HMS ''Lagan'' (K259) was a 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 ...

(RN). ''Lagan'' was built to the RN's specifications as a Group II River-class frigate. She served in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. As a River-class frigate, ''Lagan'' was one of 151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use as

anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...

convoy escorts, named after rivers in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The ships were designed by naval engineer William Reed, of

Smith's Dock Company Smith's Dock Company, Limited, often referred to simply as Smith's Dock, was a British shipbuilding company. History The company was originally established by Thomas Smith who bought William Rowe's shipyard at St. Peter's in Newcastle upon Tyne ...

of South Bank-on-Tees, to have the endurance and anti-submarine capabilities of the

sloops 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 ...

, while being quick and cheap to build in civil dockyards using the machinery (e.g. reciprocating steam engines instead of turbines) and construction techniques pioneered in the building of the s. Its purpose was to improve on the convoy escort classes in service with the

at the time, including the Flower class. After commissioning in December 1942, ''Lagan'' served in convoy escort missions and participated in anti-submarine warfare exercises off

Lough Foyle Lough Foyle, sometimes Loch Foyle ( or "loch of the lip"), is the estuary of the River Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland. It lies between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. Sovereignty over ...

. On 12 May 1942, ''Lagan'', with and , sunk the . The next day, ''Lagan'' and sunk . Whilst ''Lagan'' was part of

Convoy ON 202 ONS 18 and ON 202 were North Atlantic convoys of the ONS/ON series which ran during the battle of the Atlantic in World War II. They were the subject of a major U-boat attack in September 1943, the first battle in the ''Kriegsmarine''s autumn ...

, she was attacked by . At 04:57 on 20 September 1943, a GNAT torpedo struck the stern of ''Lagan'', causing critical damage to the ship and 29 dead. She was towed by the tugboat to Mersey, arriving on 24 September, where ''Lagan'' was declared a

constructive total loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

. The wreck was sold for scrap in

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...

on 21 May 1946.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lagan 1942 ships River-class frigates of the Royal Navy World War II frigates of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Tees