HMS ''Flamingo'' was a ''Black Swan''-class

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. She saw service as a convoy escort during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, seeing extensive service in the Mediterranean and Far East in 1945. She was sold to

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

in 1959, where she was renamed ''Graf Spee'' and used as a cadet training ship.

Construction

''Flamingo'' was built by

Yarrow Shipbuilders Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also o ...

Scotstoun Scotstoun ( gd, Baile an Sgotaich) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, was laid down on 26 May 1938, launched on 18 April 1939, and completed 3 November 1939.Blackman 1971, p. 131. She was adopted by the civil town of

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...

in Cheshire as part of

Warship Week Warship Weeks were British National savings campaigns during the Second World War, with the aim of a Royal Navy warship being adopted by a civil community. During the early parts of the war, the Royal Navy not only had lost many capital ships but ...

in 1942.

Royal Navy service

In 1940 ''Flamingo'' undertook convoy protection duties in the North Sea. In April of that year she undertook duties in support of military operations in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The following month she transferred for duties in the Mediterranean and subsequently undertook convoy escort duties in the Red Sea. In April 1941 she transferred to the Mediterranean Fleet and was damaged in December 1941 by air attack, whilst in support of military operations in Tobruk. During 1942 and 1943 she underwent repair and was re-commissioned at Bombay in January 1944 for trials. She then undertook convoy defence duties in the Indian Ocean and remained as part of the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...

. In 1945 she supported military operations in the landing at Myebon, as part of the Burma Campaign. In May 1945 she returned to the UK for refit. Following the war she was placed in reserve, before refit for service in the Persian Gulf, which was completed in 1949. This involved the removal of the Anti-Submarine equipment on the Quarterdeck, which was replaced with a new deckhouse. She also received the new pennant number 'F18'. She served there until 1955 when she returned to Devonport and was put on the disposal list.

West German Navy service

In 1957,

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

purchased seven escorts, including ''Flamingo'' for its newly established ''

Bundesmarine The German Navy (, ) is the navy of Germany and part of the unified ''Bundeswehr'' (Federal Defense), the German Armed Forces. The German Navy was originally known as the ''Bundesmarine'' (Federal Navy) from 1956 to 1995, when ''Deutsche Mari ...

''. After refit by Vickers-Armstrongs (Shipbuilders) Ltd at Hebburn-on-Tyne, she was handed over to the ''Bundesmarine'' on 21 January 1959, and was renamed ''Graf Spee''.Blackman, Raymond V B, Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4, Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd, London, p101 She was used as a cadet training ship and was armed with six Bofors guns, in place of the twin 4-inch armament. She was based at Kiel and remained operational until 1964.

References

Publications

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External links

''Flamingo'' at naval-history.net

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flamingo Black Swan-class sloops Ships built on the River Clyde 1939 ships