HMS Loch Arkaig (K603)

HMS Loch Arkaig was a Loch-class frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after Loch Arkaig in Scotland. The ship was ordered from Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee, Scotland, on 2 February 1943, and laid down on 1 November 1943. Launched on 7 June 1944, the ship was commissioned on 1 November 1945, and completed on 17 November. Unlike the rest of the class Loch Arkaig (along with Loch Tralaig) was fitted with Parsons single reduction geared turbines, rather than 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines. The ship served in the Home Fleet until laid-up and put into Reserve in 1952, and was sold for scrapping in 1959.[1]

Loch Arkaig on completion in 1945
History
United Kingdom
Name: HMS Loch Arkaig
Namesake: Loch Arkaig
Ordered: 2 February 1943
Builder: Caledon Shipbuilding, Dundee
Yard number: 421
Laid down: 1 November 1943
Launched: 7 June 1944
Completed: 17 November 1945
Commissioned: 1 November 1945
Decommissioned: 1952
Identification: pennant number K603
Fate: Sold for scrapping, 1959
General characteristics
Class and type: Loch-class frigate
Displacement: 1,435 long tons (1,458 t)
Length: 307 ft 9 in (93.80 m)
Beam: 38 ft 9 in (11.81 m)
Draught: 8 ft 9 in (2.67 m)
Propulsion:
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range: 9,500 nmi (17,600 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 114
Armament:

Service history

After sea trials and commissioning in November 1945 Loch Arkaig sailed to the Clyde in December for modifications to stiffen her hull. In January 1946 the ship carried out Squid anti-submarine mortar and radio direction finding calibration, before joining the Flotilla at Derry to take part in "Operation Deadlight". She sank the U-boat U-975 on 16 February, and U-3514 on 19 February with her Squid mortar and Shark 4-inch projectiles.[1] U-3514 was the last U-boat to be sunk in "Operation Deadlight".[2]

For the next few years Loch Arkaig carried out training duties for anti-submarine personnel and Flotilla duties at Derry. In February 1949 Loch Arkaig, along with the aircraft carrier Vengeance, and destroyers St. Kitts and Gabbard, sailed into the Arctic, around Jan Mayen island, to study the effects of very cold weather on the performance of naval personnel and equipment ("Operation Rusty").[1]

In mid-1950 she took part in Flag Officer Submarines summer war exercises and Home Fleet visits, calling at Haugesund and Nordheimsund in Norway. In December, after a refit at Chatham Dockyard she joined the 6th Frigate Flotilla, Home Fleet. In April 1951 she took part in the search for the missing submarine Affray, before the usual programme of exercises and visits.[1]

Disposal

In 1952 Loch Arkaig was decommissioned, and laid-up in Reserve at Hartlepool. In 1957 she was placed on the Disposal List, and sold to the British Iron & Steel Corporation (BISCO) in 1959 for demolition by J.J. King at Gateshead, arriving in tow at the breaker's yard on 28 January 1960.[1]

References
  1. Mason, Geoffrey B. (2005). Gordon Smith (ed.). "HMS Loch Arkaig". naval-history.net. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  2. "Operation Deadlight: History". operationdeadlight.co.uk. Retrieved 22 March 2010.

Publications


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