HMS Burghead Bay

Last updated

HMS Burghead Bay 1945 IWM FL 7265.jpg
Burghead Bay in September 1945
History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Burghead Bay
Namesake Burghead Bay
Builder Charles Hill & Sons, Bristol
Laid down21 September 1944
Launched3 March 1945
Commissioned20 September 1945
DecommissionedAugust 1958
Identification Pennant number K622/F622
FateSold to Portugal, May 1959
BadgeOn a Field per fess wavy Gold and barry wavy of four white and blue, issuant in fess four golden hills conjoined green.
Flag of Portugal.svgPortugal
NameNRP Álvares Cabral
Namesake Pedro Álvares Cabral
AcquiredMay 1959
Decommissioned23 June 1971
IdentificationF336
FateScrapped
General characteristics
Class and type Bay-class frigate
Displacement
  • 1,600 long tons (1,626 t) standard
  • 2,530 long tons (2,571 t) full
Length
  • 286 ft (87 m) p/p
  • 307 ft 3 in (93.65 m) o/a
Beam38 ft 6 in (11.73 m)
Draught12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
Propulsion2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW)
Speed19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph)
Range724 tons oil fuel, 9,500 nmi (17,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement157
Sensors and
processing systems
Armament

HMS Burghead Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for Burghead Bay in Morayshire.

Contents

The ship was originally ordered as a Loch-class frigate from Hall Russell of Aberdeen to be named Loch Harport. The order was cancelled in December 1943 and the ship was re-ordered as a Bay-class frigate from Charles Hill & Sons of Bristol in 1944. She was laid down on 21 September 1944 as Job No. J601 (Yard No. 301) and launched by Mrs A.V. Alexander, wife of the 1st Lord of the Admiralty on 3 March 1945. [1]

Royal Navy service

Commissioned for service on 20 September 1945, Burghead Bay carried out sea trials in October, and was deployed in November to the Plymouth Local Flotilla, where she stayed until the end of 1952, carrying out exercises, search and rescue in the Channel, and sea training. In 1948 her pennant number was changed to F622. [1]

In January 1952 Burghead Bay sailed via La Plata and Montevideo to the Falkland Islands for guard ship duty, making calls to the South Orkney Islands, Graham Land, the South Shetland Islands and South Georgia carrying out survey work. In February, she was involved in the Hope Bay incident in Antarctica. [2] In April she was relieved by sister ship Veryan Bay. She then sailed to Bermuda to join the West Indies Squadron, taking part in exercises and patrols, and making port visits around the Caribbean, before returning to the UK in October to refit. [1]

Refitting was completed by April 1953, and she took part in the Coronation Naval Review at Spithead in June [3] before returning to Bermuda for the usual programme of exercises and port visits, returning to the UK in June 1954. After another refit in which new radars and UHF radio equipment were fitted she departed for the West Indies in December. In February 1955 she sailed to the Falklands for guard ship duty, returning to Bermuda in June, and sailed back to the UK in November. [1]

An extended refit at Devonport lasted from January 1956 until March 1957. On 24 May Burghead Bay was recommissioned for service in 7th Frigate Squadron on the South Atlantic Station, sailing for Simon's Town in August. She made calls in Brazil and Argentina, took part in squadron exercises in South Atlantic, and was also deployed in South African waters for joint exercises with the South African Navy. In early 1958 she visited ports in East Africa. In May she sailed for the Falklands for her third and final tour of duty as guard ship, departing in June and sailing to the UK via ports on west coast of South America, making calls in Chile and Peru before transiting the Panama Canal, and finally arriving at Devonport in August where she was decommissioned, put into Reserve, and on the Disposal List. [1] During this commission she was commanded by Commander S L McArdle [1]

Portuguese naval service

Burghead Bay was bought by Portugal in May 1959 for service in the Portuguese Navy as NRP Álvares Cabral. [4] She was deployed as an anti-aircraft frigate until 23 June 1971, and then scrapped. [1]

Related Research Articles

HMAS <i>Duchess</i> (D154)

HMAS Duchess was a Daring-class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy as HMS Duchess from 1952 to 1964, and in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1964 to 1980. She was laid down by John I. Thornycroft and Company, and commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1952.

HMS <i>Northumberland</i> (F238) 1994 Type 23 or Duke-class frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Northumberland is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. She is named after the Duke of Northumberland. She is the eighth RN ship to bear the name since the first 70-gun ship of the line in 1679, and the ninth in the class of Type 23 frigates. She is based at Devonport and is part of the Devonport Flotilla.

HMS <i>Loch Fada</i> (K390) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Loch Fada was the lead ship of the Loch-class frigates of the British Royal Navy, built by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Scotland, and named after Loch Fada in the Inner Hebrides.

