H.M.S. Starling
U.66
1943
(SN-2-01)
- Class: Modified Black Swan class - 34 sloops of 1939-42
- Displacement: 1,475 tons light / 1,025 tons full load
- Dimensions: 299'6" x 38'6" x 11'6"
- Machinery: Geared turbines, 2-shaft, S.H.P. 4,300 = 19.75 knots
- Armament: 6-4in QF Mk XVI (3x2), 10-20mm (4x2+2x1) AA guns; 8 DCT, 2 DCR: 110 DC
- Complement: 192
- Builder: Fairfield Shipbuilding, Govan, Scotland
- Laid Down: 21 Oct 1941
- Launched: 14 Oct 1942
- Completed: 1 Apr 1943
- Notes: Flagship of Captain Frederic John Walker's 2nd Support Group, a flotilla of six sloops not tied down to convoy protection, but free to hunt down U-boats wherever found. The other ships of the group were Cygnet, Kite, Wild Goose, Woodpecker, and Wren. Starling participated in the sinking of fourteen U-boats: U-202 (2 Jun 1943), U-119 (24 Jun 1943, U-226 (6 Nov 1943), U-842 (6 Nov 1943), U-592 (31 Jan 1944), U-734 (9 Feb 1944), U-238 (9 Feb 1944), U-264 (19 Feb 1944), U-653 (15 Mar 1944), U-961 (29 Mar 1944), U-473 (6 May 1944), U-333 (31 Jul 1944), U-736 (6 Aug 1944), and U-385 (11 Aug 1944). Postwar she participated in the Fleet Review for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Modified to a Navigation training ship in support of Navigators training at HMS Dryad. Scrapped in 1965.
Previous
Up
Next