HMS Padstow Bay (K608)

Last updated

History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Padstow Bay
Namesake Padstow Bay
Builder Henry Robb, Leith
Yard number350
Laid down25 September 1944
Launched25 September 1945
Completed11 March 1946
CommissionedJune 1946
DecommissionedNovember 1947
Identification Pennant number K608
FateSold for scrapping, 1959
BadgeOn a Field per fess wavy Gold and barry wavy of four Blue and White upon a crook in fess, head to the dexter Gold. a wolf couchant Proper
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 Padstow Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for Padstow Bay on the northern coast of Cornwall. Commissioned in 1946, she served on the American and West Indies Station only until 1947 before being put into reserve, and then sold for scrapping in 1959. [1]

Contents

Construction

The ship was originally ordered on 19 January 1944 as the Loch-class frigate Loch Coulside. However, the contract was then changed, and the ship was laid down by Henry Robb of Leith on 25 September 1944 to a revised design as a Bay-class. Admiralty Job No. J11867 was launched as Padstow Bay on 28 August 1945, and completed on 11 March 1946. [1]

Service history

After sea trials, Padstow Bay sailed to Plymouth still lacking her full complement. The ship was finally commissioned in June to serve on the American and West Indies Station. In July she sailed for Bermuda, calling at Ponta Delgada, Azores for fuel, and arriving at Bermuda on 8 August. [1]

In September and October she carried out an extensive series of visits, stopping at Havana, Cuba, Veracruz, Mexico, Honduras, Kingston, Jamaica, Bluefields, Nicaragua, Cartagena, Colombia, Curaçao, La Guaira, Venezuela, Trinidad, Georgetown, British Guiana, Paramaribo, Surinam, and Cayenne, French Guiana, returning to Bermuda by 15 November. [1]

After local duties, she sailed on 31 December 1945 with ships of the Squadron for more exercises and another visits programme. In January 1946 she called at Antigua and Tobago, in February, Grenada, then Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante and Sint Eustatius in March. [1]

After a routine docking at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda, in June she embarked on a visit to North America with the cruiser Sheffield. On 1 July she arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, to take part in joint exercises with ships of the Royal Canadian Navy. In August she sailed from Halifax to ports in the Eastern Canadian Provinces, calling at Bathurst, New Brunswick, Ellis Bay, Anticosti, Miquelon, and Argentia and St. John's, Newfoundland. In September she visited Montreal with Sheffield, before returning to Bermuda via Portsmouth, New Hampshire. [1]

In October she sailed for the UK, arriving back at Plymouth on 18 November, was decommissioned, and laid-up with the Reserve Fleet in December. Padstow Bay remained in the Reserve Fleet until 1958 when the ship was placed on the Disposal List. In 1959 she was sold to BISCO for demolition by an Italian shipbreaker and towed to La Spezia, arriving on 11 August. [1]

Related Research Articles

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>Loch Killisport</i> (K628) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Loch Killisport (K628/F628) was a Loch-class frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after Loch Killisport in Scotland. Launched in 1944, the ship was not commissioned until July 1945, and served in post-war repatriation operations in the Far East until decommissioned in April 1946. During this time Prince Philip was an officer on board this ship. Recommissioned in 1950 she served in the Home Fleet for two years, before being extensively modernised for service in the Persian Gulf and Far East. Decommissioned in August 1965, she was sold for scrapping in 1970.

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 <i>Mounts Bay</i> (K627) Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy and Portuguese Navy

HMS Mounts Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after Mount's Bay in Cornwall. In commission from 1949 until 1960, she saw active service in the Korean War, and was sold to Portugal in 1961 to serve as NRP Vasco da Gama until 1971.

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>Burghead Bay</i> Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy and Portuguese Navy

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

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 Enard Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for Enard Bay in Caithness.

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

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 <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>Alert</i> (K647) 1946 Bay-class frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Alert a Bay-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She was originally laid down as the Loch-class vessel Loch Scamdale, and re-ordered as Dundrum Bay while building. She was completed as Alert, an Admiralty Yacht for command and gunboat diplomacy duties in the Mediterranean and Far Eastern stations.

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.

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.

HMS <i>Loch Arkaig</i> (K603) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Loch Arkaig was a Loch-class frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after Loch Arkaig in Scotland. The ship was ordered from Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee, Scotland, on 2 February 1943, and laid down on 1 November 1943. Launched on 7 June 1944, the ship was commissioned on 1 November 1945, and completed on 17 November. Unlike the rest of the class Loch Arkaig was fitted with Parsons single reduction geared turbines, rather than 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines. The ship served in the Home Fleet until laid-up and put into Reserve in 1952, and was sold for scrapping in 1959.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mason, Geoffrey B. (2003). Gordon Smith (ed.). "HMS Padstow Bay, frigate". naval-history.net. Retrieved 7 December 2010.

Publications