HMS Orchis

HMS Orchis was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy during World War II.

Underway in the River Clyde, December 1942
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Orchis
Builder	Harland and Wolff[1]
Yard number	1075[1]
Laid down	18 June 1940
Launched	15 October 1940
Completed	29 November 1940[1]
Commissioned	29 November 1940
Identification	Pennant number: K76
Fate	Mined off Juno Beach 21 August 1944
General characteristics
Class and type	Flower-class corvette
Displacement	925 long tons[2]
Length	205 ft (62 m) o/a[2]
Beam	33 ft (10 m)[2]
Draught	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Propulsion	1 × 4-cycle triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine 2 × fire tube Scotch boilers Single shaft 2,750 ihp (2,050 kW)[2]
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h)[2]
Range	3,500 nmi (6,500 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h)
Complement	90[2]
Sensors and processing systems	1 × Type 271 radar from March 1941[3] 1 × Type 123A or Type 127DV sonar
Armament	1 × BL 4-inch (101.6 mm) Mk.IX gun[2] 2 × Vickers .50 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Lewis .303 cal machine gun (twin) 2 × Mk.II Depth charge throwers 2 × Depth charge rails with 40 depth charges
Service record
Operations:	Battle of the Atlantic

North Atlantic trade convoy escort

In March 1941, Orchis was the first ship fitted with the very successful 10-cm wavelength Type 271 radar enabling detection of a surfaced submarine at 5,000 yards (4,600 m) or a submarine periscope at 1,300 yards (1,200 m).^[3] Orchis was assigned first to the 4th Escort Group based at Greenock^[4] and then to Escort Group B3 of the Mid-Ocean Escort Force through early 1944.^[5] Orchis escorted convoy ONS 18 during the battle around this and ON 202.^[6]

English Channel

Orchis was then assigned to patrol the English Channel, and sank the German submarine U-741 on 15 August 1944.^[7] U-741 torpedoed LST-404 of convoy FTM-69 while Orchis was escorting nearby convoy FTC-68. Orchis gained and held sonar contact on U-741 and flooded the forward part of the U-boat with two Hedgehog attacks and two depth charge attacks. One person escaped from the aft torpedo-room hatch of the sunken U-boat, and was rescued by Orchis.^[8]

On 21 August 1944, Orchis struck a mine that destroyed the bow back to the 4-inch gun. The damaged ship was beached on Juno Beach and declared a total loss.^[9][10]

Notes

1. McCluskie, Tom (2013). The Rise and Fall of Harland and Wolff. Stroud: The History Press. p. 148. ISBN 9780752488615.
2. Brown (1995), p. 178
3. Macintyre, Donald, CAPT RN "Shipborne Radar" United States Naval Institute Proceedings September 1967 p. 80
4. Rohwer & Hummelchen (1992), p. 89
5. Rohwer & Hummelchen (1992), pp. 170, 185, 188, 198, 212, 227, 228, 234, 235, 239, 241 & 259
6. Rohwer & Hummelchen (1992), pp. 235–236
7. Rohwer & Hummelchen (1992), p. 291
8. Blair (1998), p. 613
9. Brown (1995), p. 119
10. Rohwer & Hummelchen (1992), p. 299

References

• Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-boat War The Hunted 1942–1945. Random House. ISBN 0-679-45742-9.
• Brown, David (1995) [1990]. Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
• Rohwer, Jurgen; Hummelchen, Gerhard (1992) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-105-X.