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History
United States
Nameunnamed (DE-85)
Ordered10 January 1942
Builder Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down23 June 1943 [1]
RenamedDakins 1943
NamesakeBritish name assigned in anticipation of transfer to United Kingdom
Launched18 September 1943 [1]
Completed23 November 1943 [1]
Commissionednever
FateTransferred to United Kingdom 23 November 1943 [1]
Stricken7 February 1947
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Dakins (K550)
NamesakeCaptain George Dakins [a]
Acquired23 November 1943
Commissioned23 November 1943
Identification Pennant number K550
Fate
General characteristics
Displacement1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length306 ft (93 m)
Beam36 ft 9 in (11.2 m)
Draught9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion
  • Two Foster-Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers
  • GE 13,500 shp (10,070 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW)
  • Electric motors for 12,000 shp (8,900 kW)
  • Two shafts
Speed24 knots (44 km/h)
Range5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement186
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament

HMS Dakins (K550) was a Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Built as the Buckley-class destroyer escort DE-85 intended for the United States Navy, she was transferred to the Royal Navy in 1943 under the terms of Lend-Lease.

Damaged by a mine in late 1944, she was not repaired before the end of the war. Following the war, she was used as a depot ship until sold for scrapping.

Construction and transfer

The still-unnamed ship was laid down as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-85 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 23 June 1943. Allocated to the United Kingdom, she received the British name Dakins and was launched on 18 September 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 23 November 1943. [1]

Service history

She was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as the frigate HMS Dakins ( pennant number K550) on 23 November 1943 simultaneously with her transfer from the US. The ship served on patrol and escort duty.

On 25 December 1944, she struck a mine in the North Sea 14 nautical miles (26 km) northwest of Ostend, Belgium, at 51°25′00″N 002°44′00″E / 51.41667°N 2.73333°E / 51.41667; 2.73333 (HMS Dakins struck mine). Although heavily damaged, she managed to limp back to Harwich on the east coast of England. [1]

After sufficient repairs to make her seaworthy, Dakins steamed to Antwerp, Belgium, with a skeleton crew and docked at the John Cockerill shipyard in Antwerp's Hoboken district for assessment of what further repairs she required. Over the five to six months she was moored at Hoboken, no repairs began due to disruptions to port operations by German V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket attacks, and in the end plans to repair her were abandoned. After Victory in Europe Day ( 8 May 1945), she steamed back to Harwich, where she served as a depot ship for smaller ships and craft being laid up there. [1]

Disposal

Dakins was declared a constructive total loss and was sold on 9 January 1947 for scrapping in the Netherlands. The U.S. Navy struck her from its Naval Vessel Register on 7 February 1947. [1]

Notes

  1. ^ English naval officer who commanded HMS Advice during the Anglo-Dutch Wars [2]

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Dakins (DE85) HMS Dakins (K-550)
  2. ^ "HMS Dakins K550 (DE 85)" Captain Class Frigate Association

References

  • "Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Dakins (DE85) HMS Dakins (K-550)", Navsource Online, archived from the original on 14 August 2013
  • "HMS Dakins (K550)", uboat.net
  • Destroyer Escort Sailors Association DEs for UK
  • Captain Class Frigate Association: HMS Dakins K550 (DE 85)

External links


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