HMS Kingsmill (K484)

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History
United States
Nameunnamed (DE-280)
Ordered25 January 1942[1]
BuilderBoston Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts
Laid down9 July 1943[2]
Launched13 August 1943
Completed6 November 1943
FateTransferred to United Kingdom 29 October 1943[3]
AcquiredReturned by United Kingdom 22 August 1945
NameUSS Kingsmill (DE-280)
NamesakeBritish name retained
Commissioned22 August 1945
Decommissioned26 October 1945
Stricken16 November 1945
FateSold 17 February 1947 for scrapping
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Kingsmill (K484)
NamesakeAdmiral Sir Robert Kingsmill, 1st Baronet (1730-1805), British naval officer who was commanding officer of HMS Vigilant at the Battle of Ushant in 1778[4]
Acquired29 October 1943[3]
Commissioned29 October 1943[1]
Decommissioned1945
FateReturned to United States 22 August 1945
General characteristics
Displacement1,140 long tons (1,158 t)
Length289.5 ft (88.2 m)
Beam35 ft (11 m)
Draught9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion
  • Four General Motors 278A 16-cylinder engines
  • GE 7,040 bhp (5,250 kW) generators (4,800 kW)
  • GE electric motors for 6,000 shp (4,500 kW)
  • Two shafts
Speed20 knots (37 km/h)
Range5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement156
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament
NotesPennant number K484

HMS Kingsmill (K484) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort DE-280, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1945 and then in the U.S. Navy as USS Kingsmill (DE-280) from August to October 1945.

Construction and transfer[edit]

The ship was ordered on 25 January 1942[1] as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-280. She was laid down by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, on 9 July 1943[2] and launched on 13 August 1943. The United States transferred her to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 29 October 1943.[3]

Service history[edit]

Royal Navy, 1943-1945[edit]

The ship was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS Kingsmill (K484) on 29 October 1943[1] simultaneously with her transfer. She served on patrol and escort duty in the English Channel during World War II. In addition, she supported the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944[5] and took part in Operation Infatuate, the British and Canadian invasion of Walcheren Island in the Netherlands, in November 1944.

The Royal Navy returned Kingsmill to the U.S. Navy on 22 August 1945 at Harwich, England.

U.S. Navy, 1945[edit]

The ship was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as USS Kingsmill (DE-280) at Harwich on 22 August 1945 simultaneously with her return. She departed Harwich on 26 August 1945 and steamed to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she arrived on 8 September 1945. She remained there until she was decommissioned on 26 October 1945.

Disposal[edit]

The U.S. Navy struck Kingsmill from its Naval Vessel Register on 16 November 1945. She was sold on 17 February 1947 for scrapping.

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d uboat.net HMS Kingsmill (K 484)
  2. ^ a b Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive DE-280/HMS Kingsmill (K.484)
  3. ^ a b c The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Kingsmill entry says the ship was transferred on 6 November 1943, but this does not match her commissioning date.
  4. ^ Captain Class Frigate Association HMS Kingsmill K484 (DE 280)
  5. ^ Donnelly, Luke (27 April 2022). "Family pays tribute to 'loving' Royal Navy D-Day veteran from Bognor after death aged 97". SussexLive. Retrieved 27 April 2022.

References[edit]

External links[edit]