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 ...
that saw service 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 opposi ...
''Ursa'' was one of eight U-class destroyers ordered as the 7th Emergency Flotilla on 12 June 1941. The U-class were
War Emergency Programme destroyers
The War Emergency Programme destroyers were destroyers built for the British Royal Navy during World War I and World War II.
World War I emergency programmes
The 323 destroyers ordered during the First World War belonged to several different cl ...
, intended for general duties, including use as anti-submarine escort, and were to be suitable for mass-production. They were based on the hull and machinery of the pre-war J-class destroyers, but with a lighter armament (effectively whatever armament was available) in order to speed production. The U-class were almost identical to the S-class ordered as the 5th Emergency Flotilla and the R-class ordered as the 6th Emergency Flotilla earlier in the year, but were not fitted for operations in Arctic waters.
The U-class were
long overall
__NOTOC__
Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...
between perpendiculars
Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the ster ...
, with a beam of and a draught of mean and full load.
Displacement
Displacement may refer to:
Physical sciences
Mathematics and Physics
* Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...
Parsons
Parsons may refer to:
Places
In the United States:
* Parsons, Kansas, a city
* Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community
* Parsons, Tennessee, a city
* Parsons, West Virginia, a town
* Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...
single-reduction geared steam turbines, which drove two propeller shafts. The machinery was rated at giving a maximum speed of and at full load. 615 tons of oil were carried, giving a range of at .
The ship had a main gun armament of four 4.7 inch (120 mm) QF Mk. IX guns, capable of elevating to an angle of 55 degrees, giving a degree of anti-aircraft capability. The close-in anti-aircraft armament for the class was one Hazemayer stabilised twin mount for the
Bofors 40 mm gun Bofors 40 mm gun is a name or designation given to two models of 40 mm calibre anti-aircraft guns designed and developed by the Swedish company Bofors:
*Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun - developed in the 1930s, widely used in World War II and into the 1990s
...
and four twin
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 ...
s. This was modified in 1945, with 5 single 40mm Bofors guns added, with one manually-operated Mark III mount in the searchlight position and four power-operated "Boffin" mounts replacing the twin Oerlikon mounts. Two quadruple mounts for 21 inch (533 mm) torpedoes were fitted (these were actually spare quintuple mounts with the centre tube removed), while the ship had an depth charge outfit of four depth charge mortars and two racks, with a total of 70 charges carried.
''Ursa'' was fitted with a Type 291 air warning and Type 276 surface warning
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
on the ship's lattice
foremast
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation ...
, together with a
high-frequency direction finding
High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF or nickname huff-duff, is a type of radio direction finder (RDF) introduced in World War II. High frequency (HF) refers to a radio band that can effectively communicate over ...
(HF/DF) aerial. A Type 285 fire control radar integrated with the ship's high-angle gun director, while the Hazemayer mount had an integrated Type 282 radar. The ship had a crew of 179 officers and other ranks.
''Ursa'' was
laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one o ...
at
Thornycroft
Thornycroft was an English vehicle manufacturer which built coaches, buses, and trucks from 1896 until 1977.
History
In 1896, naval engineer John Isaac Thornycroft formed the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Van Company which built its firs ...
's
Woolston, Southampton
Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.
The area has a strong maritime and aviation history. The former ...
shipyard on 2 May 1942 and was launched on 22 July 1943. She was completed on 1 March 1944, and assigned the Pennant number R22.
Type 15 modification
After the end of the Second World War and as the Cold War started, the Royal Navy found itself with a shortage of fast anti-submarine escorts capable of dealing with modern Soviet diesel-electric submarines, with existing sloops and frigates too slow. At the same time, the relatively recent War Emergency destroyers, with their low-angle guns and basic fire control systems, were considered unsuitable for modern warfare, so it was decided to convert these obsolete destroyers into fast escorts, acting as a stop-gap solution until new-build ships, such as the
Type 12 frigate
Type 12 frigate refers to several ship classes, most commonly the three ship classes of the Royal Navy designed during the 1950s and constructed during the 1960s.
