View source for HMS Redmill (K554)

{{short description|Frigate of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Redmill}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1943}}
|Ship class=
|Ship name=unnamed (DE-89)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=10 January 1942<ref name="uboatnet">[http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5660.html uboat.net HMS ''Redmill'' (K 554)]</ref>
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard]], [[Hingham, Massachusetts|Hingham]], [[Massachusetts]]
|Ship laid down=14 July 1943
|Ship launched=2 October 1943
|Ship sponsor=Mrs. James E. Hamilton
|Ship completed=30 November 1943
|Ship commissioned=never
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
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|Ship reclassified=
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|Ship captured=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=Transferred to United Kingdom 30 November 1943
|Ship homeport=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=yes
|Ship acquired=Returned by United Kingdom 20 January 1947
|Ship fate=Sold for scrapping 30 January 1947<ref name="DANFS">[http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r3/redmil.htm ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'': ''Redmil'']</ref> or 4 February 1947<ref name="navsource">[http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/089.htm Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Redmill (DE-89) HMS ''Redmill'' (K-554)]</ref>
}}
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|Ship struck=7 February 1947
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
|Ship class=[[Captain class frigate|Captain-class]] [[frigate]]
|Ship name=HMS ''Redmill'' (K554)
|Ship namesake=Captain [[Robert Redmill]] (ca. 1765-1819), British naval officer who was [[commanding officer]] of {{HMS|Polyphemus|1782|6}} during the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] in 1805<ref>[http://www.captainclassfrigates.co.uk/ships/K554.html Captain Class Frigate Association: HMS ''Redmill'' K554 (DE 89)]</ref>
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|Ship acquired=30 November 1943
|Ship commissioned=30 November 1943
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
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|Ship refit=
|Ship captured=
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|Ship reinstated=
|Ship fate=*[[Constructive total loss]] after 27 April 1945<ref name="uboatnet"/>
*Returned to United States 20 January 1947 <ref name="navsource"/>
|Ship homeport=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship displacement={{Convert|1400|LT|t|0}}
|Ship length={{convert|306|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|36.75|ft|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|9|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=
|Ship propulsion=*Two [[Foster-Wheeler]] Express "D"-type [[water-tube boiler]]s
*GE {{convert|13500|shp|kW|-1|abbr=on}} steam turbines and generators (9,200&nbsp;kW)
*Electric motors for {{convert|12000|shp|kW|-2|abbr=on}}
*Two shafts
|Ship speed={{convert|24|kn|km/h}}
|Ship range={{convert|5500|nmi|km}} at {{convert|15|kn|km/h}}
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|Ship complement=186
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|Ship sensors=*SA & SL type radars
*Type 144 series [[Sonar|Asdic]]
*MF [[Direction finding|Direction Finding]] antenna
*[[Huff-Duff|HF Direction Finding]] Type FH 4 antenna
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=*3 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] /50 Mk.22 guns
*1 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm]] mount Mk.I
*7–16 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20&nbsp;mm Oerlikon]] guns
*Mark 10 [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] antisubmarine mortar
*[[Depth charge]]s
*[[QF 2-pounder naval gun]]
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|Ship notes=[[Pennant number]] K554
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The second '''HMS ''Redmill'' (K554)''', and first ship to see service under the name, was a British [[Captain class frigate|Captain-class]] [[frigate]] of the [[Royal Navy]] in commission during [[World War II]]. Originally constructed as a [[United States Navy]] [[Buckley-class destroyer escort|''Buckley'' class]] [[destroyer escort]], she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1945.

==Construction and transfer==
The ship was [[Keel laying|laid down]] as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort '''DE-89''' by [[Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard]], Inc., in [[Hingham, Massachusetts|Hingham]], [[Massachusetts]], on 14 July 1943 and [[Ship naming and launching|launched]] on 2 October 1943, sponsored by Mrs. James E. Hamilton, the wife of [[Captain (United States)|Captain]] James E. Hamilton of the U.S. Navy{{'}}s [[Bureau of Ships]]. The ship was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 30 November 1943.

==Service history==

[[Ship commissioning|Commissioned]] into service in the Royal Navy as the frigate HMS ''Redmill'' (K554) on 30 November 1943 simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty. On 27 March 1945 she joined the British frigates {{HMS|Byron|K508}} and {{HMS|Fitzroy|K553}} in a [[depth charge]] attack which sank the [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[submarine]] [[German submarine U-722|''U-722'']] in the [[North Atlantic Ocean]] near the [[Hebrides]] at {{coord|57|09|00|N|006|55|00|W|name=Submarine U-722 sunk}}.<ref name="uboatnet"/>

On 27 April 1945, the German submarine [[German submarine U-1105|''U-1105'']] detected three British frigates in the North Atlantic 25 [[nautical mile]]s (46&nbsp;km) west of [[County Mayo]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], and fired two [[G7es torpedo|G7es]] &ndash; known to the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] as "GNAT" &ndash; [[torpedo]]es at them. Fifty seconds later, the first torpedo struck ''Redmill'' at {{coord|54|23|00|N|010|36|00|W|name=Redmill torpedoed}}, followed a few seconds later by the second, together blowing 60 feet (over 18 meters) of her [[stern]] off. ''U-1105'' evaded counterattack. Assisted by the British frigate {{HMS|Rupert|K561}}, ''Redmill'' managed to remain afloat and was towed to [[Lisahally]], [[Northern Ireland]].<ref name="uboatnet"/><ref>[http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/3505.html uboat.net Ships Hit By U-boats: HMS ''Redmill'' (K 554)]</ref>

Found to be beyond economical repair, ''Redmill'' was declared a [[constructive total loss]]. The Royal Navy returned her hulk to U.S. custody on 20 January 1947.<ref name="navsource"/>

==Disposal==
The United States sold ''Redmill'' on either 30 January 1947<ref name="DANFS"/> or 4 February 1947<ref name="navsource"/> (sources vary) to the [[Athens Piraeus Electricity Company]], Ltd., of [[Athens]], [[Greece]], for scrapping. The U.S. Navy struck ''Redmill'' from its [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 7 February 1947.<ref name="navsource"/>

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r3/redmil.htm}} (misspelled "''Redmil''")
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/089.htm Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Redmill (DE-89) HMS ''Redmill'' (K-554)]
*[http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5660.html uboat.net HMS ''Redmill'' (K 554)]
*[http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/3505.html uboat.net Ships Hit By U-Boats: HMS ''Redmill'' (K 554)]
*[http://www.desausa.org/lend_lease_to_uk.htm Destroyer Escort Sailors Association DEs for UK]
*[http://www.captainclassfrigates.co.uk/ships/K554.html Captain Class Frigate Association HMS ''Redmill'' K554 (DE 89)]

==External links==
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/06/089.htm Photo gallery of HMS ''Redmill'' (K554)]

{{Captains class frigate}}
{{Buckley class destroyer escort}}
{{April 1945 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Redmill (K554)}}
[[Category:Captain-class frigates]]
[[Category:Buckley-class destroyer escorts]]
[[Category:World War II frigates of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built in Hingham, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1945]]