Construction and Design
Black Swan was laid down by Yarrow Shipbuilders on 20 June 1938, launched on 7 July 1939, and commissioned on 27 January 1940.
The Black Swan class was a lengthened version of the earlier Egret class sloops. The main gun armament consisted of six QF 4 inch Mk XVI anti-aircraft guns in three twin turrets, with the fourth 4 inch turret of the Egret class removed to allow addition of a quadruple barrel 2 pounder pom-pom short-range anti-aircraft gun. Anti submarine armament consisted of depth charge throwers with 40 depth charges carried.
When completed, Black Swan was not fitted with the planned quadruple pom-pom, with two quadruple Vickers .50 machine gun mounts fitted instead. The pom-pom was installed in May 1941, and the ineffective machine guns replaced by a single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon in September that year. The Hedgehog anti-submarine weapon and two more 20 mm cannon was fitted in June 1942, and a further three cannon were fitted in 1943. The ship's depth charge complement was increased to 110 during the war.
Read more about this topic: HMS Black Swan (L57)
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