HMS Cotton

HMS Cotton (K510) was a Captain-class frigate of the British Royal Navy that served in World War II. The ship was laid down as a Buckley-class destroyer escort at the Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard at Hingham, Massachusetts on 2 June 1943, with the hull number DE-81, and launched on 21 August 1943. The ship was transferred to the UK under Lend-Lease on 8 November 1943,[3] and named after Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, an officer who served in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Cotton
Builder:	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down:	2 June 1943
Launched:	21 August 1943
Commissioned:	8 November 1943
Decommissioned:	5 November 1945
Stricken:	3 January 1946
Honours and awards:	Atlantic, 1939-1945[1]
Fate:	Sold for scrapping, 1946
General characteristics
Class and type:	Captain-class frigate
Displacement:	1,400 long tons (1,422 t) standard 1,740 long tons (1,768 t) full
Length:	306 ft (93 m) o/a 300 ft (91 m) w/l
Beam:	36 ft 9 in (11.20 m)
Draught:	9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion:	Turbo-electric 2 × Foster Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers GE 13,500 shp (10,067 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW) Electric motors 12,000 shp (8,948 kW) 2 shafts
Speed:	24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Range:	5,500 nmi (10,200 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	186
Electronic warfare & decoys:	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 anti-submarine mortar Depth charges QF 2-pounder naval gun
Service record
Commanders:	Lt.Cdr. Isaac W.T. Beloe, RN (8 November 1943 – 25 June 1945) Lt. Dudley L. Davenport, RN (25 June–29 August 1945) T/Lt. William A. Wood, RANVR (29 August–October 1945)[2]
Victories:	U-286 (29 April 1945)

Service history

Cotton served as a convoy escort from May to December 1944, operating mostly between Liverpool and Gibraltar. In 1945 she escorted three convoys to the United States, and was part of Russian Convoy JW 66 in April 1945,[4] during which she participated in the sinking of U-286, with Loch Insh and Anguilla on 29 April[2] – the last naval gun battle of the war with Germany.

Cotton was returned to the U.S. Navy on 5 November 1945, and struck from the Navy List on 3 January 1946,[3] and subsequently sold for scrapping that year.[5]

References

1. Tynan, Roy (2006). "Captain Class Frigate - Battle Honours". captainclassfrigates.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
2. Helgason, Guðmundur (2011). "HMS Cotton". uboat.net. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
3. Smolinski, Mike (5 January 2007). "Destroyer Escort Photo Index - HMS Cotton (K510)". navsource.org. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
4. Hague, Arnold (2009). "Convoy Database". convoyweb.org.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
5. "Bethlehem-Hingham, Hingham, MA". shipbuildinghistory.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.