HMS Culver
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USCGC ''Mendota'' was a belonging to the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
launched on 20 June 1928 and commissioned on 23 March 1929. After 12 years of service with the Coast Guard, she was transferred to the
British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
as part of the
Lend-Lease Act Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),
and renamed HMS ''Culver''. While escorting an SL convoy, on 31 January 1942 she was sunk when struck by two torpedoes fired by the .


Career


U.S. Coast Guard - ''Mendota''

After commissioning in March 1929, ''Mendota'' was
homeport A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...
ed in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
. In March 1932, ''Mendota'' came to the aid of the oil tanker '' Dixie Arrow'' after her steering gear had been damaged in a storm. On 22 December 1939, attempted to assist the Greek steamship ''Aliakmon'', which had grounded north of
Wash Woods, Virginia Wash Woods was an town, unincorporated town on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the former Princess Anne County, Virginia, Princess Anne County (now the independent Virginia Beach, Virginia, City of Virginia Beach), in the southeastern corner o ...
. The
hawser Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick rope used in Mooring (watercraft), mooring or towing a ship. A hawser is not waterproof, as is a Nautical cable, cable. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the wikt: ...
that had been secured to the vessel parted, but ''Mendota'', having arrived a few hours later, was able to float the $200,000 vessel.


Royal Navy - ''Culver''

As part of the
Lend-Lease Act Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),
she was transferred to the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
where she was renamed HMS ''Culver'' (Y87) and commissioned on 30 April 1941. On 31 October 1941, ''Culver'' picked up 25 people from the Dutch merchant vessel ''Bennekom'' which had been sunk by a
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
from .


Sinking

On 31 January 1942, while escorting convoy SL 98, ''Culver'' came under fire by the German submarine . At 23:31 hours, she was struck twice, once on the port side in the forward boiler room and once further aft that likely struck the vessel's
magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
. ''Culver'' broke in two and sank in less than a minute. The commander, 7 officers and 119 ratings were lost. A single officer and 12 ratings survived the sinking and were rescued by .


See also

*
List of United States Coast Guard cutters The List of United States Coast Guard Cutters is a listing of all United States Coast Guard Cutter, cutters to have been commissioned by the United States Coast Guard during the history of that service. It is sorted by length down to 65', the mini ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culver, HMS) Lake-class cutters Banff-class sloops Ships of the United States Coast Guard World War II sloops of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in January 1942 Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II 1928 ships World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean