HMS St Austell Bay (K634) was a anti-aircraft

Anti-aircraft warfare

NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...

 frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

, named after St Austell Bay

St Austell Bay

St Austell Bay is a bay on Cornwall's south coast which is bounded to the east by Gribbin Head and to the west by Black Head.Since 1 April 2009 it has also been the name of a civil parish, one of four new parishes created on for the St Austell area. It lies southeast of the town of St Austell and...

 on the south coast of Cornwall. In commission from 1945 until 1956, she served in the Mediterranean Fleet

Mediterranean Fleet

Several countries have or have had a Mediterranean Fleet in their navy. See:* Mediterranean Fleet * French Mediterranean Fleet* Mediterranean Squadron * United States Sixth Fleet...

 and on the America and West Indies Squadron.

Construction

The ship was originally ordered from Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff

Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a Northern Irish heavy industrial company, specialising in shipbuilding and offshore construction, located in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

 of Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 on 2 February 1943 as the Loch Lydoch. However the contract was then changed, and the ship was built to a revised design as a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate, launched on 18 November 1944, and completed on 29 May 1945.

Service history

After commissioning and sea trial

Sea trial

A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . 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 can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...

s St Austell Bay was assigned to duty in the British Pacific Fleet

British Pacific Fleet

The British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...

. However, she was still at Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 with other ships of the 33rd Escort Group when news of the surrender of Japan

Surrender of Japan

The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...

 arrived on 15 August. St Austell Bay remained in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 for the next five years, mainly operating in the Aegean and Adriatic, on patrols, guardship duties, and several periods as part of the Haifa Patrol, attempting to intercept ships carrying illegal Jewish immigrants to Palestine

Mandate Palestine

Mandate Palestine existed while the British Mandate for Palestine, which formally began in September 1923 and terminated in May 1948, was in effect...

.

In April 1950 St Austell Bay and exchanged with the Royal New Zealand Navy frigates and , arriving at Auckland on 3 July to join the RNZN 11th Frigate Flotilla for exercises, patrols and visits in the Pacific, finally returning to the flotilla at Malta on 4 January 1951.

In March she returned to the UK for service in the 7th Frigate Flotilla, Home Fleet, and almost immediately took part on the search for the missing submarine . Patrols, visits, and fleet exercises occupied the rest of the year, including an exercise with a submarine of the Royal Norwegian Navy in September.

In June 1952 she arrived at Hamilton, Bermuda

Hamilton, Bermuda

Hamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination.-Geography:...

, to join the America and West Indies Squadron, and in July was sent to Port Stanley to act as Guardship in the Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

. In October she left the Falklands and sailed up the west coast of South America, making calls at Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt

Puerto Montt is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region. The commune spans an area of and had a population of 175,938 in 2002. It is located 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago...

, Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

 and Antofagasta

Antofagasta

Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...

 in Chile, and Callao

Callao

Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...

 in Peru, before transiting the Panama Canal, and returning to Bermuda in December.

In 1953 she visited various Caribbean ports, and carried out exercises, including one in May with ships of the Royal Canadian Navy

Royal Canadian Navy

The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...

. In June she sailed to Devonport to refit, then returned to Bermuda in November. From March to June 1954 she was Guardship at the Falklands, again returning to Bermuda by way of the Pacific coast of South America. In September she visited the United States, calling at ports in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

, then returned to the UK in November to refit at Plymouth.

St Austell Bay was recommissioned in May 1955, but significant problems with the refit delayed deployment until November when she returned to Bermuda for the usual programme of joint exercises, training and port visits in the Caribbean and to North America. She returned to Plymouth in August 1956 to decommission and was put into Reserve. St Austell Bay remained in the Reserve Fleet at Plymouth until 1959 when she was placed on the Disposal List. She was sold to BISCO for demolition by Shipbreaking Industries and arrived in tow at the breakers yard at Charlestown

Charlestown, Fife

Charlestown, Fife is a town in Scotland on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, adjoining Limekilns and Rosyth. Like Rosyth, Charlestown was home to a sizable shipbreaking industry in the mid twentieth centuryCharlestown is home to the The Scottish Lime Centre Trust which was established in 1994...

 near Rosyth

Rosyth

Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....

on 5 July 1959.