Allied Warships

HMS Bickerton (K 466)

Frigate of the Captain class

Navy	The Royal Navy
Type	Frigate
Class	Captain
Pennant	K 466
Built by	Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard Inc. (Hingham, Massachusetts, U.S.A.)
Ordered	10 Jan 1942
Laid down	3 May 1943
Launched	26 Jul 1943
Commissioned	17 Oct 1943
Lost	22 Aug 1944
Loss position	71° 42'N, 19° 11'E

History	HMS Bickerton (Cdr. Donald George Frederick Wyville MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN), as part of the 5th Escort Group was escorting the second group of escort carriers (HMS Trumpeter (D 09) and HMS Nabob (D 77)) from the Home Fleet (Adm Moore), which covered the convoy JW-59 and launched further attacks (Operation Goodwood) on the German battleship Tirpitz in the Altenfjord. Before the group was able to launch an attack on the battleship, U-354 encountered them on her search for the convoy northwest of the North Cape in the Barents Sea. At about 01.00 hours on 22 August 1944, the U-boat badly damaged HMS Nabob (D 77) with a FAT torpedo spread and tried to sink her at 01.22 hours with a Gnat, which struck HMS Bickerton (K 466) in position 71º42'N, 19º11'E. The frigate was subsequently scuttled by a torpedo from HMS Vigilant (R 93). Hit by U-boat Sunk on 22 Aug 1944 by U-354 (Sthamer).
U-boat Attack	See our U-boat attack entry for the HMS Bickerton

Commands listed for HMS Bickerton (K 466)

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	Commander	From	To
1	Lt. Ernest Michael Thorpe, DSO, RN	30 Aug 1943	Mar 1944
2	Cdr. Donald George Frederick Wyville MacIntyre, DSO, RN	Mar 1944	22 Aug 1944

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Notable events involving Bickerton include:

22 Mar 1944
HMS Sealion (Lt. P.E. Newstead, DSC, RN) conducted exercises in the Clyde area with HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN) and HMS Grindall (Cdr. W. Cole, RD, RNR). (1)

23 Mar 1944
HMS Sealion (Lt. P.E. Newstead, DSC, RN) conducted exercises in the Clyde area with HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN) and HMS Blade (T/A/Lt.Cdr. S.T. Wenlock, RNR). (1)

24 Mar 1944
HMS Sealion (Lt. P.E. Newstead, DSC, RN) conducted exercises in the Clyde area with HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN) and HMS Blade (T/A/Lt.Cdr. S.T. Wenlock, RNR). (1)

26 Mar 1944
HMS Sealion (Lt. P.E. Newstead, DSC, RN) conducted exercises in the Clyde area with HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN), HMS Grindall (Cdr. W. Cole, RD, RNR) and HMS Blade (T/A/Lt.Cdr. S.T. Wenlock, RNR). (1)

29 Mar 1944
HMS Sealion (Lt. P.E. Newstead, DSC, RN) conducted exercises in the Clyde area with HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN), HMS Grindall (Cdr. W. Cole, RD, RNR) and HMS Blade (T/A/Lt.Cdr. S.T. Wenlock, RNR). (1)

30 Mar 1944
HMS Sealion (Lt. P.E. Newstead, DSC, RN) conducted exercises in the Clyde area with HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN), HMS Grindall (Cdr. W. Cole, RD, RNR) and HMS Blade (T/A/Lt.Cdr. S.T. Wenlock, RNR). (1)

11 Apr 1944
HMS H 28 (Lt. A.S. Melville-Ross, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN), HMS Kempthorne (Lt.Cdr. A. Brown, RD, RNR) and HMS Keats (T/A/Lt.Cdr. N.F. Israel, RNR). (2)

12 Apr 1944
HMS H 28 (Lt. A.S. Melville-Ross, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN), HMS Kempthorne (Lt.Cdr. A. Brown, RD, RNR) and HMS Keats (T/A/Lt.Cdr. N.F. Israel, RNR). (2)

13 Apr 1944
HMS H 28 (Lt. A.S. Melville-Ross, DSC, RN) conducted A/S exercises off Lough Foyle with HMCS Bittersweet (T/A/Lt.Cdr. F.B. Brooks-Hill, RCNVR), HMCS Napanee (T/Lt. S. Henderson, RCNR), HMCS Saskatchewan (T/Lt.Cdr. A.H. Easton, DSC, RCNR), HMCS Prince Rupert (T/Lt.Cdr. R.W. Draney, RCNR), HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN) and HMS Kempthorne (Lt.Cdr. A. Brown, RD, RNR) (2)

6 May 1944
German U-boat U-765 was sunk in the North Atlantic west of Ireland, in position 52°30'N, 28°28'W, by depth charges from a Swordfish aircraft (825 Sqn FAA/V) of the British escort carrier HMS Vindex (Capt. H.T.T. Bayliss, RN) and the British frigates HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN), HMS Bligh (A/Lt.Cdr. J.W. Cooper, RNR (retired)) and HMS Aylmer (Lt. A.D.P. Campbell, RN).

25 Jun 1944
German U-boat U-269 was sunk in the English Channel south-east of Torquay, in position 50°01'N, 02°59'W, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS Bickerton (Cdr. D.G.F.W. MacIntyre, DSO and 2 Bars, RN)