Dates: 1943 - 1946
H.M.S. Tobago (K585)
Ex - H.M.S. Hong Kong
ex – USS Holmes PF- 81
ex - PG-189
H.M.S. Tobago was originally a Tacoma Class Patrol Frigate: (MC Type T. S2-S2-AQ1), authorised as Gunboat, she was redesignated Patrol Frigate USS Holmes (PF-81) on 15th April 1943 and laid down under a Maritime Commission contract at Welsh-Kaiser Co., Inc., Providence RI.
She was assigned to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease Program; Renamed H.M.S. Tobago (initially H.M.S. Hong Kong) and launched 27th September 1943, she displaced 1,190 tons she was transferred to the Royal Navy and commissioned and renamed HMS Tobago on the 12th August 1944.
In 1946 she was returned to American custody, was sold for scrap to Boston Metals of Baltimore, MD who in turn resold her in 1950 to Khedivial Mail Lines of Alexandria, Egypt for use as a passenger vessel.
H.M.S. Tobago was scuttled as a block ship in the Suez Canal in 1956. A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used.
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
