| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Tweed |
| Namesake | River Tweed |
| Builder | A. & J. Inglis Ltd.,Glasgow |
| Laid down | 31 December 1941 |
| Launched | 24 November 1942 |
| Commissioned | 28 April 1943 |
| Fate | Sunk, 7 January 1944 |
| 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 ihp (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 |
|
HMSTweed (K250) was aRiver-classfrigate of theRoyal Navy (RN).Tweed was built to the RN's specifications as a Group I River-class frigate, thoughTweed was one of the few powered by a turbine engine. She served in theNorth Atlantic duringWorld War II.
As a River-class frigate,Tweed was one of151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use asanti-submarine convoy escorts, named after 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 the Flower class.
Tweed was funded through theWarship Week programme, withHatfield, Hertfordshire raising over £150,000 to pay for the construction of the ship. The ship was adopted by the town in May 1943, with a plaque bearing the district'scoat of arms being installed on the ship soon after.[1]
After commissioning in April 1943,Tweed participated in anti-submarine warfare exercises offLough Foyle and served in convoy escort missions.[2]
In late September 1943,Tweedrammed and possibly sank a U-boat.[3]
Tweed was part of the escort group that sankGerman submarine U-536 on 20 November 1943.[1]
On 7 January 1944,Tweed was about 600 miles west ofCape Ortegal in theAtlantic Ocean, serving as part of the5th Escort Group. At 17:11 aGNAT torpedo fired byU-305 struckTweed, which sank at48°18′N21°19′W / 48.300°N 21.317°W /48.300; -21.317 with the loss of 83 lives.HMS Nene picked up 44 survivors.[4][5][6]
