LOCH-Class Twin
Screw Fast Frigate ordered on 2nd February 1943 from Caledon SB, at
Dundee and laid down on
as Job Number 1st November 1943 as Job Number 11849 (Yard Number 421). The ship was launched
on 7th June 1944 as the 1st Royal Navy ship to carry this name. Build was
completed on 17th November 1945. Turbine machinery was fitted for main propulsion.
G e o
g r a p h i c
D a t a
Inland Lake in Inland lake in Inverness north of
Fort William
Grid Reference 075915
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 Field per fess wavy Blue and Black, five
arrows in Saltire,
points uppermost White.
(Explanation: The arrows are taken from The Arms on the Cameron of
Lochiel
whose family owned estates round
the Loch.)
R e c o r d
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
November Contractors Trials
1st Commissioned for service in Home Fleet.
Lieutenant Commander P U Usherwood Royal Navy
in command.)
(Note: Additional work to improve hull
stiffening was to be undertaken in commercial shipyard
in Clyde was be carried out before ship was
deployed in service.)
17th Build completion and commenced Acceptance Trials.
On completion of trials and storing took passage
to Clyde for shipyard work
December Under modification to hull structure.
Lieutenant Commander C P Adams, RN appointed in
command.
1 9 4 6
January On completion of shipyard work carried out calibration
of SQUID Anti-submarine mortar and
Direction Finding Outfits FH4 and FM11.
February Passage to Londonderry to join Flotilla.
Deployed with Flotilla for participation in
Operation DEADLIGHT (2).
(Note: Operation DEADLIGHT (2) was the
destruction of German submarines which had been
surrendered in May 1945. These were assembled in
various ports in the Clyde area and
sunk in NW Approaches. Some were sunk by SHARK
projectiles and SQUID Mortar
projectiles.)
16th Sank U975 by SQUID and SHARK firings.
19th Sank U3514 by SQUID and SHARK firings.
March Carried out training duties for anti-submarine
personnel and Flotilla duties.
to
December
1 9 4 7
Deployment at Londonderry for training duties
and took part in Home Fleet exercises
Attended Royal Review of Fleet in Clyde
Lieutenant Commander CF Parker appointed in
command.
1 9 4 8
Londonderry training duties and Home Flee
exercises in continuation
1 9 4 9
January Flotilla training duties in continuation.
Nominated for operation to assess the
performance of radio equipment performance in
northern latitudes (Operation RUSTY)
February
16th Deployed with HM Light Fleet Carrier VENGEANCE, HM
Destroyers ST KITTS and
GABBARD for RUSTY.
Passage to area centred at 42N 5E to carry out
trials.
28th Return passage to Londonderry on completion of
RUSTY.
March Resumed Training duties at Londonderry and Home Fleet
exercises.
to
December
1 9 5 0
January Londonderry training duties in continuation.
to Took part in Flag Officer Submarines Summer War
Exercises and Home Fleet visits.
August Lieutenant Commander M F de Halpert DSC RN appointed in
command.
Programme including Haugensund and Nordheimsund
in Norway during visits programme.
Selected for pilot study to assess current refit
and docking cycles.
(Note: These were subsequently amended to
provide an eight month period between docking.
Propeller shaft alignment to be checked during
docking periods.)
Nominated for transfer to 6th Frigate Flotilla
Home Fleet, after refit.
September Taken in hand for refit by HM Dockyard Chatham
to Joined Flotilla after post refit trials
December
1 9 5 1
January Deployed with Flotilla and took part in search for HM
Submarine lost in English Channel.
to
April
May Flotilla deployment with Home Fleet in continuation
including exercises and visits
to
October
November Docked for repair of damage after collision with HM
Frigate LOCH ALVIE at Gibraltar.
to Visited Lisbon with HM Frigates LOCH ALVIE and ST
AUSTELL BAY during return passage
December to UK. Nominated for reduction to Reserve status.
1 9 5 2
Paid off and de-stored. On completion of
reduction to Reserve laid-up at Hartlepool.
F
i n a l P h a
s e
HMS
LOCH ARKAIG was damaged in collision with Norwegian
mercantile ss OCEAN SWELL in November 1952 but
without major damage. The ship remained in Reserve until 1957 when placed in
the Disposal List and in April 1958 was placed on the Sales List and
de-equipped.. Sold to BISCO in 1959 for demolition by
J J King at Gateshead she
arrived in tow at the breaker’s yard on 28th January 1960.