Egret-class sloop

HMS Auckland in January 1939
Class overview
Operators	Royal Navy
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 x 4-inch AA guns (4x2) 4 x .5-inch AA (1x4)

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

Three ships were built; HMS Auckland, HMS Pelican and HMS Egret. 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. 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 survived until the end of the war, and was broken up in 1958.

See also

Media related to Egret class sloop at Wikimedia Commons

References

• Hague, Arnold (1993). Sloops: A History of the 71 Sloops Built in Britain and Australia for the British, Australian and Indian Navies 1926–1946. Kendal, England: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-67-3.