HMS Halsted (K556)

HMS Halsted (K556), ex-Russell, was a Captain-class frigate of the Buckley class of destroyer escort, originally intended for the United States Navy. Before she was finished in 1943, she was transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of Lend-Lease, and saw service from 1943 to 1944 during World War II.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Halsted and USS Halsted.

History
United States
Nameunnamed (DE-91)
Ordered10 January 1942[1]
BuilderBethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down28 July 1943[2]
Launched14 October 1943
RenamedUSS Russell (DE-91) 1943
NamesakeBritish name assigned in anticipation of transfer to United Kingdom
RenamedUSS Halsted (DE-91) 1943
NamesakeBritish name assigned in anticipation of transfer to United Kingdom
Completed3 November 1943
FateTransferred to United Kingdom 3 November 1943
Stricken13 November 1944
AcquiredNominally returned by United Kingdom 1946[3]
FateSold for scrapping 1 November 1946[3] or 28 March 1947
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Halsted (K556)
NamesakeCaptain Sir Lawrence Halsted (1764-1841), commanding officer of HMS Namur at the Battle of Cape Ortegal in 1805
Acquired3 November 1943
Commissioned3 November 1943[1]
Fate
General characteristics
Displacement1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length306 ft (93 m)
Beam36.75 ft (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
NotesPennant number K556

Construction and transfer

The still-unnamed ship was laid down as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-91 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 28 July 1943[2] and was launched on 14 October 1943. She was allocated to the United Kingdom and received the British name Russell, but the British soon changed her name to Halsted (sometimes spelled Halstead).[2] She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 3 November 1943.[2]

Service history

Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS Halsted (K556) on 3 November 1943 simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty. On 11 June 1944, she was operating in the English Channel off Cherbourg, France, when German S-boats – known to the Allies as "E-boats" – and the torpedo boats Jaguar and Möwe of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine's 5th Torpedo Flotilla attacked her at about 0200. One torpedo struck her forward of her bridge, blowing off most of her bow and damaging her beyond economical repair.[4][5]

Halsted was declared a constructive total loss and, instead of being returned to the U.S. Navy, was retained by the Royal Navy for spare parts.

Disposal

The U.S. Navy struck Halsted from its Naval Vessel Register on 13 November 1944. The Royal Navy nominally returned her to the U.S. Navy in 1946.[3] She was sold to a Dutch firm for scrapping on either 1 November 1946[3] or 28 March 1947[2] (sources vary) and was scrapped in the Netherlands.[4]

Citations
  1. HMS Halstead (K 566)
  2. Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Reynolds (DE-91) HMS Halsted (K-556)
  3. Colledge, J. J., Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy From the Fifteenth Century to the Present, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987, ISBN 0-87021-652-X, p. 161.
  4. Captain-Class Frigate Association HMS Halstead (K 556)
  5. hmscavalier.org HMS Halstead (K556)

References


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