Colony class frigate - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Colony class frigates were a class of 21 ships constructed in the United States by Walsh-Kaiser of Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

for transfer under Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...

to the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

in 1944. They were given the names of relatively minor colonies as names of large colonies had been used for the Crown Colony class cruiser

Crown Colony class cruiser

The Crown Colony-class light cruisers of the Royal Navy were named after Crown Colonies of the British Empire. The first eight are known as the Fiji class, while the last three to be built are commonly referred to as the Ceylon class and were built to a slightly modified design.-Design:They were...

s.

The design was based on that of the Tacoma class frigate

Tacoma class frigate

The Tacoma class of patrol frigates served in the US Navy during World War II. Named for Tacoma, Washington, the Tacoma class design was based on the British River class frigates, primarily distinguished by the pole foremast and lighter main guns...

s used by the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

(some sources state that these vessels were identical). That design was itself an adaptation of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

River class frigate

The River class frigate was a class of 151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use as anti-submarine convoy escorts in the North Atlantic....

, with modifications made mainly to use materials and parts more readily available in the United States. For example, American 3 inches (76.2 mm) guns were used as the main surface armament in the Tacoma and Colony class frigates instead of the British 4 inches (101.6 mm) guns of the River class.

They were mass-produced to mercantile standards to enable their speedy construction in shipyards that did not normally build warships. They were built faster than British shipyards could build the Rivers but the quicker build required more man-hours and sterling cost was about twice that of a River.
Post-war, all were returned to the U.S. by the end of 1946 and most scrapped during 1947, as they were considered obsolescent even before the end of the war.

One ship, HMS Caicos, was used as an aircraft detection frigate, stationed in the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

to detect V-1 flying bomb

V-1 flying bomb

The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....

s, targeted at Britain.

The ships are mentioned in HM Frigate by Nicholas Monsarrat

Nicholas Monsarrat

Commander Nicholas John Turney Monsarrat RNVR was a British novelist known today for his sea stories, particularly The Cruel Sea and Three Corvettes , but perhaps best known internationally for his novels, The Tribe That Lost Its Head and its sequel, Richer Than All His Tribe.- Early life :Born...

- a very slim volume published under wartime censorship rules.

List of ships

With date returned to the US (unless otherwise stated). All scrapped 1947, unless stated. : 31 May 1946; scrapped 1949 : 2 May 1946 : 31 May 1946 : 11 June 1946 : 11 June 1946 : 12 December 1945; sold to Argentina as Santísima Trinidad, later Comodoro Augusto Lasserre

ARA Santísima Trinidad (1948)

The ARA Santisima Trinidad was one of a number of US Tacoma class patrol frigates, operated by the Argentine Navy during the Cold War period...

, sold 1971 : 23 April 1946 : 23 April 1946, (ex-): 18 May 1948 : 11 June 1946 : 15 April 1946 : 13 May 1946; sold to Egypt and scuttled as a blockship

Blockship

A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of HMS Hood at Portland Harbour; or it may be brought by enemy raiders and used to...

in the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

, 1956, (ex-): 22 May 1946 : 11 June 1946 : 22 May 1946 : June 1946 : 22 May 1946 : 8 April 1946, (ex-): 13 May 1946; sold to Egypt and scuttled as a blockship

Blockship

in the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

, 1956 : 22 May 1946 : 31 May 1946

External links

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