HMS Labuan (K584)

HMS Labuan (K584), ex-Gold Coast, was a Colony-class frigate of the United Kingdom which served in the Royal Navy during World War II. She was originally ordered by the United States Navy as the Tacoma-class patrol frigate USS Harvey (PF-80) and briefly renamed Gold Coast before she was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion.

History
United States
Name: Harvey
Namesake: British name assigned in anticipation of ship's transfer to United Kingdom
Reclassified: Patrol frigate, PF-80, 15 April 1943
Builder: Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down: 7 August 1943[1]
Renamed: Gold Coast, 1943
Namesake: Gold Coast
Renamed: Labuan, 1943
Namesake: Labuan
Launched: 21 September 1943
Identification: PG-188
Fate: Transferred to United Kingdom 5 February 1944
Acquired: Returned by United Kingdom 13 May 1946[2]
Fate: Sold 9 July 1957 for scrapping[3]
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Labuan
Namesake: Labuan
Acquired: 5 February 1944
Commissioned: 5 February 1944
Identification: K584
Fate: Returned to United States 13 May 1946[2]
General characteristics
Class and type: Colony/Tacoma-class patrol frigate
Displacement: 1,264 long tons (1,284 t)
Length: 303 ft 11 in (92.63 m)
Beam: 37 ft 6 in (11.43 m)
Draft: 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Propulsion:
  • 3 × boilers
  • 2 × turbines, 5,500 shp (4,100 kW) each
  • 2 shafts
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement: 190
Armament:

Construction and acquisition

The ship, originally designated a "patrol gunboat," PG-188, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a United States Navy contract as USS Harvey. She was reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-80, on 15 April 1943 and laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 7 August 1943.[1] Intended for transfer to the United Kingdom, the ship was renamed Gold Coast and then again renamed Labuan by the British prior to launching. She was launched on 21 September 1943.

Service history

Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 5 February 1944, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS Labuan (pennant K584) on patrol and escort duty in the English Channel. On 27 February 1945, she shared credit with the British frigate HMS Loch Fada and the British sloop HMS Wild Goose for the sinking with depth charges of the German submarine U-327 in the western part of the English Channel at 49°46′00″N 005°47′00″W.[1]

The United Kingdom returned Labuan to the U.S. Navy on 13 May 1946.[2] She was sold to the Heggie Iron and Metal Company of Dorchester, Massachusetts, on 9 July 1957 for scrapping.[3]

References
  1. uboat.net HMS labuan (K 584)
  2. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Harvey article states that Labuan was returned on 13 May 1946. NavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive Labuan (PF 80) ex-HMS Labuan (K 584) ex-Gold Coast ex-Harvey ex-PF-80 ex-PG-188 states that the return date was 2 May 1946 and that it was 13 May 1948. uboat.net HMS Labuan (K 584) gives the return date as 18 May 1948.
  3. Date is from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Harvey article and is repeated at NavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive Labuan (PF 80) ex-HMS Labuan (K 584) ex-Gold Coast ex-Harvey ex-PF-80 ex-PG-188 but is possiblly a typographical error for "9 July 1947," given the 1947 scrapping dates of the other Colony-class frigates.
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