarily as a convoy escort.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Launceston Castle |
| Namesake | Launceston Castle |
| Builder | Blyth Shipbuilding and Drydock Company |
| Laid down | 27 May 1943 |
| Launched | 27 November 1943 |
| Commissioned | 20 June 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 1947 |
| Identification | pennant number K397 |
| Fate | Scrapped 3 August 1959 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Castle-class corvette |
Service history
editLaunceston Castle was launched by Blyth Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Blyth in Northumberland on 27 November 1943.
In the Second World War she served as a convoy escort. Launceston Castle served in the 30th Escort Group commanded by Denys Rayner RNVR carrying his flag on board HMS Pevensey Castle. She sank the German submarine U-1200[1] south of Ireland on 11 November 1944, supported by her sister ships Pevensey Castle, Kenilworth Castle and Portchester Castle.
In 1953 she took part in the Fleet Review to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[2]
References
edit- ^ "The Type VIIC U-boat U-1200 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net".
- ^ Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15 June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
Publications
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.
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