* The first Type 12 frigates, designed as convoy escorts, were later named the . Six ...
s could be built in sufficient numbers. The
Type 15 frigate
The Type 15 frigate was a class of British anti-submarine frigates of the Royal Navy. They were conversions based on the hulls of World War II-era destroyers built to the standard War Emergency Programme "utility" design.
History
By 1945 th ...
was a rebuild of War Emergency destroyers into 'first-rate' anti-submarine ships, with similar anti-submarine equipment as the new frigates. The ships' superstructure and armament was removed, with the ships'
forecastle
The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...
extended rearwards and a new, low but full width superstructure fitted. The revised ships had a much reduced gun armament of one twin 4-inch (102 mm) anti aircraft mount aft of the main superstructure and one twin Bofors mount, but anti-submarine equipment was as fitted to the Type 12s, with ''Ursa'' being fitted with two
Limbo
In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...
anti-submarine mortars, directed by Type 170 and 172 sonar.
Service history
Second World War service
''Ursa'' was first allocated to the 25th Destroyer Flotilla, serving with the Home Fleet. On 30 March 1944, ''Ursa'' left Scapa Flow as part of the Home Fleet covering force for the
Arctic Convoy
The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...
JW 58 to Russia and the return convoy RA 58. On 14–15 May that year, ''Ursa'' formed part of the escort for the Escort carriers and as the carrier's aircraft attacked
Rørvik
Rørvik is a port town and administrative centre in the municipality of Nærøysund in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is on the eastern side of the Vikna archipelago on the island of Inner-Vikna. The town has a population (2022) of 3,385 and a p ...
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 the ...
.
On 6 June 1944, ''Ursa'', as part of the 25th Destroyer Flotilla, took part in the
Normandy landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
, supporting the landings on Gold Beach. On the night of 9/10 June, ''Ursa'' and the
Hunt-class destroyer
The Hunt class was a class of escort destroyer of the Royal Navy. The first vessels were ordered early in 1939, and the class saw extensive service in the Second World War, particularly on the British east coast and Mediterranean convoys. They ...
s and were on patrol off
Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
when they encountered three German torpedo boats of the German 5th Torpedo Boat Flotilla, , and which had sortied from the French port as part of continued German attempts to interfere with invasion shipping. In an inconclusive encounter, the Allied destroyers outmanoeuvred the German force, with no ships on either side damaged. In early August 1944, operations switched to the French Atlantic coast, with the Home Fleet deploying cruiser and destroyer forces to the Bay of Biscay to prevent attempts of German surface units in the French Atlantic ports to escape back to Germany. On the night of 14–15 August, ''Ursa'' together with the cruiser and the Canadian destroyer , attacked a German convoy, consisting of the aircraft repair ship ''Richthofen'', ''
Sperrbrecher
A ''Sperrbrecher'' (German; informally translated as "pathfinder" but literally meaning "mine barrage breaker"), was a German auxiliary ship of the First World War and the Second World War that served as a type of minesweeper, steaming ahead of ot ...
157'', the torpedo boat and the minesweepers and off
Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside town in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loire, it has the administ ...
. The British ships sank ''Sperrbrecher 157'' and forced ''M385'' to run aground and become a total loss, while ''M275'' was badly damaged and ''T24'' more lightly damaged, while ''Iroquois'' sustained minor damage. On the night of 22/23 August, ''Ursa'', ''Mauritius'' and ''Iroquois'' ambushed two groups of German patrol boats (''
Vorpostenboot
''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked w ...
'') off
Audierne
Audierne (; br, Gwaien) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016 the former commune of Esquibien merged into Audierne.
''Ursa'' was refitted at Portsmouth in September–October 1944, before leaving for the Far East, rejoining the 25 Destroyer Flotilla at
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in November that year. She joined 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 o ...
