| HMS Orchis (K76) | |
|---|---|
 Underway in the River Clyde, December 1942 | |
| Career (UK) |  |
| Name: | HMS Orchis |
| Laid down: | 18 June 1940 |
| Launched: | 15 October 1940 |
| Commissioned: | 29 November 1940 |
| Identification: | Pennant number: K76 |
| Fate: | Mined off Juno Beach 21 August 1944 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | Flower-class corvette |
| Displacement: | 925 long tons[1] |
| Length: | 205 ft (62 m) o/a[1] |
| Beam: | 33 ft (10 m)[1] |
| Draught: | 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m) |
| Propulsion: |
1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers Single shaft 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)[1] |
| Speed: | 16 kn (30 km/h)[1] |
| Range: | 3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h) |
| Complement: | 90[1] |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
1 × Type 271 RADAR from March 1941[2] 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar |
| Armament: |
1 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk.IX gun[1] |
| Service record | |
|---|---|
| Operations: | Battle of the Atlantic |
HMS Orchis was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy during World War II.
North Atlantic Trade Convoy Escort[]
In March 1941, Orchis was the first ship fitted with the very successful 10-cm wavelength Type 271 Radar enabling detection of a surfaced submarine at 5000 yards or a submarine periscope at 1300 yards.[2] Orchis was assigned first to the 4th Escort Group based at Greenock[3] and then to Escort Group B3 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force through early 1944.[4] Orchis escorted convoy ONS-18 during the battle of Convoys ONS-18/ON-202.[5]
English Channel[]
Orchis was then assigned to patrol the English Channel, and sank German submarine U-741 on 15 August 1944.[6] U-741 torpedoed LST-404 of convoy FTM-69 while Orchis was escorting nearby convoy FTC-68. Orchis gained and held SONAR contact on U-741 and flooded the forward part of the U-boat with two Hedgehog attacks and two Depth charge attacks. Leo Leuwer escaped from the aft torpedo-room hatch of the sunken U-boat, and was rescued by Orchis.[7]
On 21 August 1944, Orchis struck a mine destroying the bow back to the 4-inch gun. The damaged ship was beached on Juno Beach and declared a total loss.[8][9]
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Brown(1995)p.178
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Macintyre, Donald, CAPT RN "Shipborne Radar" United States Naval Institute Proceedings September 1967 p.80
- ↑ Rohwer&Hummelchen(1992)p.89
- ↑ Rohwer&Hummelchen(1992)pp.170,185,188,198,212,227,228,234,235,239,241&259
- ↑ Rohwer&Hummelchen(1992)pp.235-236
- ↑ Rohwer&Hummelchen(1992)p.291
- ↑ Blair(1998)p.613
- ↑ Brown(1995)p.119
- ↑ Rohwer&Hummelchen(1992)p.299
References[]
- Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-boat War The Hunted 1942-1945. Random House. ISBN 0-679-45742-9.
- Brown, David (1995) [1990]. Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
- Rohwer, Jurgen; Hummelchen, Gerhard (1992) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.
The original article can be found at HMS Orchis (K76) and the edit history here.