HMS St. Helena (K590)

HMS St. Helena (K590) 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 frigate USS Pasley (PF-86) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion. After the British returned her to the United States in 1946, she briefly carried the name USS St. Helena (PF-86).

For other ships with the same name, see USS Pasley.

History
United States
Name: USS Pasley
Namesake: Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley (1734-1808), British naval officer who commanded from his flagship HMS Bellerophon at the Glorious First of June in 1794. British name assigned in anticipation of ship's transfer to United Kingdom
Reclassified: Patrol frigate, PF-86, 15 April 1943
Builder: Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down: 22 September 1943[1]
Renamed: St. Helena, 1943
Namesake: Saint Helena (British name assigned in anticipation of ship's transfer to United Kingdom)
Launched: 20 October 1943
Commissioned: never
Identification: PG-194
Fate: Transferred to United Kingdom 19 February 1944
Acquired: Returned by United Kingdom 8 April 1946
Renamed: USS St. Helena
Namesake: British name retained
Stricken: 19 June 1946
Fate:
  • Transferred to U.S. Maritime Commission 1 April 1947 for disposal
  • Sold for scrapping 1 July 1947
  • Scrapped 28 October 1947
United Kingdom
Name: HMS St. Helena
Namesake: Saint Helena
Acquired: 19 February 1944
Commissioned: 19 February 1944[1]
Decommissioned: 1945[2]
Identification: K590
Fate: Returned to United States 8 April 1946
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-194, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a United States Navy contract as USS Pasley. She was reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-86, on 15 April 1943 and laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 22 September 1943.[1] Intended for transfer to the United Kingdom, the ship was renamed St. Helena by the British prior to launching and was launched on 20 October 1943.

Service history

Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 19 February 1944, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS St. Helena (K590) until decommissioned in 1945.[2]

Disposal

The United Kingdom returned St. Helena to the U.S. Navy at Norfolk, Virginia, on 8 April 1946, and she temporarily was placed on the Naval Vessel Register as USS St. Helena (PF-86). Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 19 June 1946, she was transferred for disposal on 1 April 1947 to the U.S. Maritime Commission, which sold her to the Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Chester, Pennsylvania, on 1 July 1947 for scrapping. Her scrapping date was 28 October 1947.

References

Notes
  1. uboat.net HMS St. Helena (K 590)
  2. According to uboat.net HMS St. Helena (K 590), St. Helena is not listed as an active unit on the October 1945 Navy List, strongly implying that the Royal Navy decommissioned her sometime earlier that year.

Bibliography
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