HMS Portchester Castle (K362) was a built in 1943 and scrapped in 1958. She was the only ship of the Royal Navy to be named after Portchester Castle in Hampshire. She was involved in the sinking of two German U-boats during her wartime career. Post-war she was used in two feature films and a comedy.
Construction and career
She was launched on 21 June 1943 at Swan Hunter shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Sinking of U-484
On 9 September 1944 Portchester Castle and sank the in the North Atlantic north-west of Ireland, in position .
Sinking of U-1200
As one of four ships in 30th Escort Group under the command of Denys Rayner, Portchester Castle shared in the sinking of the south of Ireland (in position ) on 11 November 1944, along with her sister ships , and .
Film appearances
In 1951 Portchester Castle was employed to represent the fictitious HMS Saltash Castle in the film The Cruel Sea (1953). The ship was also seen in the film The Man Who Never Was (1955) and The Navy Lark (1959). In both Sea and Lark she is shown wearing the pennant number F362 rather than her own K362.
Citations
Bibliography
- Rayner, D.A., Escort: The Battle of the Atlantic, London: William Kimber, pp. 224–229