HMS Waldegrave (K579)
The second HMS Waldegrave (K579), and the first to enter service, was a British Captain-class frigate of the Royal Navy in commission during World War II. Originally constructed as a United States Navy Buckley class destroyer escort, she served in the Royal Navy from 1944 to 1945.
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} United States | |
| Name: | unnamed (DE-570) |
| Builder: | Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts |
| Laid down: | 16 October 1943 |
| Launched: | 4 December 1943 |
| Completed: | 25 January 1944 |
| Commissioned: | never |
| Fate: | Transferred to United Kingdom 25 January 1944 |
| Acquired: | Returned by United Kingdom 3 December 1945 |
| Stricken: | 21 January 1946 |
| Fate: |
|
 United Kingdom | |
| Class and type: | Captain-class frigate |
| Name: | HMS Waldegrave (K579) |
| Namesake: | Admiral William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock (1753–1825), who rendered distinguished service as commanding officer of HMS Courageux off Toulon, France, in 1793 |
| Acquired: | 25 January 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 25 January 1944 |
| Decommissioned: | 1945 |
| Fate: | Returned to United States 3 December 1945 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,400 tons |
| Length: | 306 ft (93 m) |
| Beam: | 36.75 ft (11.2 m) |
| Draught: | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 24 knots (44 km/h) |
| Range: | 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Complement: | 186 |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: |
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| Notes: | Pennant number K579 |
Construction and transfer
The ship was laid down as the unnamed U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-570 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 16 October 1943 and launched on 4 December 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 25 January 1944.
Service history
The ship was commissioned into service in the Royal Navy under the command of Lieutenant Tempest Hay, RN,[1] as the frigate HMS Waldegrave (K579) on 25 January 1944 simultaneously with her transfer. She served in the Royal Navy for the duration of World War II, garnering battle honours for her operations in the North Atlantic Ocean and English Channel and the Normandy Landings at the American Beachheads.
The Royal Navy returned Waldegrave to the U.S. Navy on 3 December 1945.
Disposal
The U.S. Navy struck Waldegrave from its Naval Vessel Register on 21 January 1946. She soon was sold to the Atlas Steel and Supply Company of Cleveland, Ohio, for scrapping, then resold later in 1946 to the Kulka Steel and Equipment Company of Alliance, Ohio, and sold a third and final time on 8 December 1946 to the Bristol Engineering Company of Somerset, Massachusetts. She was scrapped in June 1948.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive Waldegrave (DE-570) HMS Waldegrave (K-579)
- uboat.net HMS Waldegrave (K 579)
- Destroyer Escort Sailors Association DEs for UK
- Captain Class Frigate Association HMS Waldegrave K579 (DE 570)
External links
