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Unnumbered Vessel Photo Archive

William Caldwell

Castle Class Trawler:

  • Built in 1918 by Cook, Welton, and Gemmell, Ltd., Beverly, England
  • Completed as a Minesweeper 16 November 1918
  • Launched 27 November 1918
  • Leased to the U.S. Navy in the spring of 1919
  • Commissioned UST William Caldwell 28 May 1919 at Grimsby, England
  • Decommissioned 6 October 1919 at Brightlingsea, England and returned to the Admiralty
  • Sold 11 May 1920 to Edward Brand and John H. Dove of Milford Haven, Wales
  • Sold 19 March 1923 to John H. Dove of Milford Haven
  • Sold in 1935 to Mrs. Gertrude E. Dove of Milford Haven
  • Sold in 1937 to the Pembroke Hake Fishing Co., Ltd. of Milford Haven
  • Sold 15 September 1939 to the Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Co., Ltd. of Fleetwood, England
  • Requisitioned for war service in January 1940 and placed in service as Boom Defense Trawler, William Caldwell (Z 142) and based at Fort William, Scotland
  • Sold in December 1946 to the Inch Fishing Co. Ltd. of Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Sold in 1949 to the Clyde Fishing Co., Ltd. of Edinburgh
  • Sold in 1955 to the Inch Fishing Co., Ltd. of Granton, Scotland
  • Sold for scrap in 1957 to the British Iron and Steel Co. at Granton.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 290 t.
  • Length 125'
  • Beam 23' 6"
  • Draft 12' 7"
  • Speed 10.5 kts.
  • Complement 19
  • Armament: Small arms
  • Propulsion: One boiler, one 480ihp triple-expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    UST William Caldwell
    William Caldwell 108k Photo from "Sweeping the North Sea Mine Barrage by the U.S. Navy North Sea Minesweeping Detachment" Joe Radigan
    William Caldwell
    William Caldwell 138k Granton, Scotland
    Photo courtesy of the Shetland Museum and Archives    		 Joe Radigan
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS Charles A. Ryan, USNRF - Awarded the Navy Cross (1920)28 May 1919
    02LTJG Edmund DeLavy, USNRF - Awarded the Navy Cross (1920)1919 - 22 June 1919
    03LTJG Howard Keane, USN22 June 1919
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    View the William Caldwell
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
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