BAY Class Anti-Aircraft Frigate initially ordered
from Harland and Wolff at
Belfast
on 2nd May 1943
for build as a LOCH Class Anti-submarine Frigate, but for which the order was
changed in 1944. Originally to have been named LOCH ARNISH she was laid down on 31st
August 1944 and launched as TREMADOC BAY
at Belfast
on 29th March 1945.
First RN ship to carry this name she was completed on 11th October 1945
after the end of hostilities with Japan.
G e o g r a p h i c
L o c a t i o n
Grid
Reference TL2632:
Tremadog Bay, Caernarvonshire, Wales
B
a t t l e H o n o u r s
None
H
e r a l d i c
D a t a
Badge: On a Field Blue barry wavy of 4
in base Blue and white,
three escallops conjoined in fess, Gold..
Explanation: The
escallops allude to the poet Shelley, a friend of Mr
W A Madocks, a local resident who name the
area.
M a n n i n g
P o r t
Devonport
S
u m m a r y o
f S e r v i c
e
(for more ship information, go
to
Naval History Homepage and type name in Site Search
1 9 4 5
October Commissioned for service
in place of CAPTAIN Class Frigate being returned to USA.
Commanding Officer: Lieut. Cdr. FD Cole.
Contractors trials.
11th Build completion and
commenced Acceptance Trials in Clyde area.
November Completed acceptance and
shakedown trials in Belfast
Passage to
Portland for ranging and weapon calibrations.
On completion
took passage to Lisahally, Ulster to tow Type XXI German submarine U3035 to
Libau in Latvia
(Operation CABAL).
(Note: Submarine
was being handed-over to Soviet Navy in accordance with policy agreed in 1945)
24th Deployed with HM
Frigate NARBROUGH which was towing U3041 and sailed from
Lisahally for
northern passage to North Sea.
28th Diverted to Rosyth
after steering and tow problems in submarine.
December
7th Sailed from Rosyth to
Libau with U2025 in tow.
13th Tow parted and
submarine used main engines for remainder of passage.
14th Arrived at Libau.
Took passage from
Libau to Plymouth after hand-over.
1 9 4 6
January Nominated for transfer of
German submarines to French Navy (Operation THANKFUL)
Passage from
Plymouth to Lisahally
February At Lisahally
5th Sailed from Lisahally
for Cherbourg with Type XXIII submarine U2326 in company
with HM Tug BUSTLER
towing Type XXI submarine U2518.
(Note: RN passage
crews were provided for the two submarines.)
7th After taking
shelter in Dublin
Bay due to towing problems and defect in heavy
weather
conditions went
into Kingstown Harbour.
(Note:
Considerable interest was shown by civil population and special permission
given for RN
Personnel to attend Rugby International.)
10th Sailed from Eire to
Cherbourg with tow.
12th Sick man from U2518
transferred to local vessel in Lyme
Bay
13th Arrived at Cherbourg
with tow.
15th Took passage to
Plymouth after visit by French Admiral.
(Note: U2326 was
lost in a diving accident at Toulon in December 1946 with loss of 17 lives.)
March Deployed for training and
emergency destroyer duties with Plymouth Local Flotilla.
Escorted
mercantile carrying dangerous cargo to Bay of Biscay for scuttling.
April Local Flotilla duty in
continuation.
Towed Landing
Ship (Tank) from Appledore to Barry, Glamorgan for scrapping.
May Deployed for Oceanic
Measurement Trials in Azores area and visited Terceira.
June
6th Carried out official
visit to Bristol with HM Frigate BURGHEAD BAY
Official reception,
shore entertainment and open to visitors.
11th Took passage to
return to Plymouth.
July Plymouth Local
Flotilla duties in continuation.
Visited Falmouth.
August Visited Preston, Lancashire.
September Deployed for escort of
mercantiles from Barry, during passage for scuttling in Bay of
Biscay.
October Local duties at Plymouth
in continuation
November
5th New Commanding
Officer, Lieutenant DJ Godden appointed.
December
27th Deployed as Emergency
Destroyer in search for survivors from French aircraft south
of Start Point.
Returned to
Plymouth when search abandoned.
1 9 4 7
January Under repair by HM
Dockyard, Devonport.
February Nominated for reduction to
Care and Maintenance due to manning shortages.
25th Laid-up in River Fal.
March Lay-up in continuation.
April Resumed operational
service with Plymouth Local Flotilla after routine docking.
May Deployed at Portland
for Anti-submarine training
June Local Flotilla duties
at Plymouth including embarkation of Sea Cadets for sea
experience.
July Local Flotilla duties
in continuation.
27th Escorted ss EMPIRE
LARK under tow by HM Tug Dextrous during
passage from
Barry, Glamorgan
for scuttling in Bay of Biscay.
August Nominated for detached
service and took passage with HMS BURGHEAD BAY to Gibraltar.
September Deployed in Mediterranean
with HMS BURGHEAD BAY.
Escorted ss OCEAN
VIGOUR, SS EMPIRE RIVAL and ss RUNNYMEDE PARK from Port
Duboc near
Marseilles to Gibraltar.
(Note: These ships
were taking Jewish immigrants detained from SS PRESIDENT
WARFIELD during
passage to enter Palestine.)
October Passage from Gibraltar to Plymouth after arrival of
ships at Gibraltar.
Resumed Local
Flotilla duties.
November Under refit by HM Dockyard,
Devonport.
to December
1 9 4 8
January Under Refit.
February
20th Refit completion and
commenced post-refit trials.
March Deployed at Plymouth for
training and Emergency Destroyer duties
to May
June Under repair at
Devonport
New Commanding
Officer, Lieutenant Commander R Gabbett-Mulhallen
appointed
July Resumed Plymouth
Local Flotilla duties.
August Visited Torbay.
September Deployed at Plymouth for
training and Emergency Destroyer duties.
Under repair.
October Resumed local duties.
to December
1 9 4 9
January Deployed at Plymouth for
training and Emergency Destroyer duties.
February New Commanding Officer,
Lieutenant R Smith appointed.
Under repair.
March Resumed local training
duties
to December
1 9 5 0
January
Local training
duties in continuation.
to December
1 9 5 1
January Training and Emergency
Destroyer duties in continuation.
to Nominated for
reduction to Reserve status
March
April Paid off and de-stored.
to Accepted into Reserve
Fleet at Devonport.
December Laid-up at Devonport
P
o s t S e r v i
c e N o t e s
HMS TREMADOC BAY remained at Devonport until 1953 when
she was refitted by Silley Cox at Falmouth. On
completion she was nominated for transfer to the Reserve Fleet Sub-Division at
Gibraltar and towed there to lay-up in Reserve. In 1958 she was placed on the
Disposal List as part of the reduction in the number of ships in Reserve required by the Defence Review. Sold to an
Italian shipbreaker in 1959 she arrived at Genoa in
tow on 18 September that year for demolition.
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