The next three classes of sloop after the Shorehams were all about increasing the firepower of the type. The Grimsby's increased the main armament from two to four 4", then the Egret's doubled that from four to eight. A more balanced armament was put aboard the Bittern's with six guns which gave a better ASW armament. The Bittern was followed by the Black Swan class and then the Modified Black Swan class ships which were all constructed during the war.



Thirteen Grimsby Class were built, Eight in the UK, four for Australis and one for India. They proved to be an excellent investment and with World War Two refits and upgrade they were even better.


The three Egret class were a response to what had happened to ships in the Spanish Civil War. Those ships caught at sea with inadequate AA or no fighter cover just got hammered. The accuracy of the JU-87 meant many ships went to the bottom. The Egret, with its four twin 4" AA guns, had a very good barrage armament, but their close in armament of the one quad 0.5" machine gun mounting was very poor. WW2 upgrades with 20mm and later 40mm weapons improved this. All the electronic toys added during the early 40's meant that topweight became an issue and this was solved by removing 'Y' 4" mounting. The ships ended up looking like the Bitterns and Swans.


The Bittern and their follow ons, the Black Swan and Modified Black Swan classes, were a good blend of firepower and size. They were very good escorts. In the real world Commander Walkers escort group with Bitterns and Black Swans sunk more U-Boats than any other escort group. Really the only drawbacks to these ships was their low speed at 16.5 to 18 knots, and their need to be built in the Naval Dockyards because of their specialised parts. It was because of these problems the much more simple yet more capable River class frigates were put into production. One of the class had been modified as the Admiralty yacht for the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet. The Enchantress was that vessel and provided the service with accommodation blocks at the rear of the ship. The Enchantress was reconverted to an escort at the end of 1939.


Note the single 4.7" guns forward. Those were replaced with twin 4" on conversion back to an escort.

 

Grimsby Class
 

Grimsby	HM Dockyard, Devonport	1 November 1932	23 January 1933	19 July 1933	17 May 1934	Sunk in air attack by Italian and German dive bombers off Tobruk, 25 May 1941
Leith	HM Dockyard, Devonport	1 November 1932	6 February 1933	9 September 1933	12 July 1934	Royal Danish Navy survey ship Galathea 1949, Scrapped 1955
Lowestoft	HM Dockyard, Devonport	1 May 1933	21 August 1933	11 April 1934	22 November 1934	Sold into mercantile service, 1946, Scrapped 1955
Wellington	HM Dockyard, Devonport	1 May 1933	25 September 1933	29 May 1934	24 January 1935	Sold to Honourable Company of Master Mariners as Headquarters, 1947
Londonderry	HM Dockyard, Devonport	1 March 1934	11 June 1934	16 January 1935	20 September 1935	Broken up at Llanelly, 1948
Deptford	HM Dockyard, Chatham	1 May 1933	30 April 1934	5 February 1935	20 August 1935	Broken up at Milford Haven, 1948
Aberdeen	HM Dockyard, Devonport	1 March 1935	12 June 1935	22 January 1936	17 September 1936	Broken up at Hayle, 1949
Fleetwood	HM Dockyard, Devonport	1 March 1935	14 August 1935	24 March 1936	19 November 1936	Broken up at Gateshead, 1959
Yarra	Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney	22 December 1933	24 May 1934	28 March 1935	19 December 1935	Sunk in surface action off Java, 4 March 1942
Swan	Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney	2 January 1935	1 May 1935	28 March 1936	10 December 1936	Broken up at Sydney, 1964
Parramatta	Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney	July 1938	9 November 1938	18 June 1939	8 April 1940	Sunk in dive bombing attack off Tobruk, 27 November 1941
Warrego	Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney	December 1938	10 May 1939	10 February 1940	21 August 1940	Broken up at Sydney, 1965
Indus	Hawthorn Leslie and Company, Hebburn	14 August 1933	8 December 1933	24 August 1934	15 March 1935	Sunk in air attack off Akyab, 6 April 1942

Egret Class

Three ships were built; HMS Auckland, HMS Pelican and HMS Egret. Auckland was lost on 24 June 1941, to 48 Junkers 87 aircraft dive-bombing both her and HMAS Parramatta, off the coast of Tobruk. Pelican was an effective convoy escort, and was credited with the destruction of four U-boats. She survived until the end of the war, and was broken up in 1958. Egret was lost to a guided missile. While patrolling in the Bay of Biscay, she was attacked by 18 Do 217 aircraft, one of which carried the Henschel Hs 293 guided bomb.



