HMS Bahamas

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History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Hotham
NamesakeSir William Hotham (1772–1848), British naval officer who was commanding officer of HMS Adamant at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797 (British name assigned in anticipation of ship's transfer to United Kingdom) [1]
Builder Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down7 April 1943 [2]
Reclassified Patrol frigate, 15 April 1943
RenamedBahamas, 1943
Namesake The Bahamas (British name assigned in anticipation of ship's transfer to United Kingdom)
Launched17 August 1943
Sponsored byMrs. James A. Gallagher
Acquiredby Captain Walter Thompson
Commissionednever
Identification
  • PG-183
  • PF-75
FateTransferred to United Kingdom 6 December 1943
AcquiredReturned by United Kingdom 11 June 1946
FateSold for scrapping 16 December 1947
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Bahamas
Namesake The Bahamas
Acquired6 December 1943
Commissioned6 December 1943 [2]
IdentificationK503
FateReturned to United States, 11 June 1946
General characteristics
Class and type Colony/Tacoma-class frigate
Displacement1,264 long tons (1,284 t)
Length303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)
Beam37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Draft13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Propulsion
  • 3 × boilers
  • 2 × turbines, 5,500 shp (4,100 kW) each
  • 2 shafts
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement190
Armament

HMS Bahamas (K503) was a Colony-class frigate of the United Kingdom that served during World War II. She originally was ordered by the United States Navy as the Tacoma-class frigate USS Hotham (PF-75) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion.

Contents

Construction and acquisition

The ship, originally designated a "patrol gunboat," PG-183, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a United States Navy contract as the first USS Hotham. Laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 7 April 1943, [2] she was reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-75, on 15 April 1943. Intended for transfer to the United Kingdom, the ship was renamed Bahamas by the British prior to launching and was launched on 17 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. James A. Gallagher.

Service history

Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 6 December 1943, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS Bahamas (K503) on patrol and escort duty. The most notable event of her career took place while she was part of the escort of an Arctic convoy in the Barents Sea on 11 November 1944; the German submarine U-365 blew the entire bow off of the British destroyer HMS Cassandra with a G7es ("GNAT") torpedo at 71°57′00″N032°04′00″E / 71.95000°N 32.06667°E / 71.95000; 32.06667 , and Bahamas took Cassandra under tow stern-first toward the Kola Inlet in the Soviet Union. A Soviet tug later took over the tow from Bahamas and successfully delivered Cassandra to the Kola Inlet. [2]

Disposal

The United Kingdom returned Bahamas to the U.S. Navy on 11 June 1946. She was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Commission for disposal and subsequently sold to the John J. Duane Company of Quincy, Massachusetts, for scrapping on 16 December 1947.

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References

Notes

  1. ↑ The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting ShipsHotham II article does not provide a namesake, but its Hotham I article for a destroyer escort transferred to the United Kingdom identifies "Hotham" as a British name.
  2. 1 2 3 4 uboat.net HMS Bahamas (K 503)

Bibliography

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