HMS Stockham

For other ships with the same name, see USS Stockham.

HMS Stockham anchored at Greenock, Scotland, on 21 March 1944.
History
United States
Name	unnamed (DE-97)
Builder	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down	25 August 1943
Launched	31 October 1943
Completed	28 December 1943
Commissioned	never
Fate	Transferred to United Kingdom 28 December 1943
Acquired	Returned by United Kingdom 31 January 1946
Stricken	12 March 1946
Fate	Scrapping completed 15 June 1948
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Stockham (K572)
Namesake	Captain John Stockham (1765–1814), British naval officer who was the commanding officer of HMS Thunderer at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805
Acquired	28 December 1943
Commissioned	28 December 1943
Fate	Returned to United States 31 January 1946
General characteristics
Displacement	1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	36.75 ft (11.2 m)
Draught	9 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
Speed	24 knots (44 km/h)
Range	5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	186
Sensors and processing systems	SA & SL type radars Type 144 series Asdic MF Direction Finding antenna HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament	3 × 3 in (76 mm) /50 Mk.22 guns 1 × twin Bofors 40 mm mount Mk.I 7–16 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns Mark 10 Hedgehog antisubmarine mortar Depth charges QF 2-pounder naval gun
Notes	Pennant number K562

HMS Stockham (K562) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as a United States Navy Buckley class destroyer escort, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946.

Construction and transfer

The ship was laid down as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-97 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 25 August 1943 and launched on 31 October 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 28 December 1943.

Service history

Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as the frigate HMS Stockham (K562) on 28 December 1943 simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty in the English Channel for the remainder of World War II. She also participated in the invasion of Normandy in 1944.

The Royal Navy returned Stockham to the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 31 January 1946.

Disposal

The U.S. Navy received authorization on 21 February 1946 to dispose of Stockham and struck her from its Naval Vessel Register on 12 March 1946. She was sold to the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Newport News, Virginia, for scrapping, which was completed on 15 June 1948.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here. (see DE-97 section at bottom of page)
• Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Stockham (DE-97) HMS Stockham (K-562)
• uboat.net HMS Stockham (K 562)
• Destroyer Escort Sailors Association DEs for UK

External links

• Photo gallery of HMS Stockham (K562)