Bittern Class

Enchantress served as convoy escort throughout the war, and was credited with the destruction of an Italian submarine. She survived the war and was sold into civilian service in 1946, being renamed Lady Enchantress. She was broken up in 1952. Stork was completed as an unarmed survey vessel, and was only armed after the outbreak of war. She also served as a convoy escort, and was senior ship in 36th Escort Group under Cdr. FJ Walker. She was credited with the destruction of four U-boats. Stork remained in service until being broken up in 1958. The third ship in the class was launched as Bittern, and completed as designed. She was involved in the Norwegian campaign, but was lost to air attacks at Namsos in 1940.

Black Swan (& Modified) Class ships
 

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
Flamingo	L18 later U18	Yarrow, Scotstoun	26 May 1938	18 April 1939	3 November 1939	Transferred to West Germany as Graf Spee 21 January 1959. Sold for breaking up 25 October 1967.
Black Swan	L57 later U57	Yarrow, Scotstoun	20 June 1938	7 July 1939	27 January 1940	Sold for breaking up 13 September 1956.
Erne	U03	Furness Sbdg, Haverton Hill-on-Tees	22 September 1939	5 August 1940	26 April 1941	Became RNVR training ship Wessex on the Solent 4 June 1952, broken up October 1965.
Ibis	U99	Furness Sbdg, Haverton Hill-on-Tees	22 September 1939	28 November 1940	30 August 1941	Sunk by Italian torpedo bombers off Algiers on 10 November 1942.
Whimbrel	U29	Yarrow, Scotstoun	31 October 1941	25 August 1942	13 January 1943	Transferred to Egypt as El Malek Farouq November 1949, renamed Tarik 1954.
Wild Goose	U45	Yarrow, Scotstoun	28 January 1942	14 October 1942	11 March 1943	Sold for breaking up 27 February 1956.
Woodpecker	U08	Denny, Dunbarton	23 February 1941	29 June 1942	14 December 1942	Sunk by U-256 on 27 February 1944.
Wren	U28	Denny, Dunbarton	27 February 1941	11 August 1942	4 February 1943	Sold for breaking up 2 February 1956.

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
Sutlej	U95	Denny, Dunbarton	4 January 1940	1 October 1940	23 April 1941	Survey vessel 1955. Paid off at end 1978 and deleted 1982 or 1983.
Jumna	U21	Denny, Dunbarton	28 February 1940	16 November 1940	13 May 1941	Survey vessel 1957. Renamed INS Jamuna 1968, paid off at end 1980 and broken up.
Narbada	U40	Thornycroft, Woolston	30 August 1941	21 November 1942	29 April 1943	Renamed Jhelum 1948. Sold to be broken up 15 July 1959.
Godavari	U52	Thornycroft, Woolston	30 October 1941	21 January 1943	28 June 1943	Renamed Sind 1948. Sold for breaking up 2 June 1959.

