Allied Warships
HMS Kenilworth Castle (K 420)
Corvette of the Castle class
Photograph with thanks to Bill Allon. His father J.J. Allon, RNR was in command of HMS Kenilworth Castle during the war.
| Navy | The Royal Navy |
| Type | Corvette |
| Class | Castle |
| Pennant | K 420 |
| Built by | Smiths Dock Co., Ltd. (South Bank-on-Tees, U.K.) |
| Ordered | 19 Dec 1942 |
| Laid down | 7 May 1943 |
| Launched | 17 Aug 1943 |
| Commissioned | 14 Nov 1943 |
| End service | |
| History | Scrapped at Llanelly starting on 20 June 1959. See also this website (offsite link). |
Commands listed for HMS Kenilworth Castle (K 420)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | T/Lt. James Joseph Allon, RNR | 11 Oct 1943 | 20 Mar 1945 |
| 2 | A/Lt.Cdr. Joseph Oswald Williams, RNR | 20 Mar 1945 | 29 Nov 1945 |
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Notable events involving Kenilworth Castle include:
5 Jan 1944
HrMs O 10 (Lt.Cdr. A. van Altena, RNN(R)) participated in A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Watchman (Lt.Cdr. G.H.D. Williams, RN), HMS Kenilworth Castle (Lt. J.J.Allon, RNR) and HMS Woodpecker (Cdr. H.L. Pryse, RNR). (1)
6 Jan 1944
HrMs O 10 (Lt.Cdr. A. van Altena, RNN(R)) participated in A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Kenilworth Castle (Lt. J.J.Allon, RNR) and HMS Ettrick (T/A/Lt.Cdr. N.J.T. Monsarrat, RNVR). (1)
7 Jan 1944
HrMs O 10 (Lt.Cdr. A. van Altena, RNN(R)) participated in A/S exercises off Lough Foyle together with HMS Ettrick (T/A/Lt.Cdr. N.J.T. Monsarrat, RNVR), HMCS Galt (T/Lt. A.M. Kirkpatrick, RCNVR), HMS Kenilworth Castle (Lt. J.J.Allon, RNR), HMS Berkeley Castle (T/Lt. F.A. Darrah, RNVR). (1)
6 Mar 1944
After unsuccessful attempts at towing the boat to port German U-boat U-744 was sunk at 1830hrs on 6 March 1944 in the North Atlantic, in position 52°01'N, 22°37'W, after being torpedoed by the British destroyer HMS Icarus (Lt.Cdr. R. Dyer, RN). U-744 was attacked for over 30 hours by depth charges from HMS Icarus, the Canadian frigate HMCS St. Catharines (T/Lt.Cdr. A.F. Pickard, RCNR with Cdr. P.W. Burnett, DSC, RN escort group commander onboard), Canadian corvettes HMCS Fennel (A/Lt.Cdr. W.P. Moffat, RCNVR), HMCS Chilliwack (T/A/Lt.Cdr. C.R. Coughlin, RCNVR), Canadian destroyers HMCS Chaudiere (A/Lt.Cdr. C.P. Nixon, RCN), HMCS Gatineau (A/Lt.Cdr. H.V.W. Groos, RCN) and the British corvette HMS Kenilworth Castle (Lt. J.J.Allon, RNR).
20 Jul 1944
HMS Upshot (Lt. H.W. Wilkinson, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Larne with HMS Portchester Castle (Lt. A.G. Scott, RNR) and HMS Kenilworth Castle (T/A/Lt.Cdr. J.J. Allon, RNR). (2)
11 Nov 1944
The depth charge attacks carried out by the British corvettes HMS Pevensey Castle (Cdr. D.A. Rayner, DSC, VD, RNVR), HMS Launceston Castle (Lt. R.M. Roberts, RNR), HMS Portchester Castle (Lt. A.G. Scott, RNR) and HMS Kenilworth Castle (Lt. J.J. Allon, RNR) south of Ireland, in position 50°24'N, 09°10'W, formerly credited with the destruction of the German U-boat U-1200, were actually made against a non-sub target.
28 Mar 1945
HrMs O 23 (Lt.Cdr. A.J. Schouwenaar, RNN) conducted A/S exercises off Loch Alsh with HMS Philante (Cdr. M.J. Evans, OBE, RN), HMS Pevensey Castle (Cdr. E. Hewitt, RD, RNR), HMS Kenilworth Castle (A/Lt.Cdr. J.O. Williams, RNR), HMS Launceston Castle (Lt. R.M. Roberts, RNR) and HMS Caistor Castle (A/Lt.Cdr. B.J. Bowick, RNVR). These included night exercises. (3)
Sources
- File 2.12.03.6384 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
- ADM 173/19297
- File 2.12.03.6428 (Dutch Archives, The Hague, Netherlands)
ADM numbers indicate documents at the British National Archives at Kew, London.