HMS Goodson

HMS Goodson , originally USS George , was an Evarts-class destroyer escort, assigned to the United Kingdom under the lend-lease.

Description

The Evarts-class ships had an overall length of, a beam of, and a draught of at full load. They displaced at and at full load. The ships had a diesel–electric powertrain derived from a submarine propulsion system with four General Motors 16-cylinder diesel engines providing power to four General Electric electric generators which sent electricity to four General Electric electric motors which drove the two propeller shafts. The destroyer escorts had enough power give them a speed of and enough fuel oil to give them a range of at. Their crew consisted of 198 officers and ratings.
The armament of the Evarts-class ships in British service consisted of three single mounts for 50-caliber /50 Mk 22 dual-purpose guns; one superfiring pair forward of the bridge and the third gun aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft defence was intended to consisted of a twin-gun mount for Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) guns atop the rear superstructure with nine Oerlikon AA guns located on the superstructure, but production shortages meant that that not all guns were fitted, or that additional Oerlikons replaced the Bofors guns. A Mark 10 Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar was positioned just behind the forward gun. The ships were also equipped with two depth charge rails at the stern and four "K-gun" depth charge throwers.

The ship was laid down as George on 20 May 1943 at the Boston Navy Yard, and named after Eugene Frank George, posthumously awarded the Navy Cross at Guadalcanal. She was assigned to the United Kingdom under the lend-lease on 22 June 1943; launched on 8 July 1943; transferred to the United Kingdom on 9 October 1943; and commissioned in the British Royal Navy as HMS Goodson.
During the remainder of World War II, she served on escort and patrol duty in the Atlantic and along the English coast. The ship supported the Allied Invasion of Europe at Normandy on 6 June 1944. Damaged on 25 June by U-984 commanded by Heinz Sieder and declared a constructive total loss, she was returned to the United States Navy on 21 October. On 9 January 1947 she was sold for scrap to John Lee of Belfast, Northern Ireland.