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HMS Lawford (K514)
HMS Lawford 1944 IWM A 21817
HMS Lawford at Liverpool, 13 February 1944
Career (USA) US flag 48 stars
Name: USS Lawford (DE-516)
Fate: Transferred to Royal Navy under Lend-Lease
Career (United Kingdom) Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom
Name: HMS Lawford (K514)
Fate: Sunk by Aerial attack during Normandy Landings, 8 June 1944
General characteristics
Class & type: Evarts-class destroyer escort
General characteristics
Class & type: Captain-class frigate

HMS Lawford (K514) was a Royal Navy converted Captain class frigate (pennant DE-516), built in the US in 1944. She was converted into an HQ ship for the Normandy landings. On 8 June 1944, whilst operating off Juno Beach, she was hit by enemy fire during an air attack and sunk. Thirty-seven of her crew died. The Royal Navy's damage summary report[1] states that the ship was hit by an "aerial torpedo", which has been taken to mean a torpedo dropped from an aircraft. However, a survey of the ship undertaken as part of the Channel 4 TV series "Wreck Detectives"[2] found evidence that the vessel was broken up and sunk by an internal explosion, indicating a hit from one or more bombs or from an early guided missile such as an Hs-293 or (less likely) a Fritz X.

Further consideration suggests that the term "aerial torpedo" used in the RN damage summaries was actually intended to refer to guided missiles.[2]

The wreck lies in 21 meters of water at 49°25′43″N 00°23′47″W / 49.42861°N 0.39639°W / 49.42861; -0.39639.

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. Donald. The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War. pp. pp152–153. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Channel4.com - Wreck Detectives - The wrecks - HMS Lawford - Introduction". Channel4. http://www.channel4.com/science/microsites/W/wreck_detectives_2003/the_wrecks/hms_lawford/index.html. Retrieved 23 February 2008. 




All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at HMS Lawford (K514) and the edit history here.
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