HMS ''Widemouth 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 Royal Navy, named for

Widemouth Bay Widemouth Bay ( kw, Porth an Men) is a bay, beach and small village on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Bude. This stretch of coast is steeped in the smuggling history of times before, and ...

in Cornwall. The ship was ordered from Harland and Wolff at Belfast on 2 February 1943 as a to be named ''

Loch Frisa Loch Frisa (Gaelic: Loch Friosa) is a loch on the Isle of Mull, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. It falls within the Argyll and Bute unitary authority area. The loch runs largely northwest to southeast. Its northwestern end is about halfway between To ...

'' and laid down on 26 April 1944 as Admiralty Job Number J3917. During construction the contract was changed, and the ship was completed as a Bay-class frigate and named ''Widemouth Bay'' on 5 October 1944. Launched on 19 October, she was completed on 13 April 1945, the first of her class to be completed.

Service history

After sea trials and training ''Widemouth Bay'' sailed in July 1945. She arrived at the Forward Base of the British Pacific Fleet at Manus, Admiralty Islands, in August, just after the Japanese surrender. She remained on the Far East Station, based at Hong Kong, for the next year and a half, supporting post-war repatriation operations, carrying out patrols and escort duties. In March 1947, along with her

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 ...

s , and , she was transferred to

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

, to reinforce the

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Patrol. In September 1948 ''Widemouth Bay'' returned to the UK, and was assigned to the Fishery Protection Patrol, operating in the waters around the UK. From January to July 1949, her commanding officer was

Anthony Thorold Anthony Wilson Thorold (13 June 1825 – 25 July 1895) was an Anglican Bishop of Winchester in the Victorian era. The son of a Church of England priest, he also served as Bishop of Rochester. It was in that role that he travelled throughou ...

. In July 1949, when she was decommissioned and laid up in Reserve at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

. ''Widemouth Bay'' was recommissioned in June 1951 for service in 4th Training Flotilla of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

, based at Rosyth, also acting as an escort ship, and taking part in the

Coronation Naval Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

at Spithead in June 1953.Souvenir Programme, ''Coronation Review of the Fleet, Spithead, 15th June 1953'', HMSO, Gale and Polden The ship was decommissioned again in September 1953 and put into Reserve at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

. ''Widemouth Bay'' was placed on the Disposal List in 1957, and sold to the

British Iron & Steel Corporation The British Iron & Steel Corporation (Salvage) Ltd., commonly referred to as BISCO, was an organisation created during World War II to recycle scrap steel. BISCO's duties included making the arrangements for the scrapping of surplus Royal Navy s ...

(BISCO) for breaking up by

Hughes Bolckow Hughes Bolckow formerly ''Messrs, Hughes, Bolckow, and Co., Limited'' was a well-known shipbreaking company based in Blyth, Northumberland. Background Intending to create an industrial park for dismantling obsolete warships in 1911, the compa ...

. She arrived in tow at the breaker's yard in Blyth on 23 November 1957.

References

Publications

* 1944 ships Bay-class frigates Ships built in Belfast Ships built by Harland and Wolff {{UK-frigate-stub