HMS Pheasant (U49)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Pheasant.

HMS Pheasant was a Modified Black Swan-class sloop of the Royal Navy. She was laid down by Yarrow Shipbuilders, in Scotstoun, Glasgow on 13 July 1942, launched on 21 December 1942, and commissioned on 12 May 1943. She was adopted by the rural district of Runcorn, then in Cheshire, as part of Warship Week in 1942.^{[citation needed]}

Pheasant moored at a buoy in May 1943
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Pheasant
Namesake	Pheasant
Builder	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down	13 July 1942
Launched	21 December 1942
Commissioned	12 May 1943
Reclassified	As a frigate in 1947
Identification	Pennant number U49/F49
Honours & awards	Buenos Aires 1807 Sicily 1943 Atlantic 1943–44 Okinawa 1945
Fate	Broken up 1963
Badge	On a Field White, a Pheasant Proper
General characteristics
Class & type	Modified Black Swan-class sloop
Displacement	1,925 tons
Length	283 ft (86 m)
Beam	38 ft 6 in (11.73 m)
Draught	11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion	Geared turbines, two shafts 4,300 hp (3.2 MW)
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h)
Range	4,500 mi (7,200 km)
Complement	192
Armament	6 × 4-inch (102 mm) AA guns (3 × 2) 4 × 2-pdr AA pom-pom 12 × 20 mm Oerlikon AA (6 × 2) Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar
Service record
Part of:	British Pacific Fleet (1945)
Operations:	Operation Husky (1943)

Design

The Modified Black Swan-class sloops were specialised convoy-defence vessels, with an anti-aircraft and an anti-submarine capability. They were designed to have a longer range than a destroyer at the expense of lower top speed while remaining capable of outrunning the German Type VII and Type IX U-boats when they were surfaced.

Pheasant had a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h) - their prey, the German U-boats, could only manage 18 knots (33 km/h) on the surface and no more than 8 knots (15 km/h) submerged.^{[citation needed]}

Service history

In the latter part of the war, Pheasant was sent to the Pacific theatre. There she served in a task force with the escort carriers Striker and Ruler from April to August 1945.^[1][2]

After being placed on the disposal list Pheasant was sold for scrap, arriving at Troon for breaking on 15 January 1963.