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Gunboat Photo Archive

Caprice (PG 90)
ex-HMS Honesty (K 285)
ex-Caprice (PG 90)
ex-CN-308

British Flower Class Corvette/Action Class Patrol Gunboat:

  • Laid down as CN-308 by the Kingston Shipbuilding Co., Kingston, Ontario, Canada for the U.S. Navy
  • Named and designated as a Patrol Gunboat, Caprice (PG 90)
  • Launched 28 September 1942
  • Transferred to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease Program 28 May 1943 and renamed and reclassified HMS Honesty (K 285)
  • Returned to U.S. custody 5 January 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register 20 March 1946
  • Sold 10 December 1946
  • Scrapped at Hamburg, Germany in 1961.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 900 t.
  • Length 205'
  • Beam 33'
  • Draft 14' 7"
  • Speed 16 kts.
  • Complement 109
  • Armament: One 102mm mount, one 2-pounder, one Hedgehog, four depth charge guns and two depth charge chutes
  • Propulsion: One 4-cylinder triple expansion engine, one shaft
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Caprice 74k c. 1943
    "Centering up" as she comes alongside a jetty at the South African Naval Force dockyard at Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, South Africaand prepares to be pulled out of the water on the newly constructed slipway
    Imperial War Museum, MacGregor Graham (Lieutenant Commander) (photographs), Made by Neave, Frank W. (photographer), photo © IWM (HU 110625)    		 Mike Green
    Caprice 67k c. 1943
    On a cradle and leaving the water as she is brought up for refit at the South African Naval Force dockyard at Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
    Imperial War Museum Royal Navy in South Africa during the Second World War Collection, by Neave, Frank W., Photo No. © IWM (HU 110615)
    Caprice 70k c. 1943
    On the slipway, being raised out of the water as she prepares for a refit at the South African Naval Force dockyard at Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
    Imperial War Museum Royal Navy in South Africa during the Second World War Collection, by Neave, Frank W., Photo No. © IWM (HU 110618)
    Caprice 80k c. 1943
    Out of the water as she undergoes a refit at the South African Naval Force dockyard at Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa
    Imperial War Museum, MacGregor Graham (Lieutenant Commander) (photographs), Made by Neave, Frank W. (photographer), photo © IWM (HU 110617) and (HU 110623)
    Caprice 68k
    Caprice 68k c. 1943
    Leaving the South African Naval Force dockyard at Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa for full steam trials during a refit
    Imperial War Museum, MacGregor Graham (Lieutenant Commander) (photographs), Made by Neave, Frank W. (photographer), photo © IWM (HU 110619)
    Caprice 79k c. 1943
    Port broadside view underway, leaving the South African Naval Force dockyard at Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa after a refit. The corvette on the left appears to be HMS Thyme (K 210)
    Imperial War Museum Royal Navy in South Africa during the Second World War Collection, by Neave, Frank W., Photo No. © IWM (HU 110620)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History:

    Caprice

    A whim.

    The second Caprice (PG-90), formerly CN-308, was launched 28 September 1942, by Kingston Shipbuilding Co., Kingston, Ontario, Canada, for the United States Navy. Upon completion, Caprice was transferred to the Royal Navy on 28 May 1943 and commissioned as HMS Honesty. On 5 January 1946 she was returned to the United States Navy. Never commissioned in the United States Navy, Caprice was sold on 10 December 1946.

    *********************************************************************

    Honesty

    A British name retained. A common garden plant with large purple flowers.

    Caprice (PG-90) (q.v.) was renamed HMS Honesty upon transfer to the United Kingdom under lend-lease 28 May 1943.

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