(BDE-71: dp. 1,300; 1. 306'; b. 36'9"; dr. 10'9"; s. 24 k.; cpl. 200; a. 3 3", 2 40mm., 8 20mm., 1 dcp. (hh.), 2 dct., 4 dcp.; cl. Buckley)
Edmund Affleck, born in or near the year, 1732, entered the Royal Navy in 1745 and rose to the rank of post captain in 1757. During the American Revolution, he served on the American station for a time before participating in the campaign to relieve the siege of Gibraltar and distinguishing himself in the "Moonlight Battle" fought near Cape St. Vincent on 16 January 1780.
In 1781, he returned to the American theater where he won distinction again in the defense of Saint Christopher's in January 1782 and in the Battle of the Saints fought near Dominica and Guadaloupe on 12 April 1782. After returning to England in 1784, Affleck attained the rank of rear admiral of the blue, but his death on 19 November 1788 robbed him of the opportunity to wear his flag in a command at sea.
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Oswald (DE-71) was laid down on 5 April 1943 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; but was assigned to the United Kingdom under lend lease on 10 June 1943 for transfer to the Royal Navy. The name Oswald was reassigned to DE-637 less than two weeks later, on 23 June 1943. DE-71 was launched on 30 June 1943. Completion of the ship and her acceptance by the United States Navy came simultaneously on 29 September 1943. She was also delivered to the Royal Navy that same day and commissioned as HMS Affleck (K.462).
During her World War II service, Affleck garnered "battle honors" in the North Atlantic, off Normandy, and in the English Channel. She figured in the destruction of four U-boats; U-91 on 25 February 1944, in company with Gore (K.481) and Gould (K.476); U-358 on 1 March 1944, in company with Gould, Gore, and Garlies (K.271); U-392 on 16 March 1944, in company with the long-range escort vessel Vanoc (H.33) and planes from VP-63; and U-1191 on 25 June 1944 with Balfour (K.464).
At 1240 on the day after Christmas of 1944, while on patrol in the English channel some 10 miles north of Cherbourg, Affleck took a hit from a German acoustic torpedo, fired from U-486, which struck near the port rudder. Although consequent correspondence indicates that the ship was "not in such a condition to warrant scrapping" and that "consideration [should] be given to towing this vessel to Belfast for repairs utilizing the stern section" of sister ship Whitaker (K.580), Affleck remained inactive through the spring of 1945, earmarked for conversion to a fast transport (APD). Further correspondence on the matter that spring and early summer reflect that the Admiralty did not desire to return the damaged Affleck to operational status. The American Navy complied with the Admiralty's request, in August 1945, to take custody of the ship in British waters; and she was stricken from the Navy list on 17 September 1945. She was sold to the Lisbon-based Transcontinental Victory Commercial Corporation, Ltd., on 24 January 1947, and scrapped.
