HMS Denbigh Castle (K696)

History
Denbigh Castle underway, 1945
United Kingdom
Name:	Denbigh Castle
Namesake:	Denbigh Castle
Ordered:	19 December 1942
Builder:	J. Lewis & Sons, Aberdeen
Laid down:	30 September 1943
Launched:	5 August 1944
Completed:	30 December 1944
Identification:	Pennant number: K696
Honours and awards:	Arctic 1945
Fate:	Torpedoed by U-992, 13 February 1945 Declared a total loss
General characteristics
Class and type:	Castle-class corvette
Displacement:	1,010 long tons (1,030 t) (standard) 1,510 long tons (1,530 t) (deep load)
Length:	252 ft (76.8 m)
Beam:	33 ft (10.1 m)
Draught:	14 ft (4.3 m)
Installed power:	2,880 ihp (2,150 kW) 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion:	2 shafts, 2 geared steam turbines
Speed:	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Range:	6,500 nmi (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement:	99
Sensors and processing systems:	Type 145 and Type 147 ASDIC Type 277 search radar HF/DF radio direction finder
Armament:	1 × QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk XVI gun 2 × twin, 2 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon light AA guns 1 × 3-barrel Squid anti-submarine mortar 15 × depth charges, 1 rack and 2 throwers

HMS Denbigh Castle (K696) was one of 44 Castle-class corvettes built for the Royal Navy during World War II. The ship was completed at the end of 1944 and was assigned to the 7th Escort Group at the beginning of 1945. While escorting her first and only Arctic convoy to Russia, she claimed to have shot down a German torpedo bomber. Denbigh Castle was torpedoed in early 1945 by the German submarine U-992, with the loss of 11 men, near the Soviet coast. The ship was beached in an effort to save her, but she was pulled off by the ebbing tide and capsized. Her wreck was declared a total loss.

The Castle-class corvette was a stretched version of the preceding Flower class, enlarged to improve seakeeping and to accommodate modern weapons. The ships displaced 1,010 long tons (1,030 t) at standard load and 1,510 long tons (1,530 t) at deep load. The ships had an overall length of 252 feet (76.8 m), a beam of 36 feet 9 inches (11.2 m) and a deep draught of 14 feet (4.3 m). They were powered by two 4-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines developed a total of 2,880 indicated horsepower (2,150 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph). The Castles carried a maximum of 480 long tons (490 t) of fuel oil that gave them a range of 6,500 nautical miles (12,000 km; 7,500 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ships' complement was 99 officers and ratings.

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