HMS Bridgewater (L01)

Bridgewater at anchor, January 1943
History
United Kingdom
Name	Bridgewater
Namesake	Town of Bridgwater
Ordered	19 September 1927
Builder	Hawthorn Leslie, Newcastle upon Tyne
Laid down	6 February 1928
Launched	14 September 1928
Commissioned	14 March 1929
Out of service	July 1945
Honours and awards	North Sea 1942 Atlantic 1942–43
Fate	Sold for scrap, 22 May 1947
Badge	On a Field Gold, three castles on a bridge, all Silver, below a star and a fleur-de-lys Gold.
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Bridgewater-class sloop
Displacement	1,045 long tons (1,062 t) (standard) 1,600 long tons (1,600 t) (full load)
Length	266 ft 4 in (81.2 m) (o/a)
Beam	34 ft (10.4 m)
Draft	11 ft 5 in (3.5 m) (deep load)
Installed power	2,000 shp (1,500 kW) 2 Admiralty 3-drum boilers
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbine sets
Speed	16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph)
Complement	96
Armament	2 × single QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk V guns 4 × depth charges, 2 chutes

HMS Bridgewater (L01) was the lead ship of her class of sloops built for the Royal Navy in the 1920s. Completed in 1929, the ship was initially assigned to the China Station and then joined the Commander-in-Chief, Africa in 1935. During the Second World War, Bridgewater spent most of her time on convoy escort duties off the West African coast although she did play a minor role in the Battle of Dakar in 1940. She was replaced in that role before the end of the war by more modern ships and was relegated to training duties in the UK. The ship was reduced to reserve shortly after the end of the war and was sold for scrap in 1947.