HMS Retalick

The future HMS Retalick (K555) at Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard in Hingham, Massachusetts, on the day she was launched, 9 October 1943.
History
United States
Name	unnamed (DE-90)
Ordered	10 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down	21 July 1943
Launched	9 October 1943
Completed	8 December 1943
Commissioned	never
Fate	Transferred to United Kingdom 8 December 1943
Acquired	Returned by United Kingdom 25 October 1945
Stricken	19 December 1945
Fate	Sold for scrapping 7 May 1946
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Retalick (K555)
Namesake	Captain Richard Retalick ( ? - 1803), British naval officer who was commanding officer of HMS Defiance during the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801
Acquired	8 December 1943
Commissioned	8 December 1943
Fate	Returned to United States 25 October 1945
General characteristics
Displacement	1,400 long tons (1,422 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	36.75 ft (11.2 m)
Draught	9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion	Two Foster-Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers GE 13,500 shp (10,070 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW) Electric motors for 12,000 shp (8,900 kW) Two shafts
Speed	24 knots (44 km/h)
Range	5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	186
Sensors & processing systems	SA & SL type radars Type 144 series Asdic MF Direction Finding antenna HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament	3 × 3 in (76 mm) /50 Mk.22 guns 1 × twin Bofors 40 mm mount Mk.I 7–16 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns Mark 10 Hedgehog antisubmarine mortar Depth charges QF 2-pounder naval gun
Notes	Pennant number K555

HMS Retalick (K555) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as a United States Navy Buckley class destroyer escort, she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1945.

Construction and transfer

The ship was laid down as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-90 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 21 July 1943 and launched on 9 October 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease upon completion on 8 December 1943.

Service history

Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as the frigate HMS Retalick (K555) on 8 December 1943 simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty for the remainder of World War II.

The Royal Navy returned Retalick to the U.S. Navy on 25 October 1945.

Disposal

The U.S. Navy struck Retalick from its Naval Vessel Register on 19 December 1945. She was sold on 7 May 1946 for scrapping.

References

• uboat.net HMS Retalick (K 555)
• Destroyer Escort Sailors Association DEs for UK
• Captain Class Frigate Association HMS Retalick K555 (DE 90)