(BPF) when it was formed on 22 November 1944. On 4 January 1945, ''Ursa'' took part in Operation Lentil, a strike by aircraft from the carriers and against
oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...
s at Pangkalan Brandan, Sumatra. She served with BPF the until 1945. She then returned to the United Kingdom and paid off in 1946.
During the War ''Ursa'' was adopted by the Borough of Hendon 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 bu ...
''. The plaque from this adoption is held by the
National Museum of the Royal Navy
The National Museum of the Royal Navy was created in early 2009 to act as a single non-departmental public body for the museums of the Royal Navy. With venues across the United Kingdom, the museums detail the history of the Royal Navy operating o ...
in Portsmouth.
Post-war service
After the Second World War ''Ursa'' went into reserve at Portsmouth, transferring to the Chatham reserve in 1952. During 1953 and 1954 ''Ursa'' was converted to a Type 15 anti-submarine frigate with the new pennant number F200. On 29 June 1955 ''Ursa'' was re-commissioned at Chatham Dockyard under the Command of Commander Powers, RN. After acceptance trials, and work-up at Portland Naval Base, under Flag Officer Sea training (FOST), she then joined the 6th Frigate Squadron, and left in November 1955, for the Royal Naval Fleet on the Mediterranean Station. She arrived at Sliema Creek Malta, in company with sister ships (Captain F), and .
On Boxing Day 1955, the whole Squadron put to sea at short notice into heavy seas, whereupon ''Ulysses'' lost several crew members overboard from the forecastle area; the survivors being rescued by a Maltese tug.
''Ursa'' undertook regular anti-gunrunning patrols off Cyprus. Patrolling the island, in company with other members of the squadron, the object of the patrols was trying to thwart the efforts of EOKA (terrorist groups who were fighting for independence from British rule). These patrols were generally of six weeks duration, and then a relief.
In June–July 1956 she underwent a minor refit of approximately five weeks in Gibraltar, later going into the King George IV dry dock, with the whole squadron (and two minesweepers) for maintenance.
In November 1956, with the rest of the squadron, ''Ursa'' formed part of the Royal Navy's force used during the Suez Operation. This was an Anglo-French-Israeli campaign to recapture the Suez Canal. ''Ursa'' was initially attached to the carrier force providing anti-submarine screening, and crash destroyer duties for the aircraft carriers and . Towards the end of the brief Suez campaign, she was transferred to providing anti-submarine screening and protection for the tanker force.
She decommissioned in April 1957 at
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...
.
In April 1959 ''Ursa'' started a refit in
Malta Dockyard
Malta Dockyard was an important naval base in the Grand Harbour in Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. The infrastructure which is still in operation is now operated by Palumbo Shipyards.
History Pre-1800
The Knights of Malta established dockyard ...
, but work was stopped after six weeks and ''Ursa'' placed in reserve, and did not resume until 1961 at Bailey's Dockyard, Malta, with the ship recommissioning in November that year and joining the 5th Frigate Squadron. She returned to home waters in June, reaching Devonport on 27 June. On the night of 1/2 August 1962, while on anti-submarine exercises in the
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...
, Scotland, she collided with the destroyer . ''Ursa'' suffered a damaged bow, while ''Battleaxe'' suffered more consequentially, being struck athwartships, with her hull split down to the keel. While ''Ursa'' was repaired, the damage to ''Battleaxe'' was considered beyond economic repair, and ''Battleaxe'' was therefore decommissioned and scrapped. Two officers and one
Chief Petty Officer
A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.
Canada
"Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxi ...
from ''Ursa''s crew were reprimanded in
courts-martial
A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
resulting from the collision.
In March 1963 ''Ursa'' relieved in the 8th Frigate Squadron, and served as West Indies guard ship from June 1963 until June 1964. She again served in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
and West Indies in 1966 before paying off at Portsmouth on 28 October that year.
Decommissioning and disposal
''Ursa'' continued in service until paying off at Devonport for the last time on 28 October 1966. She was subsequently sold for scrapping and arrived at Cashmore's in Newport in 1967.