HMS Avon (K97)

HMS Avon, later renamed NRP Nuno Tristão, was a River-class frigate of the Royal Navy (RN). Avon was built to the RN's specifications as a Group II River-class frigate. She served in the North Atlantic during World War II.

History
United Kingdom
Name:	Avon
Namesake:	River Avon[lower-alpha 1]
Ordered:	10 August 1942
Builder:	Charles Hill & Sons Ltd., Bristol
Laid down:	8 January 1943
Launched:	19 June 1943
Commissioned:	18 September 1943
History
Portugal
Name:	Nuno Tristão
Acquired:	1949
Fate:	Broken up at Lisbon, 1972
General characteristics
Class and type:	River-class frigate
Displacement:	1,370 long tons (1,390 t) 1,830 long tons (1,860 t) (deep load)
Length:	283 ft (86.26 m) p/p 301.25 ft (91.82 m)o/a
Beam:	36.5 ft (11.13 m)
Draught:	9 ft (2.74 m); 13 ft (3.96 m) (deep load)
Propulsion:	2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, reciprocating vertical triple expansion, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW)
Speed:	20 knots (37.0 km/h)
Range:	440 long tons (450 t; 490 short tons) oil fuel; 7,200 nautical miles (13,334 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h)
Complement:	107
Armament:	2 × QF 4-inch (102 mm) Mk.XIX guns, single mounts CP Mk.XXIII up to 10 × QF 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns on twin mounts Mk.V and single mounts Mk.III 1 × Hedgehog 24 spigot A/S projector up to 150 depth charges

As a River-class frigate, Avon was one of 151 frigates launched between 1941 and 1944 for use as anti-submarine convoy escorts, named after rivers in the United Kingdom. The ships were designed by naval engineer William Reed, of Smith's Dock Company of South Bank-on-Tees, to have the endurance and anti-submarine capabilities of the Black Swan-class sloops, while being quick and cheap to build in civil dockyards using the machinery (e.g. reciprocating steam engines instead of turbines) and construction techniques pioneered in the building of the Flower-class corvettes. Its purpose was to improve on the convoy escort classes in service with the Royal Navy at the time, including the Flower class.

After her commission, Avon was deployed in the Indian Ocean, where she rescued the survivors of the sunken Norwegian freighter Tarifa.[lower-alpha 2] In 1945, she took part in the Battle of Okinawa, where she came under air attack. Postwar, Avon was paid off and placed in the Reserve Fleet, where she stayed until 1949. That year, she was sold to Portugal and renamed NRP Nuno Tristão.[1]

The Nuno Tristão was used in several notable events, such as carrying Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia on a state visit to Portugal in 1959 and supporting fuzileiros in Africa.[3][4] In 1970, after 21 years of service in the Portuguese Navy, the ship was delisted; it was scrapped in Lisbon two years later.[1]

Notes

1. There are several rivers in the United Kingdom called Avon, and it is unclear which one this is.
2. Naval History claims that 96 survivors were rescued, whilst Uboat.net states that 123 survivors were rescued.[1][2]

Citations

1. "HMS AVON (K 97) - River-class Frigate". Naval History. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
2. "HMS Avon (K 97)". Uboat.net. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
3. Boavida & Ramos 2009, p. 27.
4. Cann 2016, p. 34.

References

• Boavida, Isabel; Ramos, Manual João, eds. (5 January 2009). Ras Tafari in Lusoland: On the 50th anniversary of Haile Selassie´s I state visit to Portugal, 1959-2009: Exhibition Catalogue. Lisbon: Centro de Estudos Internacionais do Instituto Universitário de Lisboa. ISBN 978-972-8335-18-2. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
• Cann, John (2016). The Fuzileiros: Portuguese Marines in Africa, 1961–1974. Solihull: Helion and Company Ltd. ISBN 978-1-910777-64-0. Retrieved 17 April 2020.