HMS Kenilworth Castle (K420)
Encyclopedia
HMS Kenilworth Castle (K420) was a Castle-class
Castle class corvette
The Castle-class corvettes were an updated version of the much more numerous Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Navy, and started appearing during late 1943...
corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
of Britain's 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...
.
She was built by Smiths Dock Company at South Bank-on-Tees, launched on 17 August 1943 and commissioned on 14 November 1943.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
she served as a convoy escort and participated in the sinking of two U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s:
- U-744 was sunk by HMS IcarusHMS Icarus (D03)HMS Icarus was an I-class destroyer that served with the Royal Navy in World War II.On 29 November 1939, Icarus sighted the German U-boat U-35 between the Shetland Islands and Bergen , but was unable to launch an effective attack because her ASDIC was out of commission. Fellow destroyers and ...
, HMCS St. Catharines, HMCS Fennel, HMCS ChilliwackHMCS Chilliwack (K131)HMCS Chilliwack was a of the Royal Canadian Navy. She was ordered from Burrard Dry Dock in North Vancouver, British Columbia, laid down on 3 July 1940, launched on 14 September 1940, and commissioned on 8 April 1941 named after the city of Chilliwack, British Columbia.-Background:Flower-class...
, HMCS Chaudiere, HMCS Gatineau and Kenilworth Castle on 6 March 1944 - U-1200 was sunk south of Ireland by HMS Pevensey CastleHMS Pevensey Castle (K449)HMS Pevensey Castle was a Castle-class corvette of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy.-Construction:She was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, launched on 11 January 1944 and commissioned in June 1944.-World War II:...
, HMS Launceston CastleHMS Launceston Castle (K397)HMS Launceston Castle was a Castle-class corvette of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, named after Launceston Castle in Cornwall.She was launched by Blyth Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Blyth in Northumberland on 27 November 1943....
, HMS Portchester CastleHMS Portchester Castle (K362)HMS Portchester Castle was a Castle-class corvette built in 1943 and scrapped in 1958. She was the only ship of the Royal Navy to be named after Portchester Castle in Hampshire, and was used for the 1952 film The Cruel Sea, in which she played Saltash Castle.-Construction:She was launched on 21...
and Kenilworth Castle on 11 November 1944 - all in 30th Escort Group under Commander Denys RaynerDenys RaynerDenys Arthur Rayner DSC & Bar, VRD, RNVR fought throughout the Battle of the Atlantic. After intensive war service at sea, Rayner became a writer, a farmer, and a successful designer and builder of small sailing craft - his first being the Westcoaster; his most successful being the glass fibre...
She was scrapped at Llanelli
Llanelli
Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
in June 1956.