Laid down 26 April 1943 Length 306 ft (93 m) overall Launched 17 July 1943 | Commissioned 13 October 1943 Construction started 26 April 1943 | |
Decommissioned Returned to US Navy on 5 November 1945 Fate Sold to Mr. John J. Witte of Staten Island, N.Y., on 17 June 1947 for scrapping Displacement 1,800 tons fully loaded | ||
HMS Bentley was a Buckley class Captains class frigate which served during World War II. The ship was named after Sir John Bentley who entered the Royal Navy in 1720. Between 1744 and 1761 he commanded a series of ships and took part in the decisive victory at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759 while commanding a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line HMS Warspite.
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Originally destined for the US Navy HMS Bentley was provisionally given the name USS Ebert (later this name was reassigned to DE 768) however the delivery was diverted to the Royal Navy before the launch. Commanding Officers were Lt Cdr P C Hopkins RN August 1943, Lt Cdr E May RN May 1944 & Lt F L Boyer RN December 1944.
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HMS Bentley served exclusively with the 1st Escort Group taking part in operations in the North Atlantic.
On 19 February 1944 together with HMS Affleck, HMS Bentley picked up 54 survivors from the Panamanian merchant Colin which had been torpedoed and sunk the previous day in the North Atlantic in position 54.16°N 31.58°W / 54.16; -31.58 by the Kriegsmarine submarine U-859.