The Egret class sloops were a three ship class of a long-range escort vessels used in the Second World War by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. They were an enlarged version of the Bittern class sloop

Bittern class sloop

The Bittern class sloop was a three ship class of long-range escort vessels used in the Second World War by the Royal Navy.-Design:They were built as light, long-range escort ships with limited anti-air capability. They were fitted with Denny-Brown fin stabilisers and a HACS fire control...

 with an extra twin 4 inch gun mounting. They were fitted with Denny Brown stabilisers and the HACS fire control system.

Ships

Ship	Builder	Launched	Fate
HMS Auckland (ex-Heron)	William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers William Denny and Brothers Limited, and often referred to simply as Denny, were a Scottish shipbuilding company.-History:The Company was founded by Peter Denny in 1840 and based in Dumbarton, on the River Clyde. Although the Denny yard was situated near the junction of the River Clyde and the River...	30 June 1938	Sunk 24 June 1941 by dive bombers near Tobruk
HMS Pelican	John I. Thornycroft & Company John I. Thornycroft & Company John I. Thornycroft & Company Limited, usually known simply as Thornycroft was a British shipbuilding firm started by John Isaac Thornycroft in the 19th century.-History:...	12 September 1938	Broken up 1958
HMS Egret HMS Egret (L75) HMS Egret was a sloop of the British Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class. She was built by J. Samuel White at Cowes, Isle of Wight and was launched on 31 May 1938....	J. Samuel White J. Samuel White J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White . It came to prominence during the Victorian era...	31 May 1938	sunk by guided bomb in Bay of Biscay 27 August 1943

Three ships were built; HMS Auckland, HMS Pelican and HMS Egret

HMS Egret (L75)

HMS Egret was a sloop of the British Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class. She was built by J. Samuel White at Cowes, Isle of Wight and was launched on 31 May 1938....

. Egret was lost to a guided missile. While patrolling in the Bay of Biscay

Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...

, she was attacked by 18 Do 217 aircraft, one of which carried the Henschel Hs 293

Henschel Hs 293

The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German anti-ship guided missile: a radio-controlled glide bomb with a rocket engine slung underneath it. It was designed by Herbert A. Wagner.- History :...

 guided bomb

Guided bomb

A guided bomb is a precision-guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, and to minimize damage to things other than the target....

. Auckland was lost on 24 June 1941, to 48 Junkers 87 aircraft dive-bombing both her and HMAS Parramatta

HMAS Parramatta (U44)

HMAS Parramatta was a Grimsby class sloop of the Royal Australian Navy . Built during the late 1930s, Parramatta operated in the Red Sea and Mediterranean during World War II...

, off the coast of Tobruk

Tobruk

Tobruk or Tubruq is a city, seaport, and peninsula on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District and has a population of 120,000 ....

. Pelican survived until the end of the war, and was broken up in 1958.