Egret-class sloop

HMS Auckland in January 1939
Class overview
Name:	Egret class
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Bittern class
Succeeded by:	Black Swan class
In commission:	1938–1958
Completed:	3
Lost:	2
Scrapped:	1
General characteristics
Type:	Sloop-of-war
Displacement:	1,200 tons
Length:	276 ft (84 m)
Propulsion:	Geared steam turbines on two shafts 3,600 shp
Speed:	19.25 knots (35.65 km/h; 22.15 mph)
Complement:	188
Armament:	8 × 4-inch AA guns (4 × 2) 4 × .5-inch AA (1 × 4)

The Egret-class sloops were a three ship class of a long-range escort vessels used in the Second World War by the Royal Navy. They were an enlarged version of the Bittern class with an extra twin 4-inch gun mounting. They were fitted with Denny Brown stabilisers and the Fuze Keeping Clock anti-aircraft fire control system.

Ships

Ship	Builder	Launched	Fate
Auckland (ex-Heron)	William Denny and Brothers	30 June 1938	Sunk 24 June 1941 by dive bombers near Tobruk
Pelican	John I. Thornycroft & Company	12 September 1938	Broken up 1958
Egret	J. Samuel White	31 May 1938	Sunk by guided bomb in Bay of Biscay 27 August 1943

Service history

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.

External links

• Egret class sloops at britainsnavy.co.uk