HMS <i>Loch Insh</i> Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Loch Insh was a Loch-class frigate of the Royal Navy, named after Loch Insh in Scotland. She was built by Henry Robb of Leith and launched on 10 May 1944. After service at the end of World War II she was decommissioned, but reactivated in 1950 and served, mostly in the Persian Gulf, until 1962. The ship was sold to the Royal Malaysian Navy in 1963, and renamed KD Hang Tuah (F433). She was scrapped in 1977.

HMS <i>Morecambe Bay</i> (K624) Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy and Portuguese Navy

HMS Morecambe Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after Morecambe Bay on the north western coast of England. In commission from 1949 until 1956, she saw active service in the Korean War, and was sold to Portugal in 1961 to serve as NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida until 1970.

HMS Porlock Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for Porlock Bay on the northern coast of Somerset. Commissioned in 1946, she served on the American and West Indies Station and as a Fisheries Protection Vessel before being put into reserve in 1949. She was sold to Finland in 1962 and served as the training ship Matti Kurki until 1974.

HMS <i>Bigbury Bay</i> (K606) 1945 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Bigbury Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for Bigbury Bay in Devon.

HMS <i>Cardigan Bay</i> (K630) 1945 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Cardigan Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after Cardigan Bay, off the coast of Ceredigion, Wales.

HMS St Austell Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after St Austell Bay on the south coast of Cornwall. In commission from 1945 until 1956, she served in the Mediterranean Fleet and on the America and West Indies Squadron.

HMS Start Bay (K604/F604) was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for Start Bay in Devon. In commission from 1945 to 1946 in the Mediterranean Fleet, she spent most of her career in the Reserve Fleet.

HMS Tremadoc Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for Tremadoc Bay in north Wales.

HMS <i>Veryan Bay</i> (K651) 1945 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Veryan Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after Veryan Bay on the south coast of Cornwall. In commission from 1945 until 1957, she saw service in the Pacific, Mediterranean, and Home Fleets, in the West Indies and in the South Atlantic.

HMS <i>Whitesand Bay</i> (K633) 1945 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Whitesand Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for Whitesand Bay in Cornwall. In commission from 1945 to 1954, she served in the Pacific, Mediterranean, West Indies and Far East Fleets, seeing active service in the Korean War.

HMS <i>Surprise</i> (K346) 1946 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Surprise was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy. In commission from 1946 to 1965, she served in the Mediterranean Fleet as a Despatch Vessel for the Commander-in-Chief. Although principally employed for the use as a yacht by the CinC, Surprise was also deployed in its operational role as an anti-aircraft frigate and was allocated to the Haifa Patrol for a brief period in 1948. The archaic term "Despatch Vessel" was replaced by "Flag Frigate" in 1961.

HMS <i>Cook</i> (K638) 1950 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Cook was a Bay-class frigate of the Royal Navy, named for the explorer James Cook, which served as a survey ship, mostly in the Pacific Ocean from 1950 until 1964.

HMS <i>Loch Fyne</i> (K429) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Loch Fyne was a Loch-class frigate of the British Royal Navy, built by the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company Ltd, Burntisland, Fife, Scotland, and named after Loch Fyne in Scotland. The ship was launched in 1944, and served at the end of World War II. Recommissioned in 1951, she served in the Persian Gulf and was scrapped in 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic</span> Former British Royal Navy Station

The Commander-in-Chief South Atlantic was an operational commander of the Royal Navy from 1939. The South American area was added to his responsibilities in 1960, and the post disestablished in 1967.

HMNZS <i>Rotoiti</i> (F625)

HMNZS Rotoiti (F625) was a Loch-class frigate of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), which had formerly served in the British Royal Navy as HMS Loch Katrine at the end of World War II.

HMNZS <i>Hawea</i> (F422)

HMNZS Hawea (F422), formerly HMS Loch Eck (K422), was one of six Loch-class frigates that served in both the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). The ship was laid down by Smiths Dock on 25 October 1943, launched on 25 April 1944 and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Loch Eck on 7 November 1944.

HMS <i>Loch Achanalt</i> Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Loch Achanalt was a Loch-class frigate of the Royal Navy that was loaned to and served with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II. Ordered from Henry Robb, Leith, on 24 July 1942 as a River-class frigate, the order was changed, and ship laid down on 14 September 1943, and launched by Mrs. A.V. Alexander, wife of the First Lord of the Admiralty on 23 March 1944 and completed on 11 August 1944. After the war she was transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy and renamed Pukaki.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mason, Geoffrey B. (2005). Gordon Smith (ed.). "HMS Burghead Bay, frigate". naval-history.net. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  2. ↑ "FALKLAND ISLANDS DEPENDENCIES (HOPE BAY INCIDENT) (Hansard, 20 February 1952)". api.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Souvenir Programme, Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953, HMSO, Gale and Polden
  4. ↑ Raymond V B Blackman (ed.). Jane's Fighting Ships 1963-4. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd. p. 207.

Publications

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN   978-1-86176-281-8.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.