HMS Retalick

The future HMS Retalick (K555) at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard in Hingham, Massachusetts, on the day she was launched, 9 October 1943.
History
United States
Nameunnamed (DE-90)
Ordered10 January 1942
BuilderBethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down21 July 1943
Launched9 October 1943
Completed8 December 1943
FateTransferred to United Kingdom 8 December 1943
AcquiredReturned by United Kingdom 25 October 1945
Stricken19 December 1945
FateSold for scrapping 7 May 1946
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Retalick (K555)
NamesakeCaptain Richard Retalick ( ? - 1803), British naval officer who was commanding officer of HMS Defiance during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801
Acquired8 December 1943
Commissioned8 December 1943
FateReturned to United States 25 October 1945
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 &
processing systems
Armament

HMS Retalick (K555) 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 1945.

Construction and transfer

The ship was laid down as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-90 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 21 July 1943 and launched on 9 October 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease upon completion on 8 December 1943.

Service history

Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as the frigate HMS Retalick (K555) on 8 December 1943 simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty for the remainder of World War II.

The Royal Navy returned Retalick to the U.S. Navy on 25 October 1945.

Disposal

The U.S. Navy struck Retalick from its Naval Vessel Register on 19 December 1945. She was sold on 7 May 1946 for scrapping.

Citations

References