HMS ''Black Swan'', was the

name ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the sloops 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 ...

. This class was admired for its sea-going qualities.

Construction and design

''Black Swan'', named after the black swan, was laid down 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 op ...

on 20 June 1938, launched on 7 July 1939, and commissioned on 27 January 1940.Hague 1993, p. 76. The ''Black Swan'' class was a lengthened version of the earlier s. The main gun armament consisted of six QF 4 inch Mk XVI anti-aircraft guns in three twin turrets, with the fourth 4 inch turret of the Egret class removed to allow addition of a quadruple barrel 2-pounder pom-pom short-range anti-aircraft gun. Anti submarine armament consisted of depth charge throwers with 40 depth charges carried.Gardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 57.Hague 1993, p. 16. When completed, ''Black Swan'' was not fitted with the planned quadruple pom-pom, but with two quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun mounts fitted instead. The pom-pom was installed in May 1941, and the ineffectiveGardiner and Chesneau 1980, p. 6. machine guns replaced by a single

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models em ...

in September that year. The

Hedgehog A hedgehog is a spiny mammal of the subfamily Erinaceinae, in the eulipotyphlan family Erinaceidae. There are seventeen species of hedgehog in five genera found throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and in New Zealand by introductio ...

anti-submarine weapon and two more 20 mm cannon were fitted in June 1942, and a further three cannon were fitted in 1943.Hague 1993, p. 76. The ship's depth charge complement was increased to 110 during the war. After a successful 'Warship Week' National Savings campaign in March 1942 the ship was adopted by the civil community of Widnes, Lancashire

Operational history

''Black Swan'' was initially deployed on convoy escort missions along the British east coast, before the Norwegian Campaign caused ''Black Swan'' to be attached to the Home Fleet, where it was used to provide anti-aircraft cover to the Allied landings at

Åndalsnes is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is in the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valley. ...

. ''Black Swan'' was heavily engaged by German bombers before being hit by a bomb which passed through the ship before exploding, on 27 April 1940.Hague 1993, p. 77. After repair, in June ''Black Swan'' returned to escort duty in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

, before being damaged by a mine on 1 November 1940. This time, the ship was under repair until May 1941, when it was transferred to

Western Approaches Command Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches was the commander of a major operational command of the Royal Navy during World War II. The admiral commanding, and his forces, sometimes informally known as 'Western Approaches Command,' were responsibl ...

, escorting convoys in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

. ''Black Swan'' was again slightly damaged by bombing in August that year and was transferred to Londonderry as part of the 37th Escort Group, escorting convoys to and from

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

On 25 October ''Black Swan'' rescued 34 survivors in a lifeboat from the cargo ship , which had been sunk two days earlier. After a search the sloop rescued another 27 survivors in a second lifeboat from the same ship. The next month ''Black Swan'' escorted convoys in support of Operation Torch. On 2 April 1943, when escorting Convoy OS 45, from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

, ''Black Swan'' and the sank the top-scoring

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

off the coast of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

.Blair 2000, p. 207. In 1943 ''Black Swan'' for a short time saw action near Iceland to provide escort against the U-boat threat, after which she served in the Mediterranean, on Malta and Adriatic convoy protection duties. From there, ''Black Swan'' passed through the Suez Canal en route to the Asia, Far East and Pacific theatres against the Japanese forces. The ship was on active duties as far as Australia and the Philippine Islands. At the end of hostilities in 1945 ''Black Swan'' followed the cruiser into

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

and were the first Royal Navy warships to liberate Japanese concentration camps containing British and Empire prisoners. In 1949 she took part in the Yangtze Incident when she, with others, went to aid of . ''Black Swan'' suffered 12 men wounded and severe damage to her superstructure in a fierce engagement with Chinese batteries and fell back. The failed relief effort cost 46 killed and 64 injured. ''Black Swan'' also served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and was involved in the

Battle of Chumonchin Chan The Battle of Chumonchin Chan or the action of 2 July 1950 was the battle fought between surface combatants during the main phase of the Korean War. It began after an Allied flotilla encountered a Korean People's Navy supply fleet. Battle On 2 ...

. ''Black Swan'' was scrapped in 1956 at

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 ope ...

in Scotland. She was affiliated with TS ''Black Swan'' – a Sea Cadet Corps unit in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

, Surrey.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Swan 1939 ships Black Swan-class sloops Korean War sloops of the United Kingdom Royal Navy ship names Sloops of the United Kingdom World War II sloops of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1949