Allied Warships

HMS Affleck (K 362)

Frigate of the Captain class

NavyThe Royal Navy
TypeFrigate
ClassCaptain 
PennantK 362 
Built byBethlehem-Hingham Shipyard Inc. (Hingham, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) 
Ordered10 Jan 1942 
Laid down5 Apr 1943 
Launched30 Jun 1943 
Commissioned17 Sep 1943 
End service 
History

At 14.14 hours on 26 December, 1944, U-486 fired three Gnats at the 1st Escort Group on patrol off Cherbourg and observed hits after 1 minute 39 seconds and 1 minute 41 seconds and heard a third detonation after 7 minutes. Meyer claimed two destroyers sunk and a corvette damaged. In fact the frigates HMS Affleck (Cdr. Clive Gwinner, DSO and Bar, DSC, RN (retired)) and the HMS Capel (Lt. B.G. Heslop, DSC, RN) were hit. The latter sank and the other was towed to port, but declared a total loss.

HMS Affleck is not listed as active unit in the July 1945 Navy List

After the war the HMS Affleck returned to the US Navy in Britain, where she was sold on 24 January 1947 and served as mercantile hulk Nostra Senora de la Luz until 1970, when she was broken up.

 

Commands listed for HMS Affleck (K 362)

Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.

CommanderFromTo
1Lt. Eric Ian Pilditch, RN29 Jul 194331 Jan 1944
2Lt.Cdr. (retired) Clive Gwinner, DSO, RN31 Jan 1944mid 1945

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Notable events involving Affleck include:


15 Feb 1944
HMS H 34 (Lt. R.L. Jay, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMS Beagle (Lt.Cdr. N.R. Murch, RN) and HMS Affleck (A/Cdr.(Retd.) C. Gwinner, DSC, RN). (1)

16 Feb 1944
HMS H 34 (Lt. R.L. Jay, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMS Affleck (A/Cdr.(Retd.) C. Gwinner, DSC, RN). (1)

26 Feb 1944
German U-boat U-91 was sunk Northern Atlantic, in position 49°45'N, 26°20'W by the British frigates HMS Affleck (A/Cdr. C. Gwinner, DSO, RN (retired)), HMS Gore (Lt J. Reeves-Brown, RN) and HMS Gould (Lt D.W. Ungoed, RN).

1 Mar 1944
German U-boat U-358 in the North Atlantic north of the Azores, in position 45°46'N, 23°16'W, by depth charges from the British frigates HMS Gould (Lt. D.W. Ungoed, RN), HMS Affleck (A/Cdr. C. Gwinner, DSO, RN (retired)), HMS Gore (Lt. J.V. Reeves-Brown, RN) and HMS Garlies (Lt. R.L. Calpe, DSC, RN).

16 Mar 1944
German U-boat U-392 was sunk in the Straits of Gibraltar, in position 35°55'N, 05°41'W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Affleck (A/Cdr. C. Gwinner, DSO, DSC, RN (retired)), the British destroyer HMS Vanoc (Lt.Cdr. P.R. Ward, RN) and depth charges from 3 US Catalina aircraft (VP 63).

27 Apr 1944
HMS Affleck (A/Cdr.(Retd.) C. Gwinner, DSO, DSC, RN) and HMS Bentley (Lt.Cdr. P.C. Hopkins, RN) together pick up 54 survivors from the Panamanian merchant Colin that was torpedoed and sunk the previous day in the North Atlantic in position 54°16'N, 31°58'W by German U-boat U-859.

17 Sep 1944
HMS Vitality (Lt. K.S. Renshaw, DSC, RNR) conducted exercises off Larne with HMS Affleck (A/Cdr.(Retd.) C. Gwinner, DSO and Bar, DSC, RN) and HMS Bentley (Lt.Cdr. E.G. May, DSC, RN). (2)

22 Sep 1944
HMS Malaya (Cdr. D.H. Fuller, RN) departed Plymouth for Rosyth. She was being escorted by HMS Hart (Cdr. (retired) M.B. Sherwood, DSO and Bar, RN), HMS Lark (Cdr. H.L. Pryse, DSC, RNR) and HMS Skate (Lt. J.H. Macalister, RNVR).

At 1145/22 they were joined by HMS Affleck (Cdr.(Retd.) C. Gwinner, DSO and Bar, DSC, RN), HMS Garlies (Lt.Cdr. R.L. Calpe, DSC, RN) and HMS Gore (Lt. J.V. Reeves-Brown, DSC, RN).

At 1325/24, HMS Cassandra (Cdr. P.F. Powlett, DSO and Bar, DSC, RN) and HMS Cambrian (Lt.Cdr. H.T. Harrel, RN) took over from HMS Hart and HMS Lark. [The other escorts apparently had been detached by this time.]

