HMS Cooke

For other ships with the same name, see USS Dempsey.

HMS Cooke (K471) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort USS Dempsey (DE-267), she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1946.

History
United States
Name	USS Dempsey (DE-267)
Namesake	U.S. Navy Lieutenant, junior grade Richard John Dempsey (1919-1942), killed in action aboard the heavy cruiser USS Vincennes (CA-44) when she was sunk in the Battle of Savo Island
Ordered	25 January 1942[1]
Builder	Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts
Laid down	11 March 1943[2]
Launched	22 April 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. J. A. Dempsey
Commissioned	never
Fate	Transferred to United Kingdom 23 August 1943
Acquired	Returned by United Kingdom 5 March 1946
Fate	Sold 3[1][3] or 10[2][4] June 1947 for scrapping
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Cooke
Namesake	Captain John Cooke (c. 1762-1805), British naval officer killed in action as commanding officer of HMS Bellerophon at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805[4]
Acquired	23 August 1943
Commissioned	23 August 1943[1]
Fate	Returned to United States 5 March 1946[2]
General characteristics
Displacement	1,140 long tons (1,158 t)
Length	289.5 ft (88.2 m)
Beam	35 ft (11 m)
Draught	9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion	Four General Motors 278A 16-cylinder engines GE 7,040 bhp (5,250 kW) generators (4,800 kW) GE electric motors for 6,000 shp (4,500 kW) Two shafts
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h)
Range	5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	156
Sensors & processing systems	SA & SL type radars Type 144 series Asdic MF Direction Finding antenna HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament	3 × 3 in (76 mm) /50 Mk.22 guns 1 × twin Bofors 40 mm mount Mk.I 7–16 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns Mark 10 Hedgehog antisubmarine mortar Depth charges QF 2-pounder naval gun
Notes	Pennant number K471

Construction and transfer

The ship was laid down as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Dempsey (DE-267), the first ship of the name, by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, on 11 March 1943^[2] and launched on 22 April 1943, sponsored by Mrs. J. A. Dempsey, mother of the late Lieutenant, junior grade Richard John Dempsey (1919-1942), for whom the ship was named. Dempsey was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease upon completion on 23 August 1943.

Service history

Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS Cooke (K471) on 23 August 1943^[1] simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty. On 29 June 1944 she joined the British frigates Domett, Duckworth, and Essington and a Royal Air Force Liberator aircraft of No. 244 Squadron in a depth charge attack that sank the German submarine U-988 in the English Channel west of Guernsey at 49°37′00″N 003°41′00″W. On 26 July 1944, she sank the German submarine U-214 with depth charges in the English Channel southeast of the Eddystone Rocks in position 49°58′00″N 003°30′00″W.^[1]

The Royal Navy returned Cooke to the U.S. Navy on 5 March 1946.

Disposal

The United States sold Cooke on 3^[1][3] or 10^[2][4] June 1947 (sources vary) for scrapping.