USS Surprise (PG-63)

USS Surprise (PG-63), the fourth American naval ship of the name, was a Temptress-class gunboat patrol gunboat during World War II. She was built as the British Flower-class corvette HMS Heliotrope, and was in service with the Royal Navy during the first years of the Battle of the Atlantic. She was loaned to and operated by the United States Navy from 1942-1945. After World War II she was sold as a merchant vessel and ended her life in the Chinese navy as Lin I.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Surprise and HMS Heliotrope.

USS Surprise (PG-63)
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Heliotrope
Namesake: Heliotrope (flower)
Builder: John Crown & Sons Ltd, Sunderland
Laid down: 23 October 1939
Launched: 5 June 1940
Commissioned: 12 September 1940
Decommissioned: 24 March 1942
Identification: Pennant number: K03
Fate: Transferred to United States Navy
History
United States
Name: Surprise
Acquired: 24 March 1942
Commissioned: 24 March 1942
Decommissioned: 20 August 1945
Stricken: 17 September 1945
Fate: Returned to Royal Navy 26 August 1945
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Heliotrope
Acquired: 26 August 1945
Fate: Sold into civilian service, 1947
General characteristics
Type: Patrol gunboat
Displacement:
  • 925 long tons (940 t) (normal)
  • 1,375 long tons (1,397 t) (full load)[1]
Length: 205 ft 2 in (62.53 m)
Beam: 33 ft (10 m)
Draft: 14 ft 7 in (4.45 m)
Installed power: 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)[2]
Propulsion:
Speed: 16.5 kn (19.0 mph; 30.6 km/h)
Complement: 87 officers and enlisted men
Armament:

Design and construction

HMS Heliotrope was built by John Crown and Sons Ltd, Sunderland, England, as part of the 1939 building programme.[5] She was laid down on 23 October 1939 and launched on 5 June 1940. She was completed and entered service on 12 September 1940, being named for the flower Heliotrope, the second ship of that name. As built, Heliotrope had the short forecastle that was a feature of the early Flowers, and which adversely effected their habitability. This was rectified during a refit, with the enclosed deck extended back to be level with the funnel.

Service history

Royal Navy

After working up, Heliotrope was assigned to the Western Approaches Escort Force for service as a convoy escort. In this role she was engaged in all the duties performed by escort ships; protecting convoys, searching for and attacking U-boats which attacked ships in convoy, and rescuing survivors.

In 18 months service Heliotrope escorted 18 North Atlantic, eight Gibraltar and four South Atlantic convoys,[6][7] assisting in the safe passage of over 750 ships.

She was involved in four major convoy battles: In October 1940 Heliotrope was part of the escort for HX 79, which was attacked by a U-boat pack, losing 12 ships sunk.[8] In May 1941 she joined HX 126 which saw nine ships sunk and one U-boat damaged.[9] In August 1941 she joined SL 81 which saw five ships sunk, while one U-boat was destroyed and two damaged[10] In October 1941 she was with HG 75 which saw four ships and one escort sunk, and one U-boat destroyed.[11]

US Navy

Heliotrope was transferred to the U.S. Navy at Hull, England, on 24 March 1942, one of a group of corvettes transferred to the U.S. Navy under reverse Lend-Lease. She was commissioned as USS Surprise the same day, Lieutenant R. C. D. Hunt, Jr., in command. She was delivered with British radars and armament installed, and over the course of her U.S. Navy service was gradually converted to U.S. standards. The 4-inch (102 mm) gun was mounted forward, the 3-inch (76 mm) gun aft.[12]

Surprise sailed from Lisahally Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland on 24 April 1942 to escort a convoy to Boston, Massachusetts. After an overhaul, she proceeded south and for the remainder of 1942 escorted convoys in the Caribbean, principally between Trinidad and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In January 1943, she extended her range into the South Atlantic and, into 1944, performed escort runs between Trinidad and Recife, Brazil.

Surprise then returned to the United States. In May 1944, she returned to the North Atlantic and, until after the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945, rotated between Newfoundland, Greenland, and Iceland convoy runs and weather patrol duty.

Surprise was decommissioned on 20 August 1945 at Chatham, England, returned to the Royal Navy on 26 August, and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 17 September.

Fate

She was transferred to China in 1947,[13] and, after a period of mercantile service, she was taken into the People's Liberation Army Navy as Lin I.

Notes
  1. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946, p. 156
  2. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946, p. 156
  3. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946, p. 156
  4. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946, p. 156
  5. Elliott p.187
  6. Heliotrope: convoy movements at naval-history.net; retrieved 19 July 2020
  7. Heliotrope: convoy assignments at convoyweb.org.uk; retrieved 19 July 2020
  8. Blair p.200
  9. Blair p.286-7
  10. Blair p.332-4
  11. Blair p.208
  12. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946, p. 156
  13. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946, p. 156

References
  • This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
  • Clay Blair : Hitler’s U-Boat War Vol I (1996) ISBN 0-304-35260-8
  • Chesneau, Roger, ed. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946. New York: Mayflower Books, 1980. ISBN 0-8317-0303-2.
  • Elliott, Peter: Allied Escort Ships of World War II (1977) ISBN 0-356-08401-9
  • Hague, Arnold : The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945 (2000) ISBN 1-55125-033-0 (Canada) . ISBN 1-86176-147-3 (UK)


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