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HMS BYRON

HMS Byron was one of the 78 'Captain' Class frigates, built
under the terms of the US/UK lease-lend agreement of 1941. She
was launched on 14th August 1943 at the Bethlehem-Hingham ship
yard, Quincy, Mass, USA and commissioned into the Royal Navy on 30th
October under the command of the late Lt.K.E.G.Southcombe RN.
These ships were known in the United States Navy as
Destroyer Escorts. They were to an advanced design, 300ft long by
36ft beam, displacing 1300 tons with a maximum speed of 26 knots
from their turbine electric or diesel electric propulsion units.
They were fitted with three 3inch HA/LA (high angle, low angle)
guns and 12 20mm Oerlikon cannon, but as formid­able antisubmarine
ships, their main armament was a Hedgehog mortar and depth charges
together with ASDIC (sonar), centimetric RADAR and HFDF (High
Frequency Direction Finding)detection equipment. Mass production
methods were perfected and at the time of Byron's completion,
four ships were being commissioned into the Royal Navy each week.
They were named after distinguished British naval officers of
the 17th and 18th Centur­ìes. The grandfather of Lord Byron, the
poet, Vice Admiral John (Foul Weather Jack) Byron, was chosen by
the Admiralty as name for our ship.
After working up in the Gulf of Maine and off Bermuda, Byron
crossed the Atlantic as a convoy escort and joined B1 Support Group
in Londonderry. Western Approaches escort work followed until
February 1944 when the group joined the escort for a convoy to north
Russia. 'Byron' was the first ship of her class to go into the
Arctic but did not complete the journey as the Group returned to
Scapa Flow with weather damage, one day out from Kola Inlet.
In April 'Byron' was transferred to Nore Command where she
was refitted to prepare her for North Sea escort duties,
protecting coastal convoys against E Boat attack. She joined the 26th
Destroyer flotilla at Harwich and endured the boredom of long
nightly convoys between the Thames and the Humber - a state of
mind well known to destroyer and frigate men. During the build up
to D Day, 'Byron' escorted Mulberry harbour breakwaters and
Conundrums (PLUTO pipe reels) through the Strait of Dover on
tideless and moonless nights to make ready for the invasion.
D Day found Byron in Harwich where she waited whilst history
was being made on the Normandy beaches. She was, much to the
disgust of the ship's company, held in reserve.
More East Coast convoys followed until October, when she
joined the newly formed 21st Escort Group (Conn, Fitzroy, Redmill,
Rupert, Dean and Byron) at Belfast. As its first task, the
Group joined the escort for a convoy to North Russia. This
heavily escorted convoy arrived and returned without the loss of a
merchantman, although HMS Mounsey was damaged by a ’gnat’ torpedo
in the Kola Inlet during the return voyage.
The months to April 1945 saw the Group escorting convoys and
carrying out offensive sweeps in the Irish Sea, Bristol Channel,
Minches and English Channel. The Group had successes in the
difficult shallow Minch area when it was credited with the
sinking of four U Boats. Byron shared the destruction of two of
these. Sadly, Redmill was torpedoed only 2 weeks before the end
of hostilities. 24 of the ships company lost their lives.
On the defeat of Germany, the 21st Escort Group was
stationed in Loch Eriboll (Cape Wrath) to accept the surrender of
U Boats operating in the North Atlantic and North Sea. These boats
had been ordered to surface and make their way there. Byron was
guardship on the morning of 10th May when the first arrived and
so had the honour of boarding and accepting the surrender of the
first U Boat to enter an allied port at the end of a battle which
started on 3rd September 1939 and lasted for nearly 6 years.
33 U Boats surrendered at Loch Eriboll. There is film of these
events in the Imperial War Museum collection showing Byron with
U1009 flying the surrender flag.
Byron was in commission in the Royal Navy until November 1945
when she was returned to Boston, Mass under the terms of the
lease-lend agreement. She was sold and broken up in 1947.

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