HMS Foley (K474)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Foley and USS Gillette.

HMS Foley during World War II.
History
United States
Name	USS Gillette (DE-270)
Namesake	U.S. Navy Lieutenant, junior grade Douglas Wiley Gillette (1918-1942), killed in action aboard the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) in the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands in 1942
Ordered	25 January 1942 [1]
Builder	Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts
Laid down	7 April 1943 [2]
Launched	19 May 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. Thomas O'Dea
Completed	8 September 1943
Fate	Transferred to United Kingdom 8 September 1943
Acquired	Returned by United Kingdom 22 August 1945 [2]
Name	USS Foley (DE-270)
Namesake	British name retained
Commissioned	22 August 1945
Decommissioned	19 October 1945
Stricken	1 November 1945 [2]
Fate	Sold 19 June 1946 for scrapping [2]
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Foley (K474)
Namesake	Admiral Sir Thomas Foley (1757-1833), British naval officer
Acquired	8 September 1943 [2]
Commissioned	8 September 1943 [1]
Fate	Returned to United States 22 August 1945
General characteristics
Displacement	1,140 long tons (1,158 t)
Length	289.5 ft (88.2 m)
Beam	35 ft (11 m)
Draught	9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion	Four General Motors 278A 16-cylinder engines GE 7,040 bhp (5,250 kW) generators (4,800 kW) GE electric motors for 6,000 shp (4,500 kW) Two shafts
Speed	20 knots (37 km/h)
Range	5,000 nautical miles (9,260 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement	156
Sensors and processing systems	SA & SL type radars Type 144 series Asdic MF Direction Finding antenna HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament	3 × 3 in (76 mm) /50 Mk.22 guns 1 × twin Bofors 40 mm mount Mk.I 7–16 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns Mark 10 Hedgehog antisubmarine mortar Depth charges QF 2-pounder naval gun
Notes	Pennant number K474

The second HMS Foley (K474) was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as the United States Navy Evarts-class destroyer escort USS Gillette (DE-270), she served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1945 and in the U.S. Navy as USS Foley (DE-270) from August to October 1945.

Construction and transfer

The ship was ordered as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-270 on 25 January 1942 ^{[1] [2]} and assigned the name USS Gillette, the first ship of the name, on 23 February 1943. She was laid down by the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, on 7 April 1943 ^[2] and launched on 19 May 1943, sponsored by Mrs. Thomas O'Dea. The United States transferred the ship to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease upon completion on 8 September 1943. ^[2]

Service history

Royal Navy, 1943-1945

Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as HMS Foley (K474) on 8 September 1943 ^[1] simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on patrol and escort duty. On 21 November 1943 she joined the British sloop HMS Crane (U23) in a depth-charge attack that sank the German submarine U-538 in the North Atlantic Ocean southwest of Ireland at position 45°40′00″N019°35′00″W / 45.66667°N 19.58333°W / 45.66667; -19.58333 (U-538 sunk) . ^[1]

The Royal Navy returned Foley to the U.S. Navy at Harwich, England, on 22 August 1945. ^[2]

U.S. Navy, 1945

The ship was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as USS Foley (DE-270) on 22 August 1945 simultaneously with her return . She moved to Trinity Bay on 28 August 1945, and on 29 August 1945 departed Trinity Bay as a part of Task Group 21.3. She crossed the Atlantic Ocean, called briefly at Naval Station Argentia in the Dominion of Newfoundland, and arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 10 September 1945. She remained there until decommissioned on 19 October 1945.

Disposal

The U.S. Navy struck Foley from its Naval Vessel Register on 1 November 1945. She was sold on 19 June 1946 for scrapping.

Citations

1. uboat.net HMS Foley (K 474)
2. Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Gillette (DE 270) HMS Foley (K-474)

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here. (USS Gillette I)
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here. (USS Foley)
• Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Gillette (DE-270) HMS Foley (K-474)
• uboat.net HMS Foley (K 474)

External links

• Photo gallery of HMS Foley (K474)