HMIS Sind

HMS Betony was a Flower-class corvette of the British Royal Navy. She was ordered in 1941, and commissioned in August 1945. She was immediately transferred to the Royal Indian Navy, where she was commissioned as HMIS Sind.^[1] She was transferred back to the Royal Navy in May 1946, as the war ended just days after her transfer. She was then sold to the Royal Thai Navy in 1947 as HTMS Prasae (Thai: เรือหลวงประเเส), and eventually scuttled in 1951.

HMS Betony underway
History
United Kingdom
Name	Betony
Ordered	8 December 1941
Builder	Alexander Hall and Sons
Laid down	26 September 1942
Launched	22 April 1943
Commissioned	24 August 1945
Out of service	1947
Identification	Pennant number: K274
Fate	Loaned to the Indian Navy 1945 Sold to the Royal Thai Navy 1947
British India
Name	Sind
Acquired	24 August 1945
Commissioned	24 August 1945
Out of service	17 May 1946
Identification	Pennant number: K274
Fate	Transferred back to the Royal Navy
Thailand
Name	Prasae
Namesake	Prasae River
Acquired	1947
Commissioned	1947
Out of service	7 January 1951
Fate	Scuttled
General characteristics
Class and type	Flower-class corvette (modified)
Displacement	1,015 long tons (1,031 t; 1,137 short tons)
Length	208 ft (63.40 m)o/a
Beam	33 ft (10.06 m)
Draught	11 ft (3.35 m)
Propulsion	Single shaft, 2× oil fired water tube boilers, 1 triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine, 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)
Speed	16 knots (29.6 km/h)
Range	3,500 nautical miles (6,482 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement	90
Sensors and processing systems	One Type 271 SW2C radar, one Type 144 sonar
Armament	1 × 4 in (102 mm) BL Mk.IX single gun 1 × 2-pounder Mk.VIII single "pom-pom" 2 × 20 mm Oerlikon single 1 × Hedgehog A/S mortar 4 × Mk.II depth charge throwers 2 Depth charge rails with 70 depth charges

History

Betony was ordered from Alexander Hall and Sons for the Royal Navy in 1941.

She was transferred to the Royal Indian Navy and the Eastern Fleet immediately upon commissioning in August 1945 and served as HMIS Sind. She developed engine trouble soon after her transfer.^[2] With the end of World War II just days after her transfer and the imminent independence of India, she was transferred back to the Royal Navy in 1946.

HTMS Prasae aground on the Korean east coast, January 1951

In 1947, she was sold to the Royal Thai Navy and commissioned as HTMS Prasae. On 7 January 1951, while serving in the Korean War during a snowstorm, she was beached near Yangyang on the east coast of North Korea. After unsuccessful attempts to pull her off the beach, she was scuttled.

See also

• Thailand in the Korean War

References

1. "HMIS Sind (ii) (K 274)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
2. "Eastern Fleet War Diary". naval-history.net. Retrieved 28 March 2012.