HMS Cromer (J128)
{{short description|Minesweeper of the Royal Navy}}
{{Other ships|HMS Cromer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=HMS Cromer J128.jpg |Ship image size=280px |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United Kingdom |Ship flag={{Shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |Ship name=HMS Cromer (J128) |Ship operator=Royal Navy |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder=Lobnitz & Co. Ltd. |Ship yard number= |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=16 May 1940 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned= 4 April 1941 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship lost= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Sunk 9 November 1942 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class={{sclass|Bangor|minesweeper}} |Ship displacement=*{{convert|673|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} standard
|Ship length={{convert|189|ft|m|abbr=on}} o/a |Ship beam={{convert|28|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|10|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship power=*{{convert|2400|ihp|abbr=on|lk=in}} |Ship propulsion=*2 shafts |Ship speed={{convert|16|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range={{convert|2800|nmi|lk=in|abbr=on}} at {{convert|10|kn}} |Ship complement=60 |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=*1 × single QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun
}} |
HMS Cromer was a {{sclass|Bangor|minesweeper}}s built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War.
Design and description
The Bangor class was designed as a small minesweeper that could be easily built in large numbers by civilian shipyards; as steam turbines were difficult to manufacture, the ships were designed to accept a wide variety of engines. Cromer displaced {{convert|673|LT|t}} at standard load and {{convert|860|LT|t}} at deep load. The ship had an overall length of {{convert|189|ft|m|1}}, a beam of {{convert|28|ft|6|in|m|1}} and a draught of {{convert|10|ft|6|in|m|1}}.Lenton, pp. 253–54 The ship's complement consisted of 60 officers and ratings.Chesneau, p. 64
She was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines (VTE), each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of {{convert|2400|shp|lk=in}} and gave a maximum speed of {{convert|16|kn|lk=in}}. The ship carried a maximum of {{convert|160|LT|t|0}} of fuel oil that gave her a range of {{convert|2800|nmi|lk=in}} at {{convert|10|kn}}.Lenton, p. 254
The VTE-powered Bangors were armed with a QF 3 inch 20 cwt anti-aircraft gun and a single QF 2-pounder (4 cm) AA gun or a quadruple mount for the Vickers .50 machine gun. In some ships the 2-pounder was replaced a single or twin 20 mm Oerlikon AA gun, while most ships were fitted with four additional single Oerlikon mounts over the course of the war. For escort work, their minesweeping gear could be exchanged for around 40 depth charges.
Construction and career
She was named after the North Norfolk seaside town of the same name. The ship was mentioned in the first broadcast episode of "An American in England".[http://tennesseebillsotr.com/otr/American%20In%20England/An%20American%20in%20England%20421201%2007%2029m43s%20Cromer.mp3 An American In England: Cromer] She was lost on 9 November 1942, mined and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea off Mersa Matruh, Egypt, in position {{coord|31|26|N|027|16|E|name=HMS Cromer}}.[http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3182.html Uboat.net: HMS Cromer (J128)] Her commanding officer, Robert Stephenson, went down with the ship.{{cite book |last1=McCrery |first1=Nigel |title=The Coming Storm: Test and First-Class Cricketers Killed in World War Two |date=2011 |publisher=Pen and Sword |pages=253–55 |volume=2nd volume |isbn=978-1526706980 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RYQwDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor1-first=Roger|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|location=Greenwich, UK|year=1980|isbn=0-85177-146-7}}
- {{Cite Colledge2006}}
- {{cite book|last=Lenton|first=H. T.|author-link=Henry Trevor Lenton|title=British & Empire Warships of the Second World War|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, Maryland|year=1998|isbn=1-55750-048-7}}
{{Bangor class minesweeper}}
{{November 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cromer (J128)}}
Category:Bangor-class minesweepers of the Royal Navy
Category:Ships built on the River Clyde