At 1650/24, Verdun (Cdr. D. Parsons, RD, RNR) and HMS Vega (Lt. C.G. Forsberg, RN) took over from HMS Cassandra and HMS Cambrian.

Around 0945/25, HMS Malaya arrived off Rosyth. (3)

11 Dec 1944

Convoy UC 48A.

This convoy was assembled to the south of Ireland on 11 December 1944.

It was made up of the following (troop) transports / tankers; Brandywine (American (tanker), 11401 GRT, built 1943), Brazil (American, 20614 GRT, built 1929), Bulkfuel (American (tanker), 11016 GRT, built 1944), Bulklube American (tanker), 11016 GRT, built 1943(), City of Capetown (British, 8046 GRT, built 1937), Condesa (British, 10367 GRT, built 1944), Cross Keys (American (tanker), 10195 GRT, built 1943), Duquesne (American (tanker), 9933 GRT, built 1944), Empire Might (British, 9209 GRT, built 1942), Empire Protector (British (tanker), 8148 GRT, built 1944), Empire Regent (British, 9904 GRT, built 1943), Fisher's Hill (American (tanker), 10195 GRT, built 1943), Four Lakes (American (tanker), 10172 GRT, built 1943), Glorieta (American (tanker), 10297 GRT, built 1944), Groveton (American (tanker), 10296 GRT, built 1944), Lightning (American, 8591 GRT, built 1942), Lone Jack (American (tanker), 10296 GRT, built 1944), Marine Raven (American, 11757 GRT, built 1943), Martin Bakke (Norwegian, 5484 GRT, built 1936), Mauvilla (American (tanker), 10296 GRT, built 1944), Mormacswan (American, 7194 GRT, built 1939), Nordahl Grieg (Norwegian (tanker), 10172 GRT, built 1944), Perthshire (British, 10496 GRT, built 1936), Powder River (American (tanker), 10172 GRT, built 1943), Santa Leonor (American, 8258 GRT, built 1944), Santiago (American (tanker), 10318 GRT, built 1944), Sea Owl (American, 7886 GRT, built 1944), Seatrain Lakehurst (American, 8108 GRT, built 1940), South Mountain (American (tanker), 10296 GRT, built 1944), Surprise (American, 8591 GRT, built 1942), Talisman (American, 8258 GRT, built 1944), Tampico (American (tanker), 10296 GRT, built 1944) and White Bird Canyon (American (tanker), 10172 GRT, built 1944).

The escort carriers (fitted out as aircraft ferries), HMS Tracker (A/Capt. J.H. Huntley, RN) and HMS Trouncer (Capt. B.J. Fisher, DSO, RN) were also part of the convoy.

The convoy was escorted by the destroyer USS Somers (T/Lt.Cdr. E.M. Luby, USN, with ComTaskGr 21.5, T/Cdr. J.F. Gallaher, USN, on board) and the destroyer escorts USS Burrows (Lt.Cdr. J. Parkinson, Jr., USNR), USS Kirkpatrick (Lt.Cdr. V.E. Bakanas, USCG), USS Slater (Lt.Cdr. M.J. Blancq, USNR), USS Oswald (Lt.Cdr. E.L. Patton, Jr., USNR) and USS Ebert (Lt.Cdr. F. Gibbs, USNR).

Before final assembly on the 11th, the convoy had departed various English ports on 9 and 10 December 1944.

The English Channel section, which was escorted by USS Somers, USS Kirkpatrick and USS Slater was temporarily reinforced from 1730A/10 until 0320A/11 by the frigates HMS Affleck (Cdr.(Retd.) C. Gwinner, DSO and Bar, DSC, RN), HMS Bentley ( Lt. F.L. Boyer, RN), HMS Capel (Lt. B.G. Heslop, DSC, RN), HMS Garlies (T/A/Lt.Cdr. L.M.M. Stamp, RNVR) and HMS Gore (Lt. J.V. Reeves-Brown, DSC, RN).

Late on 11 December 1944, the City of Capetown and Condesa were detached to proceed independently.

On 12 december 1944, HMS Trouncer reported having a flooded compartment. She requised an escort to proceed to the Azores to effect repairs there. The requist was declined and she was ordered to remain with the convoy and try to make repairs. Early on the 14th she reported that repairs had been succesfully made.

Late on the 14th, the Lightning was ordered to be detached to proceed independently to New York. Due to the weather and the reported enemy submarine situation it was decided that she would remain with the convoy for the moment. She was eventually detached on the 19th.

On 18 December 1944, USS Somers and USS Slater sustained weather damage due to the heavy seas encountered.

On 20 December 1944, USS Somers sustained further weather damage. Also early on this day the Mormacswan was detached.

The convoy arrived at New York on 22 December 1944.

Media links


The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War

Collingwood, Donald

Sources

  1. ADM 173/18492
  2. ADM 173/19421
  3. ADM 53/119848

ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.


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