HMS Rochester (L50)

HMS Rochester (L50) was a Shoreham-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War and was a successful anti-submarine warfare vessel, being credited with the destruction of five U-boats.

HMS Rochester in 1945
History
United Kingdom
Name	Rochester
Builder	Chatham Dockyard
Laid down	24 November 1930
Launched	16 July 1931
Completed	24 March 1932
Identification	Pennant number: L50 (later U50)
Fate	Sold for scrap, January 1951
General characteristics [1]
Class and type	Shoreham-class sloop
Displacement	1,150 tons
Length	281 ft (86 m)
Beam	35 ft (11 m)
Draught	8 ft 3 in (2.51 m)
Propulsion	Geared turbines two shafts 2,000 shp (1,500 kW)
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h)
Complement	95
Armament	2 × QF 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk V guns (2×1) 4 .5" MG A/A (1×4)

Construction

Rochester was ordered on 4 December 1929 under the 1929 Building Programme from HM Dockyard at Chatham, Kent. She was laid down on 24 November 1930, launched 16 July 1931, and completed 24 March 1932. Designed as a general-purpose vessel, Rochester served on the South Atlantic and East Indies stations on patrol and contraband control until the outbreak of hostilities in September 1939.

Rochester underwent several modifications while in service; in winter 1939 she refitted as a convoy escort. In June 1941 she received Type 271 radar. In May 1942 she was equipped with Type 291 air defence radar and HF/DF.^[2]

Service history

At the outbreak of the Second World War Rochester returned to the UK for refitting, and in March 1940 was deployed to convoy escort in the Western Approaches. In July 1940 she assisted in the destruction of U-26, which was attacking convoy OA 175.^[3]

After a further refit in summer 1940, after which her pennant number was changed to U50 Rochester returned to the North Atlantic.

In May 1941, while escorting convoy OB 318 with 7th Escort Group, Rochester and two others attacked and damaged U-94, forcing her to break off the attack and retire.^[4]

After a further refit Rochester was assigned to 37 EG, deployed as convoy escort on the Gibraltar and South Atlantic routes. In October 1941 while with convoy HG 75 Rochester, with corvette Mallow, took part in the destruction of U-204.^[5] In February 1942, with 43 EG escorting convoy OS 18, Rochester and corvette Tamarisk intercepted U-82 in transit from US East Coast and destroyed her.^[6]

In July 1942, while with OS 35, Rochester took part in the destruction of U-213.^[7] In the autumn of 1942 Rochester was part of the naval force for Operation Torch.

In July 1943 Rochester, with OS 51 as part of 39 EG took part in the destruction of U-135.^[8]

In October 1943 Rochester and 39 EG, escorting convoy SL 138/MKS 28, were involved in a five-day battle with Schill U-boat group resulting in the loss of one ship sunk and one U-boat destroyed.^[9]

In summer 1944 Rochester was involved in Operation Neptune, the naval component of the Normandy landings. In June 1944 she was in action with a U-boat in the English Channel. The U-boat (possibly U-988) escaped, though corvette Pink was damaged.^[10]

In November 1944 Rochester went for final refit, decommissioning as an escort vessel and re-equipping as a training ship. In March 1945 she joined the establishment of HMS Dryad, the navigation school at Portsmouth.

In September 1949 Rochester was decommissioned for the final time and in January 1951 was sold for scrap.^[2]

Battle Honours

During her service Rochester was awarded three battle honours.^[11]

• Atlantic 1939-45
• North Africa 1942
• Normandy 1944

Successes

During her service Rochester was credited with the destruction of five U-boats:

Date	U-boat	Type	Location[12]	Notes
3 July 1940	U-26	IA	SW of Bishop's Rock 48°03′N 11°30′W	d/c by Gladiolus, Sund H/10Sqdn, gunfire and ramming by Rochester[13][14]
19 October 1941	U-204	VIIC	Straits of Gibraltar 36°46′N 06°02′W	d/c by Rochester, Mallow off Cape Spartel[15][16]
6 February 1942	U-82	VIIC	NE of Azores 44°10′N 23°52′W	encountered OS 18, sunk by Rochester, Tamarisk[17][18]
31 July 1942	U-213	VIIC	S of Azores 36°45′N 22°50′W	attacked OS 35, d/c by Erne, Sandwich and Rochester[19][20]
15 July 1943	U-135	VIIC	E of Canary Islands 28°20′N 13°17′W	attacked OS 51, sunk by Rochester, Mignonette, Balsam[21][22]

Notes

1. Campbell, p. 56
2. G Mason, navalhistory.net
3. Blair I, p170-1
4. Blair I, p278
5. Blair I, p392
6. Blair I, p501-2
7. Blair I, p669
8. Blair II p345
9. Blair II p446
10. Blair II, p590
11. Warlow p
12. Locations per Kemp; other sources may differ
13. Kemp p66
14. Neistle p29 (fails to mention Rochester)
15. Kemp p173-4
16. Neistle p46
17. Kemp p79
18. Neistle p44
19. Kemp p125
20. Neistle p116
21. Kemp p131
22. Neistle p45

References

• Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939-1942. ISBN 0-304-35260-8.
• Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942-1945. ISBN 0-304-35261-6.
• Campbell, N. J. M. (1980). "Great Britain (including Empire Forces)". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 2–85. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Barnsley, UK: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
• Hague, Arnold (1993). Sloops: A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946. Kendal, UK: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-67-3.
• Kemp, Paul (1997). U-Boats Destroyed, German submarine losses in the World Wars. Arms and Armour. ISBN 1-85409-515-3.
• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-048-7.
• Niestle, Axel (1998). German U-Boat Losses During World War II. Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-352-8.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Warlow, Ben. Battle Honours of the Royal Navy (2004) ISBN 1-904459-05-6

External links

• HMS Rochester at navalhistory.net
• HMS Rochester at uboat.net