HMS Torrington (K577)

HMS Torrington off Dunoon, Scotland, in February 1944.[1]
History
United States
Name	unnamed (DE-568)
Builder	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down	22 September 1943
Launched	27 November 1943
Completed	18 January 1944
Commissioned	never
Fate	Transferred to United Kingdom 18 January 1944
Acquired	Returned by United Kingdom 11 June 1946
Stricken	15 October 1946
Fate	Sold 26 September 1947 for scrapping
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Torrington (K577)
Namesake	Admiral of the Fleet George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington (1663–1733), commander of the British fleet at the Battle of Cape Passaro in 1718
Acquired	18 January 1944
Commissioned	18 January 1944
Fate	Returned to United States 11 June 1946
General characteristics
Displacement	1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	36.75 ft (11.2 m)
Draught	9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion	Two Foster-Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers GE 13,500 shp (10,070 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW) Electric motors for 12,000 shp (8,900 kW) Two shafts
Speed	24 knots (44 km/h)
Range	5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	186
Sensors and processing systems	SA & SL type radars Type 144 series Asdic MF Direction Finding antenna HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament	3 × 3 in (76 mm) /50 Mk.22 guns 1 × twin Bofors 40 mm mount Mk.I 7–16 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns Mark 10 Hedgehog antisubmarine mortar Depth charges QF 2-pounder naval gun
Notes	Pennant number K562

The fourth HMS Torrington (K577) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as a United States Navy Buckley class destroyer escort, she served in the Royal Navy from 1944 to 1946.

The ship was laid down as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-568 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 22 September 1943 and launched on 27 November 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 18 January 1944.

The ship was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy ^[2] as the frigate HMS Torrington (K577) on 18 January 1944 simultaneously with her transfer. After shakedown in Casco Bay, Maine, and off Bermuda, she steamed to St. John's and Naval Station Argentia in the Dominion of Newfoundland before proceeding to England. Arriving there on 20 April 1944, she began patrol and escort duty in the English Channel, North Sea, and North Atlantic Ocean.

On 21 July 1944, Torrington saw her first combat, joining the escort destroyer HMS Melbreak (L73) in action against a German destroyer and four German S-boat – known to the Allies as "E-boat" – motor torpedo boats off Cap d'Antifer, France, preventing them from interfering with the flow of Allied supplies supporting the invasion of Normandy. On 11 March 1945, she sank a German Seehund ("Seal") Type XXVII midget submarine off Ramsgate, England. On 13 March 1945, she sank a second Seehund off Dunkirk, France, in a determined depth charge attack.

The Royal Navy returned Torrington to the U.S. Navy on 11 June 1946.

The U.S. Navy struck Torrington from its Naval Vessel Register on 15 October 1946. She was sold on 26 September 1947 for scrapping.

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Torrington (DE-568) HMS Torrington (K-577)
• uboat.net HMS Torrington (K 577)
• Destroyer Escort Sailors Association DEs for UK
• Captain Class Frigate Association HMS Torrington K577 (DE 568)

• Photo gallery of HMS Torrington (K577)