HMS Urchin

History: HMS Urchin was a U-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service during the Second World War. Urchin formed part of the British Pacific Fleet during the latter part of the War.

Following service in the Second World War Urchin was held in reserve at Harwich, then Chatham Dockyard until 1952. Between 1952 and 1954 she was converted into a Type 15 fast anti-submarine frigate, by Barclay Curle, Glasgow. Following this she was allocated the new pennant number F196. She re-commissioned on the 3 June 1954 into the 3rd Training Squadron, based at Londonderry. In 1956 she went back into reserve at Portsmouth Dockyard. In 1957 she was refitted as a training frigate and re-commissioned for service with the Dartmouth Training Squadron. She subsequently served off Iceland during the 'Cod wars' in 1959.

Class: The U and V class was a class of sixteen destroyers of the Royal Navy launched in 1942–1943. They were constructed in two flotillas, each with names beginning with "U-" or "V-" (although there was a return to the pre-war practice of naming the designated flotilla leader after a famous naval figure from history to honour the lost ships Grenville and Hardy). The flotillas constituted the 7th Emergency Flotilla and 8th Emergency Flotilla, built under the War Emergency Programme. These ships used the Fuze Keeping Clock HA Fire Control Computer.

Nationality: The United Kingdom, made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is an island nation in northwestern Europe. England – birthplace of Shakespeare and The Beatles – is home to the capital, London, a globally influential centre of finance and culture. England is also site of Neolithic Stonehenge, Bath’s Roman spa and centuries-old universities at Oxford and Cambridge.