HMS Waldegrave (K579)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Waldegrave.

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
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	Sold 1946 for scrapping Scrapped June 1948
United Kingdom
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 long tons (1,422 t)
Length	306 ft (93 m)
Beam	36.75 ft (11.2 m)
Draught	9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion	Two Foster-Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers GE 13,500 shp (10,070 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW) Electric motors for 12,000 shp (8,900 kW) Two shafts
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	SA & SL type radars Type 144 series Asdic MF Direction Finding antenna HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament	3 × 3 in (76 mm) /50 Mk.22 guns 1 × twin Bofors 40 mm mount Mk.I 7–16 × 20 mm Oerlikon guns Mark 10 Hedgehog antisubmarine mortar Depth charges QF 2-pounder naval gun
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 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

• Photo gallery of HMS Waldegrave (K579)