HMS Wigtown Bay (K616)

Last updated

History
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Wigtown Bay
Ordered6 March 1943
Builder Harland & Wolff, Belfast
Yard number1260
Laid down24 October 1944
Launched26 April 1945
Completed19 January 1946
CommissionedNovember 1945
DecommissionedMay 1947
Identification Pennant number K616
FateSold for scrapping, October 1958
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
Armament

HMS Wigtown Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy. She was named for Wigtown Bay in Galloway.

Contents

Ordered on 6 March 1943 from the Harland and Wolff yard in Belfast as a Loch-class anti-submarine frigate, and assigned the name Loch Garasdale, the ship was laid down on 24 October 1944 (yard number 1260). However, during construction the need for anti-aircraft escorts for service in the Far East, meant that the contract was revised, and she was completed as a Bay-class frigate. The ship was named Wigtown Bay when launched on 26 April 1945 with the pennant number K616. [1]

Service history

1945–1947

Commissioned in November 1945 under the command of Lt-Cdr. D. Carson, Wigtown Bay completed her fitting-out and sea trials on 19 January 1946. [1]

In February she sailed to Malta, joining the 5th Escort Flotilla, and was deployed for patrol duty in the Mediterranean Sea. In May 1946 the flotilla patrolled the eastern Mediterranean to intercept ships carrying illegal immigrants to Palestine. [1]

1947–1958

In April 1947 Wigtown Bay returned to HMNB Devonport, and was decommissioned in May. Laid-up in reserve she was used as an accommodation ship for Reserve Fleet personnel, but was refitted in 1948 and 1951 to ensure that her operational availability was maintained. [1]

In April 1957 the ship was offered for sale to Ceylon, but negotiations failed. Put on the Disposal List in 1958, the ship was sold for scrapping in October 1958, arriving under tow at the breaker's yard at Faslane on 10 April 1959. [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>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> 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 <i>Cawsand Bay</i> 1945 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy

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

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 St Brides Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy, named for St Brides Bay in Pembrokeshire. In commission from 1945 to 1961, she served in the Mediterranean and Eastern Fleets, seeing active service in the Korean War.

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>Widemouth Bay</i> (K615) 1945 Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Widemouth Bay was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the Royal Navy, named for Widemouth Bay in Cornwall.

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>Hawea</i> (F422) 1944 Loch-class frigate

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>Tortola</i> Colony-class frigate

HMS Tortola (K595) 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 patrol frigateUSS Peyton (PF-91) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Mason, Geoffrey B. (2005). Smith, Gordon (ed.). "HMS Wigtown Bay, frigate". naval-history.net. Retrieved 28 November 2009.

Publications


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.