HMS Kenilworth Castle (K420)

History
HMS Kenilworth Castle (K420) in November 1943
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Kenilworth Castle
Namesake:	Kenilworth Castle
Builder:	Smiths Dock Company
Launched:	17 August 1943
Commissioned:	14 November 1943
Identification:	Pennant number: K420
Fate:	Scrapped June 1956
General characteristics
Class and type:	Castle-class corvette

HMS Kenilworth Castle was a Castle-class corvette of the Royal Navy.

History

She was built by Smiths Dock Company at South Bank, North Yorkshire, launched on 17 August 1943, and commissioned on 14 November 1943.

In World War II, she served as a convoy escort and took part in the sinking of two U-boats:

U-744 was sunk by HMS Icarus, HMCS St. Catharines, HMCS Fennel, HMCS Chilliwack, HMCS Chaudiere, HMCS Gatineau and Kenilworth Castle on 6 March 1944
U-1200 was sunk south of Ireland by HMS Pevensey Castle, HMS Launceston Castle, HMS Portchester Castle and Kenilworth Castle on 11 November 1944 – all in the 30th Escort Group under Commander Denys Rayner.

Kenilworth Castle was scrapped at Llanelli in June 1956.

In media

Lt. Cmdr. James Joseph Allon (1 May 1910 – 31 May 2004) commanded Kenilworth Castle in the Second World War. Shortly before he died, he wrote some reminiscences of his Merchant Navy and Royal Navy career which are included in the BBC's online archive WW2 People's War here:

Allon, Bill (29 June 2004). "Corvette commander on North Atlantic anti submarine duty (Part One)". WW2 People's War. BBC.
Allon, Bill (29 June 2004). "Corvette commander on North Atlantic anti submarine duty (Part Two)". WW2 People's War. BBC.
Allon, Bill (29 June 2004). "Corvette commander on North Atlantic anti submarine duty (Part Three)". WW2 People's War. BBC.
Allon, Bill (29 June 2004). "Corvette commander on North Atlantic anti submarine duty (Part Four)". WW2 People's War. BBC.

Notable crewmen

Reginald Lee (19 May 1870 – 6 August 1913) was on shift, stationed in the crow's nest, when his fellow lookout Frederick Fleet spotted and reported the iceberg that ultimately sank the RMS Titanic. Lee was serving as lookout aboard the Kenilworth Castle when he died.

References

Castle-class corvettes

Royal Navy	Allington Castle Alnwick Castle Amberley Castle Bamborough Castle Barnard Castle Berkeley Castle Caistor Castle Carisbrooke Castle Denbigh Castle Dumbarton Castle Farnham Castle Flint Castle Guildford Castle Hedingham Castle (K491) Hedingham Castle (K529) Hadleigh Castle Hever Castle Hurst Castle Kenilworth Castle Knaresborough Castle Lancaster Castle Launceston Castle Leaside Castle Leeds Castle Maiden Castle Morpeth Castle Norham Castle Nunney Castle Oakham Castle Oxford Castle Pembroke Castle Pevensey Castle Portchester Castle Rayleigh Castle Rising Castle Rushen Castle Sandgate Castle Scarborough Castle Sherborne Castle Shrewsbury Castle Tamworth Castle Tintagel Castle Walmer Castle Woolvesey Castle York Castle

Royal Canadian Navy	Arnprior Bowmanville Copper Cliff Hespeler Humberstone Huntsville Kincardine Leaside Orangeville Petrolia St. Thomas Tillsonburg

Royal Norwegian Navy	Tunsberg Castle

People's Liberation Army Navy	Kuang Chou Wan Lee

Republic of China Navy	Kao An Te An

National Navy of Uruguay	Montevideo

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.