HMS Bridgewater (L01)
.jpg) HMS Bridgewater, stationary. | |
| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Bridgewater |
| Namesake: | Town of Bridgwater |
| Owner: | Royal Navy |
| Ordered: | 19 September 1927 |
| Builder: | Hawthorne Leslie, Newcastle upon Tyne |
| Laid down: | 6 February 1928 |
| Launched: | 14 September 1928 |
| Commissioned: | 14 March 1929 |
| Out of service: | 22 May 1947 |
| Honours and awards: |
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| Fate: | Broken up by Howells for demolition at Gellesick Bay |
| Badge: | On a Field Gold, three castles on a bridge, all Silver, below a star and a fleur-de-lys Gold. |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,045 tons |
| Length: | 250 ft (76 m) |
| Beam: | 34 ft (10 m) |
| Speed: | 17 kn (31 km/h) |
| Armament: | 2 x 4 in guns |
HMS Bridgewater (L01) was a Bridgewater-class sloop built by Hawthorne Leslie, Newcastle on 19 September 1927.
Construction and design
HMS Bridgewater was ordered from Hawthorne Leslie on 19 September 1927, one of two Bridgwater-class sloops ordered from Hawthorn Leslie that day.[1] The Bridgewaters were intended as replacements for the Flower-class sloops, and were to combine the role of peacetime patrol work at distant overseas stations (with the Bridgewaters being specifically intended for service in the Persian Gulf) with a wartime role as minesweepers.[2][3]
Bridgewater was 266 feet 4 inches (81.18 m) long overall[4] and 250 feet (76 m) between perpendiculars,[5] with a beam of 34 feet (10 m) and a draught of 11 feet 5 inches (3.48 m).[4] Displacement was 1,045 long tons (1,062 t) standard and 1,600 long tons (1,600 t) full load.[2] Two Admiralty three-drum boilers fed steam turbines, producing 2,000 shaft horsepower (1,500 kW) and driving two propeller shafts, giving a design speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).[2][4] Main gun armament was two QF 4 inch Mk V naval guns on the ship's centreline, one forward and one aft, with the forward gun on a high-angle mount, capable of anti-aircraft fire and the second gun on a low angle mount, for anti-surface use only. Two 3-pounder saluting guns were also carried, while anti-submarine armament consisted initially of four depth charges.[2][4] The ship's crew consisted of 96 officers and men.[6]
Bridgewater was laid down at Hawthorne Leslie's Tyneside shipyard on 6 February 1928 and was launched, without ceremony, on 14 September 1928.[1][4] Bridgewater reached a speed of 17.24 knots (31.93 km/h; 19.84 mph) during sea trials and was commissioned on 14 March 1929.[4]
In 1938, the aft 4 inch gun was replaced by one on a high-angle mounting and the two saluting guns were removed, allowing two quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun mounts to be fitted.[4] By the outbreak of the Second World War, the ship had been fitted with Sonar, and the depth charge outfit increased to 15 charges.[2][7]
Service
While ordered for service in the Persian Gulf, both Bridgewater and sister ship Sandwich were first deployed to the China Station, with Bridgewater remaining on that station until 1935, when she joined the Africa Station (later known as the South Atlantic Station), spending most of her time based at Freetown, Sierra Leone.[4]
Notes
References
- Brown, David K (2007). Atlantic Escorts: Ships, Weapons & Tactics in World War II. Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-702-0.
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Hague, Arnold (1993). Sloops: A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-67-3.
- Parkes, Oscar, ed. (1973) [First published 1931, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd]. Jane's Fighting Ships 1931. Newton Abbot, UK: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-5849-9.
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