 HMSOakham Castle, c. 1947 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMSOakham Castle |
| Namesake | Oakham Castle |
| Builder | A & J Inglis, Glasgow |
| Laid down | 30 November 1943 |
| Launched | 20 July 1944 |
| Completed | 10 December 1944 |
| Identification | Pennant number: K530 |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Castle-classcorvette |
| Displacement | 1,060 long tons (1,077 t) |
| Length | 252 ft (77 m) |
| Beam | 36 ft 8 in (11.18 m) |
| Draught | 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Range | 6,200 nmi (11,500 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 120 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
HMSOakham Castle (K530) was aRoyal Navycorvette of theCastle class. Built as a convoy escort during the Second World War, it later became a weather ship before being scrapped in 1977.
The Castle-class corvettes were an improved and enlarged derivative of the earlierFlower-class corvettes, which was intended to be built by shipyards that could not build the larger and more capable frigates. The greater length of the Castles gave made them better seaboats than the Flowers, which were not originally designed for ocean escort work. Large numbers (96 in total) were ordered in late 1942 and early 1943 from shipyards in the United Kingdom and Canada, but Allied successes in theBattle of the Atlantic meant that the requirement for escorts was reduced, and many ships (including all the Canadian ones) were cancelled.[1][2]
The Castles were 252 feet 0 inches (76.81 m)long overall, 234 feet 0 inches (71.32 m)at the waterline and 225 feet 0 inches (68.58 m)between perpendiculars.Beam was 36 feet 6 inches (11.13 m) anddraught was 13 feet 5 inches (4.09 m) aft at full load.[3]Displacement was about 1,060 long tons (1,080 t) standard and 1,590–1,630 long tons (1,620–1,660 t) full load.[4] TwoAdmiralty Three-drum water tube boilers fed steam to aVertical Triple Expansion Engine rated at 2,750 indicated horsepower (2,050 kW) which drove a single propeller shaft. This gave a speed of 16.5 knots (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h).[4] 480 tons of oil were carried, giving a range of 6,200 nautical miles (7,100 mi; 11,500 km) at 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h).[5]
The ships had a main gun armament of a singleQF 4-inch Mk XIX dual-purpose gun, backed up by two twin and two singleOerlikon 20 mm cannon.[5] Anti-submarine armament consisted of a single triple-barrelledSquid anti-submarine mortar with 81 charges backed up by two depth charge throwers and a single depth charge rail, with 15 depth charges carried. Type 272 orType 277 surface search radar was fitted, as washigh-frequency direction finding (HF/DF) gear. The ships'sonar outfit was Type 145 and Type 147B.[6]
Oakham Castle was one of 13 Castle-class corvettes ordered on 19 December 1942. The ship waslaid down atA & J Inglis'sGlasgow shipyard on 30 November 1943, launched on 20 July 1944, and completed on 10 December 1944.[7]
On entering service,Oakham Castle was employed on convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic.[8][9]
In 1948,Oakham Castle joined the 2nd Training Squadron based atPortland Harbour, continuing to serve in this duty until December 1950, when she was reduced to reserve atDevonport.Oakham Castle was refitted in 1953, and then was laid up in a preserved condition atSouth Shields. The ship was transferred to theMet Office in 1957, and was converted to aWeather ship by James Lamont & Co. atGreenock.[10] On 16 May 1958 the ship was renamedWeather Reporter by Lord Hurcomb.[11] It was scrapped in 1977.