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
Chanticleer	U05	Denny, Dunbarton	6 June 1941	24 September 1942	29 March 1943	Constructive total loss following torpedoing on 18 November 1943 by U-515 (Henke). Renamed Lusitania 31 December 1943 as a base ship, then broken up at Lisbon 1945.
Crane	U23	Denny, Dunbarton	13 June 1941	9 November 1942	10 May 1943	Broken up March 1965.
Cygnet	U38	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead	30 August 1941	28 July 1942	1 December 1942	Broken up 16 March 1956.
Kite	U87	Cammell Laird, Birkenhead	25 September 1941	13 October 1942	1 March 1943	Sunk by U-344 on 21 August 1944.
Lapwing	U62	Scotts, Greenock	17 December 1941	16 July 1943	21 March 1944	Sunk by U-968 on 20 March 1945 just outside Murmansk, USSR.
Lark	U11	Scotts, Greenock	5 May 1942	28 August 1943	10 April 1944	Constructive total loss following torpedoing by U-968 off Kola Inlet on 17 February 1945; salvaged by Soviet Navy and added as Neptun, finally broken up 1956.
Magpie	U82	Thornycroft, Woolston	30 December 1941	24 March 1943	30 August 1943	Broken up 12 July 1959.
Peacock	U96	Thornycroft, Woolston	29 November 1942	11 December 1943	10 May 1944	Broken up 7 May 1958.
Pheasant	U49	Yarrow, Scotstoun	17 March 1942	21 December 1942	12 May 1943	Broken up January 1963.
Redpole	U69	Yarrow, Scotstoun	18 May 1942	25 February 1943	24 June 1943	Broken up 20 November 1960.
Snipe	U20	Denny, Dunbarton	21 September 1944	20 December 1945	9 September 1946	Broken up 23 August 1960.
Sparrow	U71	Denny, Dunbarton	30 October 1944	18 February 1946	16 December 1946	Broken up 26 May 1958.
Starling	U66	Fairfield, Govan	21 October 1941	14 October 1942	1 April 1943	Broken up July 1965.
Woodcock	U90	Fairfield, Govan	21 October 1941	26 November 1942	29 May 1943	Sold for breaking up 28 November 1955.

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
Actaeon	U07	Thornycroft, Woolston	15 May 1944	25 July 1945	24 July 1946	Transferred to West Germany as Hipper 9 December 1958. Hulked July 1964, sold for breaking up 25 October 1967.
Amethyst	U16	Alex. Stephen, Linthouse	25 March 1942	7 May 1943	2 November 1943	Broken up 18 January 1957.
Hart	U58	Alex. Stephen, Linthouse	27 March 1942	7 July 1943	12 December 1943	Transferred to West Germany as Scheer 1958. Sold for breaking up 17 March 1971.
Hind	U39	Denny, Dunbarton	31 August 1942	30 September 1943	11 April 1944	Broken up 10 December 1958.
Mermaid	U30	Denny, Dunbarton	8 September 1942	11 November 1943	12 May 1944	Transferred to West Germany as Scharnhorst 5 May 1950. Hulked 1974, and broken up April 1990.
Alacrity	U60	Denny, Dunbarton	4 May 1943	1 September 1944	13 April 1945	Broken up 15 September 1956.
Opossum	U33	Denny, Dunbarton	28 July 1943	30 November 1944	16 June 1945	Broken up 26 April 1960.
Modeste	U42	Chatham Dockyard	15 February 1943	29 January 1944	3 September 1945	Broken up 11 March 1961.
Nereide	U64	Chatham Dockyard	15 February 1943	29 January 1944	6 May 1946	Broken up 18 May 1958.
Nonsuch	U54	Portsmouth Dockyard, later moved to Chatham Dockyard	26 February 1945	Cancelled 15 October 1945.
Nymphe	U84	Portsmouth Dockyard, later moved to Chatham Dockyard	26 February 1945	Cancelled 15 October 1945.

Name	Pennant	Builder	Laid Down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
Kistna	U46	Yarrow, Scotstoun	14 July 1942	22 April 1943	26 August 1943	Renamed INS Krishna 1968. Paid off at end 1981 and broken up.
Cauvery	U10	Yarrow, Scotstoun	28 October 1942	15 June 1943	21 October 1943	Renamed INS Kaveri 1968. Sold 1979.

Losses, In World War II.

• Ibis was sunk by Italian torpedo bombers off Algiers on 10 November 1942
• Woodpecker was seriously damaged by an acoustic homing torpedo fired by U-256 on 20 February 1944 whilst escorting convoy ON-224. The ship sank a week later on 27 February whilst under tow during an Atlantic storm.
• Kite was sunk by U-344 on 21 August 1944 whilst the ship was escorting aircraft carriers covering the Arctic convoy JW-59.
• Lark was damaged beyond repair by U-968 on 17 February 1945
• Lapwing was sunk by U-968 on 20 March 1945 just outside Murmansk, USSR.

The Black Swan and Modified Black Swan were involved in the sinking of 32 U-Boats.