HMS Lawford (K514) was a Royal Navy converted Captain class frigate (pennant DE-516), built in the US in 1944. She was converted into an HQ ship for the Normandy landings. On 8 June 1944, whilst operating off Juno Beach, she was hit by enemy fire during an air attack and sunk. Thirty-seven of her crew died. The Royal Navy's damage summary report[1] states that the ship was hit by an "aerial torpedo", which has been taken to mean a torpedo dropped from an aircraft. However, a survey of the ship undertaken as part of the Channel 4 TV series "Wreck Detectives"[2] found evidence that the vessel was broken up and sunk by an internal explosion, indicating a hit from one or more bombs or from an early guided missile such as an Hs-293 or (less likely) a Fritz X.
Further consideration suggests that the term "aerial torpedo" used in the RN damage summaries was actually intended to refer to guided missiles.[2]
The wreck lies in 21 meters of water at 49°25′43″N 00°23′47″W / 49.42861°N 0.39639°W.
See also
- List of Captain class frigates
- List of Allied warships in the Normandy landings
- List of ships sunk by missiles
References
- ^ Collingwood, Donald (1998). The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War : an operational history of the American built Destroyer Escorts serving under the White Ensign from 1943-1946. London: Leo Cooper. pp. 152–153. ISBN 9780850526158.
- ^ a b "Channel4.com - Wreck Detectives - The wrecks - HMS Lawford - Introduction". Channel 4. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
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