HMS ''Burghead Bay'' was a

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, named for Burghead Bay in

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It w ...

. The ship was originally ordered as a from

Hall Russell Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland. History Brothers James and William Hall, Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and James Cardno Couper founded the company in 1864 to build steam engines and boile ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

to be named ''Loch Harport''. The order was cancelled in December 1943 and the ship was re-ordered as a Bay-class frigate from

Charles Hill & Sons Charles Hill & Sons was a major shipbuilder based in Bristol, England, during the 19th and 20th centuries. Background Established in 1845 from the company Hilhouse, they specialised mainly in merchant and commercial ships, but also undertook the ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1944. She was laid down on 21 September 1944 as Job No. J601 (Yard No. 301) and launched by Mrs

A.V. Alexander Albert Victor Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Hillsborough, (1 May 1885 – 11 January 1965), was a British Labour and Co-operative politician. He was three times First Lord of the Admiralty, including during the Second World War, and then Mi ...

, wife of the 1st Lord of the Admiralty on 3 March 1945.

Royal Navy service

Commissioned for service on 20 September 1945, ''Burghead Bay'' carried out

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s in October, and was deployed in November to the Plymouth Local Flotilla, where she stayed until the end of 1952, carrying out exercises, search and rescue in the Channel, and sea training. In 1948 her

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

was changed to F622. In January 1952 ''Burghead Bay'' sailed via

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...

and

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

for

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

duty, making calls to the

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee and ...

, the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

and

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

carrying out survey work. In February, she was involved in the

Hope Bay incident The Hope Bay incident occurred in February 1952 at Hope Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula. It involved an Argentine naval party from their onshore base and a British landing party from their survey ship. Background During the 19th century there had ...

in Antarctica. In April she was relieved by

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

. She then sailed to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

to join the West Indies Squadron, taking part in exercises and patrols, and making port visits around the Caribbean, before returning to the UK in October to refit. Refitting was completed by April 1953, and she took part in the Coronation Naval Review at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

in June before returning to Bermuda for the usual programme of exercises and port visits, returning to the UK in June 1954. After another refit in which new radars and UHF radio equipment were fitted she departed for the West Indies in December. In February 1955 she sailed to the Falklands for guard ship duty, returning to Bermuda in June, and sailed back to the UK in November. An extended refit at Devonport lasted from January 1956 until March 1957. On 24 May ''Burghead Bay'' was recommissioned for service in 7th Frigate Squadron on the

South Atlantic Station The Commander-in-Chief South Atlantic was an operational commander of the Royal Navy from 1939. The South American area was added to his responsibilities in 1960, and the post disestablished in 1967. Immediately before the outbreak of the Sec ...

, sailing for

Simon's Town Simon's Town ( af, Simonstad), sometimes spelled Simonstown, is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and is home to Naval Base Simon's Town, the South African Navy's largest base. It is located on the shores of False Bay, on the eastern sid ...

in August. She made calls in Brazil and Argentina, took part in squadron exercises in South Atlantic, and was also deployed in South African waters for joint exercises with the

South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...

. In early 1958 she visited ports in East Africa. In May she sailed for the Falklands for her third and final tour of duty as guard ship, departing in June and sailing to the UK via ports on west coast of South America, making calls in Chile and Peru before transiting the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

, and finally arriving at Devonport in August where she was decommissioned, put into Reserve, and on the Disposal List. During this commission she was commanded by Commander S L McArdle

Portuguese naval service

''Burghead Bay'' was bought by Portugal in May 1959 for service in the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Port ...

as NRP ''Álvares Cabral''. She was deployed as an anti-aircraft frigate until 23 June 1971, and then scrapped.

References

Publications

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burghead Bay 1945 ships Bay-class frigates Frigates of the Portuguese Navy