HMS Cotton

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History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Cotton
BuilderBethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down2 June 1943
Launched21 August 1943
Commissioned8 November 1943
Decommissioned5 November 1945
Stricken3 January 1946
Honours and
awards		Atlantic, 1939-1945[1]
FateSold for scrapping, 1946
General characteristics
Class and typeCaptain-class frigate
Displacement
  • 1,400 long tons (1,422 t) standard
  • 1,740 long tons (1,768 t) full
Length
  • 306 ft (93 m) o/a
  • 300 ft (91 m) w/l
Beam36 ft 9 in (11.20 m)
Draught9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion
  • Turbo-electric
  • 2 × Foster Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers
  • GE 13,500 shp (10,067 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW)
  • Electric motors 12,000 shp (8,948 kW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Range5,500 nmi (10,200 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement186
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • SA & SL type radars
  • Type 144 series Asdic
  • MF Direction Finding antenna
  • HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament
Service record
Commanders:
  • Lt.Cdr. Isaac W.T. Beloe, RN
  • (8 November 1943 – 25 June 1945)
  • Lt. Dudley L. Davenport, RN
  • (25 June–29 August 1945)
  • T/Lt. William A. Wood, RANVR
  • (29 August–October 1945)[2]
Victories: U-286 (29 April 1945)

HMS Cotton (K510) was a Captain-class frigate of the British Royal Navy that served in World War II. The ship was laid down as a Buckley-class destroyer escort at the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard at Hingham, Massachusetts on 2 June 1943, with the hull number DE-81, and launched on 21 August 1943. The ship was transferred to the UK under Lend-Lease on 8 November 1943,[3] and named after Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, an officer who served in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Service history[]

Cotton served as a convoy escort from May to December 1944, operating mostly between Liverpool and Gibraltar. In 1945 she escorted three convoys to the United States, and was part of Russian Convoy JW 66 in April 1945,[4] during which she participated in the sinking of U-286, with Loch Insh and Anguilla on 29 April[2] – the last naval gun battle of the war with Germany.

Cotton was returned to the U.S. Navy on 5 November 1945, and struck from the Navy List on 3 January 1946,[3] and subsequently sold for scrapping that year.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ Tynan, Roy (2006). "Captain Class Frigate - Battle Honours". captainclassfrigates.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  2. ^ a b Helgason, Guðmundur (2011). "HMS Cotton". uboat.net. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  3. ^ a b Smolinski, Mike (5 January 2007). "Destroyer Escort Photo Index - HMS Cotton (K510)". navsource.org. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  4. ^ Hague, Arnold (2009). "Convoy Database". convoyweb.org.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Bethlehem-Hingham, Hingham, MA". shipbuildinghistory.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
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