 HMSChelmer on 14 September 1943 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Chelmer |
| Namesake | River Chelmer |
| Builder | George Brown & Co.,Greenock |
| Laid down | 29 December 1941 |
| Launched | 27 March 1943 |
| Commissioned | 29 September 1943 |
| Fate | Scrapped, August 1957 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | River-classfrigate |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | |
| Beam | 36.5 ft (11.13 m) |
| Draught | 9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load) |
| Propulsion | Parsons single reductionsteam turbines, 6,500 shp (4,800 kW) |
| Speed | 20 knots (37.0 km/h) |
| Range | 440long tons (450 t; 490 short tons) oil fuel; 7,200 nautical miles (13,334 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Complement | 107 |
| Armament |
|
HMSChelmer (K221) was aRiver-classfrigate of theRoyal Navy (RN) from 1943 to 1957. She served in convoy defence duties in theNorth Atlantic duringWorld War II.Chelmer was built to the RN's specifications as a Group IRiver-class frigate, althoughChelmer was one of the few powered by a turbine engine.
TheRiver class was aclass of 151frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use asanti-submarineconvoy escorts and were named for rivers in theUnited Kingdom. The ships were designed by naval engineer William Reed, ofSmith's Dock Company of South Bank-on-Tees, to have the endurance and anti-submarine capabilities of theBlack Swan-classsloops, while being quick and cheap to build in civil dockyards using the machinery (e.g. reciprocating steam engines instead of turbines) and construction techniques pioneered in the building of theFlower-classcorvettes. Its purpose was to improve on the convoy escort classes in service with theRoyal Navy at the time, including theFlower class.
After commissioning in January 1943,Chelmer participated in anti-submarine warfare exercises offTobermory, Mull,Larne, andLough Foyle before being assigned for convoy escort duty in the North Atlantic. On 6 April 1944,Chelmer picked up 36 survivors from the Norwegian merchant vesselSS Ruth I, which had been sunk by theGerman submarine U-302.[1] In June 1944,Chelmer participated in theNormandy landings.[2][3]
Chelmer was placed in reserve from 1946. In 1951, she underwent refitting inLeith. In August 1957, she was scrapped at Shipbreaking Industries,Charlestown.[2]
