HMS Tobago (K585)

History
United States
Name	Holmes
Namesake	A British name assigned in anticipation of delivery of the ship to the United Kingdom
Reclassified	Patrol frigate, PF-81, 15 April 1943
Builder	Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Laid down	17 August 1943
Renamed	Hong Kong, 1943
Namesake	Hong Kong
Renamed	Tobago, 1943
Namesake	Tobago
Launched	27 September 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. D. W. Ambridge
Commissioned	never
Identification	PG-189
Fate	Transferred to the United Kingdom, 12 August 1944
Acquired	Returned by United Kingdom 13 May 1946
Fate	Sold for scrapping; Scrapping canceled; Resold 1950 for use as civilian passenger ship; Sunk as block ship 1956;
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Tobago
Namesake	Tobago
Acquired	12 August 1944
Commissioned	12 August 1944
Decommissioned	1945
Identification	K585
Fate	Returned to United States, 13 May 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	3 × single 3-inch/50 cal. AA guns; 2 × twin 40 mm guns; 9 × single 20 mm; 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar; 8 × Y-gun depth charge projectors; 2 × depth charge racks;

The fourth HMS Tobago (K585), ex-Hong Kong, was a Colony-class frigate of the United Kingdom which served in the Royal Navy during World War II. She originally was ordered by the United States Navy as the Tacoma-class patrol frigate USS Holmes (PF-81) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion.

Construction and acquisition

The ship, originally designated a "patrol gunboat," PG-189, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a United States Navy contract as the first USS Holmes. She was reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-81, on 15 April 1943 and laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 17 August 1943.^[1] Intended for transfer to the United Kingdom, the ship was first renamed Hong Kong and then Tobago by the British prior to launching and was launched on 27 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. D. W. Ambridge of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Service history

Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 12 August 1944, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS Tobago (K585) on patrol and escort duty until 1945.^[2]

Disposal

The United Kingdom returned Tobago to the U.S. Navy on 13 May 1946. She subsequently was sold to the Boston Metals Company of Baltimore, Maryland, for scrapping, but her scrapping was cancelled and in 1950 she was resold to Khedivial Mail Lines of Alexandria, Egypt, for use as a civilian passenger vessel. She was sunk as a blockship in the Suez Canal in 1956.

Citations

^ ^a ^b uboat.net HMS Tobago (K 585)
^ ^a ^b According to uboat.net HMS Tobago (K 585), Tobago 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.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
NavSource Online: Frigate Photo Archive: HMS Tobago (K 585) ex-Hong Kong ex-Holmes ex-PF-81 ex-PG-189

External links

Photo gallery of USS Holmes and HMS Tobago

[uboatnet-1] uboat.net HMS Tobago (K 585)

[decommissioning-2] According to uboat.net HMS Tobago (K 585), Tobago 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.

[1]

[2]