HMS Pink (K137)

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HMS Pink (K137) was a Flower-class corvette built for the Royal Navy during the Second World War. Constructed by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, she was commissioned in late 1941 and served primarily as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic. The vessel was named for the pink, a type of small sailing ship historically used for coastal trade and scouting.

Construction and design

HMS Pink was ordered on 28 July 1940 as part of the 1940 War Emergency Programme for naval construction. She was laid down at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast on 1 April 1941, with the yard number 1108, and launched on 28 August of that year. Her design followed the standard early-war Flower-class corvette pattern, adapted from a whale catcher design for mass production to counter the U-boat threat. Armament included a single 4-inch gun on the forecastle, a 2-pounder "pom-pom" anti-aircraft gun, and an outfit of depth charge projectors and rails for engaging submarines. Sensors were updated during the war, typically fitting the Type 271 radar for surface detection and Type 123A sonar for underwater search.

Service history

After commissioning on 3 December 1941, HMS Pink was assigned to Allied convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic. She operated primarily with the Mid-Ocean Escort Force, protecting vital supply convoys such as those on the SC and HX routes between North America and the United Kingdom. In 1943, she was transferred to support Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union, including runs to Murmansk and Archangel, facing severe threats from the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe based in Norway. Following the Invasion of Normandy in 1944, Pink was reassigned to English Channel patrols and invasion support duties, helping to secure the sea lanes against E-boat attacks and residual U-boat operations.

Fate

With the end of hostilities in Europe, HMS Pink was deemed surplus to requirements and placed in reserve. She was sold on 22 May 1947 to BISCO for demolition by Thos. W. Ward at their Milford Haven breakers yard. The corvette was subsequently towed to Wales and scrapped, ending the service of a vessel that had played a modest but vital role in the Atlantic campaign and the broader Allied naval effort.

Category:Flower-class corvettes of the Royal Navy Category:Ships built in Belfast Category:World War II corvettes of the United Kingdom Category:1941 ships