MarketBanff-class sloop
Company Profile

Banff-class sloop

The Banff-class sloop was a group of ten warships of the Royal Navy. Built as United States Coast Guard Lake-class cutters, in 1941 these ships were loaned to the Royal Navy as antisubmarine warfare escort ships. The transfers took place at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; the sloops were manned for transport to Britain by personnel from the damaged battleship Malaya which was under repair there.

Ships
Lulworth (ex-Chelan) Originally cutter #45, she was named for Lake Chelan, After refit at Cardiff, Lulworth escorted convoys OS 4, SL 87, OS 10, and SL 93. While escorting convoy OS 10 on 31 October 1941, Lulworth attacked U-96. Lothar-Günther Buchheim, author of 1973 book Das Boot (later made into a film by the same name), was aboard U-96 at the time. Following installation of HF/DF in December 1941, Lulworth escorted convoys OS 15, SL 98, OS 20, SL 103, OS 25, SL 109, OS 31, and SL 115. Lulworth was assigned to Operation Torch following repair of damage sustained while ramming and sinking the on 14 July 1942 while defending convoy SL 115. Lulworth then escorted convoys KMS 8G, MKS 7, HX229A, ONS 3, SC 128, ONS 9, SC 132, ON 189, and HX 244 with the 40th Escort Group. After refit at Cardiff, Lulworth went to the Indian Ocean and unsuccessfully depth charged Japanese submarine I-37 on 16 March 1944 while escorting trade convoys with the Kilindini Escort Force. After refit at Durban, Lulworth escorted invasion convoys for Operation Dracula at Rangoon and Operation Zipper. Lulworth was returned to the United States on 12 February 1946, used for spare parts and scrapped in 1947. Hartland (ex-Pontchartrain) Originally cutter #46, she was named for Lake Pontchartrain, Fishguard (ex-Tahoe) Originally cutter #47, she was named for Lake Tahoe, Sennen (ex-Champlain) Originally cutter #48, she was named for Lake Champlain, After refit at Grimsby, Sennen sailed with convoy KMS 26 to join the Indian Ocean Kilindini Escort Force from 26 October 1943 until refit at Durban in November 1944. Following completion of refit in March 1945, Sennen was assigned to Operation Zipper for the remainder of the war and returned to the United States on 27 March 1946. She was redesignated USCGC Champlain until scrapped in 1948. Culver (ex-Mendota) Originally cutter #49, she was named for Lake Mendota, Only twelve of the crew survived. and escorted convoy SL 118. She was returned on 23 April 1946, redesignated USCGC Itasca and scrapped in 1950. Walney (ex Sebago) Originally cutter #51, she was named for Sebago Lake, Landguard (ex-Shoshone) Originally cutter #53, she was named for Shoshone Lake, When the damage was repaired, Landguard sailed with convoy KMS 26 to join the Kilindini Escort Force in September 1943. She escorted Indian Ocean convoys until disabled by a machinery failure at Colombo in March 1945. She served as a depot ship at Colombo until February 1946 and was sold there by the United States government in 1947 to be scrapped in Manila in 1949. Totland (ex Cayuga) Originally cutter #54, she was named for Cayuga Lake, Totland then escorted convoys between Freetown and Lagos via Sekondi-Takoradi until transferred to the Kilindini Escort Force in July 1944. Totland began a prolonged refit in October 1944 until the decision to retire her in May 1945. She was returned to the United States in May 1946, recommissioned as USCGC Mocoma in 1947, decommissioned in 1950, and scrapped in 1955.{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-16CGC-Totland.htm#convoy|title=HMS Totland (Y 88) - ex-US Coast Guard Cutter |work =Service Histories of Royal Navy Warships in World War 2 ==Notes==
tickerdossier.comtickerdossier.substack.com