HMS Owen (K640)

HMS Owen was a Bay-class frigate built for the Royal Navy during World War 2.

History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Owen
Namesake	William Fitzwilliam Owen
Ordered	2 May 1943
Builder	Hall, Russell & Company
Laid down	30 September 1944
Launched	19 October 1945
Commissioned	2 August 1949
Decommissioned	14 October 1965
Renamed	Loch Muick Thurso Bay
Identification	Pennant number K640
Fate	Scrapped 15 July 1970
General characteristics
Class and type	Bay-class frigate
Displacement	1,600 long tons (1,626 t) standard 2,530 long tons (2,571 t) full
Length	307 ft (94 m) o/a
Beam	38 ft 7 in (11.76 m)
Draught	12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
Installed power	5,500 ihp (4,100 kW) 2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts 2 vertical triple-expansion steam engines
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range	9,500 nmi (17,600 km; 10,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	133
Armament	4 × 3-pounder saluting guns Minesweeping gear aft

Design and description

Owen was converted into a survey vessel while still under construction. She displaced 1,600 long tons (1,600 t) at standard load and 2,420 long tons (2,460 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 307 feet (93.6 m), a beam of 38 feet 7 inches (11.8 m) and a draught of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m).^[1] She was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of 5,500 shaft horsepower (4,100 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). Owen carried a maximum of 580 long tons (590 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). The ship's complement was 133 officers and ratings.^[2]

The survey ships were armed only with four 3-pounder saluting guns.^[2]

Construction and career

She was named for the explorer and naval officer William Fitzwilliam Owen. She was originally laid down as the Loch-class vessel Loch Muick, and re-ordered as Thurso Bay while building. She was completed as Owen, modified for use as a survey vessel for dealing with the large numbers of uncharted wrecks and mines around the British Isles as a result of World War II. For this purpose she was fitted for minesweeping.^[3]

References

1. Chesneau, p. 61
2. Lenton, p. 293
3. Mason, Geoffrey B. (2003). Gordon Smith (ed.). "HMS Owen - ex-Loch-class Frigate, Survey Ship". naval-history.net. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

Bibliography

• Chesneau, Roger, ed. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Friedman, Norman (2006). British Destroyers and Frigates, the Second World War and After. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-86176-137-6.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.