HMS Black Swan (L57)

Career (UK)
Name:	HMS Black Swan
Builder:	Yarrow Shipbuilders
Laid down:	20 June 1938
Launched:	7 July 1939
Commissioned:	27 January 1940
Fate:	Scrapped in 1956
General characteristics
Displacement:	1,250 tons
Length:	299 ft 6 in (91.29 m)
Beam:	37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Draught:	11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion:	Geared turbines, 2 shafts 3,600 hp (2.68 MW)
Speed:	19 knots (35 km/h)
Range:	7,500 nmi (13,900 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h)
Complement:	180
Armament:	6 × 4-inch (102 mm) AA guns (3 × 2) 4 × 2 pdr AA pom-pom 4 × 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) AA
Notes:	Pennant number: L57, U57, later F57

Service record
Part of:	British Pacific Fleet (1945)
Operations:	Battle of the Atlantic (1943) Yangtze Incident (1949)
Victories:	U-124 (2 April 1943)

For other ships of the same name, see HMS Black Swan.

HMS Black Swan (Pennant Numbers L57, U57, later F57), named after the Black Swan, was the name ship of the Black Swan-class of sloops of the British Royal Navy. She was laid down by Yarrow Shipbuilders on 20 June 1938, launched on 7 July 1939, and commissioned on 27 January 1940.

On 2 April 1943 Black Swan and the corvette HMS Stonecrop sank the top-scoring U-boat U-124 off the coast of Portugal.

During 1943, HMS Black Swan for a short time saw action near Iceland to provide escort against the U-Boat threat. After which she served in the Mediterranean, on Malta and Adriatic convoy protection duties. From there, HMS Black Swan passed through the Suez Canal en-route to the Asia / Far East and Pacific theatres against the Japanese forces. The ship was on active duties as far as Australia and the Philippine Islands.

At the cease of hostilities in 1945, HMS Black Swan followed the cruiser HMS Belfast into Shanghai and were the first Royal Navy warships to liberate the British concentration camps run by the Japanese.

In 1949 she took part in the Yangtze Incident, when she, with others went to aid of HMS Amethyst. Black Swan suffered 12 men wounded, and severe damage to her superstructure in a fierce engagement with Chinese batteries, and fell back. Overall the failed relief effort cost 46 killed and 64 injured. HMS Black Swan also served in the Korean War and was involved in the Battle of Chumonchin Chan.

HMS Black Swan was scrapped in 1956 at Troon in Scotland.