HMS Conn

HMS Conn was a TE ("Buckley") Type Captain class frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during World War II as a convoy escort and anti-submarine warfare vessel in the Battle of the Atlantic and was credited with the destruction of two U-boats during the conflict.[2]

HMS Conn at Belfast, April 1945
History
Name: Conn
Namesake: Capt. John Conn RN
Yard number: DE-80
Laid down: 2 June 1943
Launched: 21 August 1943
Commissioned: 31 August 1943
Decommissioned: Returned to US Navy on 26 November 1945
Identification: pennant number: K509
Fate: Sold for scrap on 21 January 1948
General characteristics [1]
Displacement: 1,800 tons (fully loaded)
Length: 306 ft (93 m) (overall)
Beam: 36.5 ft (11.1 m)
Draught:
  • 9.5 ft (2.9 m) standard
  • 11.25 ft (3.4 m) full load
Propulsion:

2 boilers, General Electric Turbo-electric drive 2 solid manganese-bronze 3,600 lb 3-bladed propellers, 8.5 ft (2.6 m) diameter, 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) pitch 12,000 hp (8.9 MW)

2 rudders
Speed: 24 knots (44 km/h)
Endurance: 5,500 nmi (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement: Typically between 170 & 186

Construction

Conn was ordered on 10 January 1942, as DE-80, a long-hulled turbo-diesel (TE) type destroyer escort, one of more than 500 such vessels built for Anti-Submarine Warfare to a collaborative British-American design.[3] She was laid down on 2 June 1943 at the Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard, in Hingham, Massachusetts,[4] and was transferred during construction to the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease. She was launched on 21 August 1943 as HMS Conn, and was completed three months later on 31 October 1943.[5][6] She was named after Captain John Conn[2] of HMS Dreadnought at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Service History

After commissioning Conn was assigned to Western Approaches Command as a convoy escort and ASW vessel. After several voyages reinforcing a depleted B7 Escort Group in early 1944 Conn was assigned to 21 EG, and in the spring of 1944 part for the escort for several coastal convoys. In June Conn and 21 EG were part of Operation Neptune, the naval component of the Normandy landings escorting convoys and patrolling for U-boats. In October Conn was part of the escort of Arctic convoy JW 61, with a new commander and as senior officer's ship of 21 EG. Her new Commanding Officer was Lt. Cdr. Raymond Hart DSC,[2] an experienced and successful ASW officer.

In January Conn and 21 EG were operating as escort or support group to various Atlantic convoys; one of these, HX 332 came under attack, losing two ships, but despite an extensive hunt the U-boat (U-825) was not found. In March 1945 Conn and 21 EG were assigned to patrol the north-east coast of Scotland; during this period the group found and destroyed four U-boats, with Conn being credited with two of these.

After the German surrender in May 1945 Conn moved to general duties, and with the final end of the war in August 1945 was prepared for return under the Lend-Lease agreement, to the United States for eventual disposal.[7]

Battle Honours

Conn earned the following battle honours for service:[8]

Successes

During her service Conn was credited with the destruction of two U-boats.

DateU-boatTypeLocation[9]Notes
27 March 1945Was thought to be U-965,[10][11]
now thought to be U-905[12]		VIICNW of Cape WrathDepth-charged by Conn: confirmed a few days later by "tin-opener" attack from HMS Escapade
30 March 1945Was thought to be U-1021,[10][13]
now thought to be U-965[14]		VIICW of Cape Wrathd/c by Rupert, Conn as it was tracking convoy EN 83

Depiction

A Stephen Bone painting of the bridge of HMS Conn as she escorts surrendering U-Boats at the end of the war is part of the Imperial War Museum's art collection. It is titled On Board HMS Conn Watching the Arrival of Fourteen U-Boats Which Surrendered at Loch Eriboll, Sutherlandshire: 7.30 PM.

Notes
  1. Conway p.136
  2. The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War by Donald Collingwood, published by Leo Cooper (1998), ISBN 0-85052-615-9
  3. Elliott p.245
  4. The Buckley-Class Destroyer Escorts by Bruce Hampton Franklin, published by Chatham Publishing (1999), ISBN 1-86176-118-X.
  5. HMS Conn at captainclassfrigates.co.uk; retrieved 22 July 2020
  6. Elliott p.262
  7. Operations of the 21st Escort Group at captainclassfrigates.co.uk; retrieved 22 July 2020
  8. Battle Honours at britainsnavy.co.uk; retrieved 22 July 2020
  9. Locations per Kemp; other sources may differ
  10. Tarrant p.139
  11. Kemp p.240
  12. Niestle p.91, 233
  13. Kemp p.24"
  14. Niestle p.93, 234

References
  • Clay Blair (1998) Hitler's U-Boat War Vol II: The Hunted 1942–1945 ISBN 0-304-35261-6
  • Peter Elliott (1977) Allied Escort Ships of World War II ISBN 0 356 08401 9
  • R Gardiner, R Gray (1985) Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships: 1906–1921 ISBN 0-85177-245-5
  • Paul Kemp ( 1997) U-Boats Destroyed . ISBN 1-85409-515-3
  • Axel Neistle (1998) German U-Boat Losses during World War II. ISBN 1-85367-352-8
  • VE Tarrant (1989) The U-Boat Offensive 1914-1945 Arms & Armour ISBN 0-85368-928-8



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