Name HMS Owen Laid down 30 September 1944 Decommissioned 14 October 1965 Launched 19 October 1945 Builder Hall, Russell & Company | Ordered 2 May 1943 Commissioned 2 August 1949 Construction started 30 September 1944 Draft 3.89 m | |
Namesake | ||
HMS Owen was a Bay-class frigate built for the Royal Navy during World War 2.
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Design and description
Owen was converted into a survey vessel while still under construction. She displaced 1,600 long tons (1,600 t) at standard load and 2,420 long tons (2,460 t) at deep load. The ship had an overall length of 307 feet (93.6 m), a beam of 38 feet 7 inches (11.8 m) and a draught of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m). She was powered by two vertical triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam provided by two Admiralty three-drum boilers. The engines produced a total of 5,500 shaft horsepower (4,100 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). Owen carried a maximum of 580 long tons (590 t) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). The ship's complement was 133 officers and ratings.
The survey ships were armed only with four 3-pounder saluting guns.
Construction and career
She was named for the explorer and naval officer William Fitzwilliam Owen. She was originally laid down as the Loch-class vessel Loch Muick, and re-ordered as Thurso Bay while building. She was completed as Owen, modified for use as a survey vessel for dealing with the large numbers of uncharted wrecks and mines around the British Isles as a result of World War II. For this purpose she was fitted for minesweeping.