Dates: 1943 - 1946
H.M.S. Ascension (K502):
ex - Hargood (PF-74)
ex - PG-182
H.M.S. Ascension is another Tacoma Class Patrol Frigate: (MC Type T. S2-S2-AQ1) and was originally authorised as Gunboat (PG-182). She was redesignated a Patrol Frigate (PF-74) and on the 15th of April 1943 she was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract at Welsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence RI.
H.M.S. Ascension was assigned to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease Program and renamed H.M.S. Ascension she was launched on 6th August 1943 with a displacement of 1,190 tons.
On 24th November 1943 she was transferred to the Royal Navy and commissioned H.M.S. Ascension, finally returned to US custody 31st May 1946, she was struck from the Naval Register (date unknown) She was sold for scrapping 16th October 1947 to Hudson Valley Shipwrecking Corp., Newburgh NY.
A note on Colony Class Frigates
The design Colony class frigate was based on that of the Tacoma class frigates used by the United States Navy (some sources state that these vessels were identical). That design was itself an adaptation of the Royal Navy River class frigate, with modifications made mainly to use materials and parts more readily available in the United States. For example, American 3-inch guns were used as the main surface armament in the Tacoma and Colony class frigates instead of the British 4-inch guns of the River class.
They were mass-produced to mercantile standards to enable their speedy construction in shipyards that did not normally build warships. Post-war, all were returned to the U.S. by the end of 1946 and most scrapped during 1947, as they were considered obsolescent even before the end of the war.
Below is a list showing the fate of all Colony class Frigates with the date returned to the US (unless otherwise stated). All scrapped 1947, unless stated.
H.M.S. Anguilla (K500): 31 May, 1946; scrapped 1949
H.M.S. Antigua (K501): 2 May, 1946
H.M.S. Ascension (K502): 31 May, 1946.
H.M.S. Bahamas (K503): 11 June, 1946.
H.M.S. Barbados (K504): 11 June, 1946.
H.M.S. Caicos (K505): 12 December 1945; sold to Argentina as Santisima Trinidad later Comodoro Augusto Lasserre, sold 1970 or 1971
H.M.S. Cayman (K506): 23 April, 1946
H.M.S. Dominica (K507): 23 April, 1946
H.M.S. Labuan (K584), (ex-H.M.S. Gold Coast): 18 May, 1948
H.M.S. Montserrat (K586): 11 June, 1946
H.M.S. Nyasaland (K587): 15 April, 1946
H.M.S. Papua (K588): 13 May, 1946; sold to Egypt and scuttled as a blockship in the Suez Canal, 1956
H.M.S. Perim (K593), (ex-H.M.S. Sierra Leone): 22 May 1946
H.M.S. Pitcairn (K589): 11 June, 1946
H.M.S. Sarawak (K591): 22 May 1946
H.M.S. Seychelles (K592): June 1946
H.M.S. Somaliland (K594): 22 May 1946
H.M.S. St Helena (K590): 8 April, 1946
H.M.S. Tobago (K585), (ex-H.M.S. Hong Kong): 13 May, 1946; sold to Egypt and scuttled as a blockship in the Suez Canal, 1956
H.M.S. Tortola (K595): 22 May, 1946
H.M.S. Zanzibar (K596): 31 May 1946
