The ''Bridgewater''-class sloop was a class composed of two sloops built for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, and . The ships were part of the Royal Navy's 1927 Build Programme as replacements for the .

Design

The ''Bridgewater'' class displaced 1,045 tons and were armed with two . They could achieve speeds of .

Service

Both ships were ordered from

Hawthorn Leslie and Company R. & W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Company, Limited, usually referred to as Hawthorn Leslie, was a shipbuilder and locomotive manufacturer. The company was founded on Tyneside in 1886 and ceased building ships in 1982. History The company was formed ...

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and ...

in September 1927. They entered service in 1929 and were based at first on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China, was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 1 ...

. ''Bridgewater'' was moved to the Cape in 1935, while ''Sandwich'' remained in China until the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1939. Both ships were active in the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

, ''Bridgewater'' being based at

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, 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, e ...

carrying out patrols and escorting convoys until November 1943, when she moved to cover the

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

. For the last two years of the war she was used in submarine training activities. ''Sandwich'' was also used in home waters, being based out of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, and Freetown between 1940 and 1944, though by 1945 her condition had deteriorated so much that she was kept at

Bizerta Bizerte (, ) is the capital and largest city of Bizerte Governorate in northern Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located north of the capital Tunis. It is also known as the last town to remain under French control after the re ...

. Both ships were decommissioned after the war, with ''Sandwich'' being sold for scrapping in early 1946. ''Bridgewater'' was retained for slightly longer, being used for static bomb trials during 1946 and 1947, until being sold and broken up in May 1947.

Ships

Notes

References

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External links

HMS Bridgewater and HMS Sandwich pictures
{{WWII British ships Ship classes of the Royal Navy Sloops of the Royal Navy