HMS Loch Arkaig (K603)

HMS Loch Arkaig was a Loch-class frigate of the British Royal Navy, named after Loch Arkaig in Scotland. The ship was ordered from Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Dundee, Scotland, on 2 February 1943, and laid down on 1 November 1943. Launched on 7 June 1944, the ship was commissioned on 1 November 1945, and completed on 17 November. Unlike the rest of the class Loch Arkaig (along with Loch Tralaig) was fitted with Parsons single reduction geared turbines, rather than 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines. The ship served in the Home Fleet until laid-up and put into Reserve in 1952, and was sold for scrapping in 1959.[1]

Loch Arkaig on completion in 1945
History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Loch Arkaig
NamesakeLoch Arkaig
Ordered2 February 1943
BuilderCaledon Shipbuilding, Dundee
Yard number421
Laid down1 November 1943
Launched7 June 1944
Completed17 November 1945
Commissioned1 November 1945
Decommissioned1952
IdentificationPennant number K603
FateSold for scrapping, 1959
General characteristics
Class and typeLoch-class frigate
Displacement1,435 long tons (1,458 t)
Length307 ft 9 in (93.80 m)
Beam38 ft 9 in (11.81 m)
Draught8 ft 9 in (2.67 m)
Propulsion
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range9,500 nmi (17,600 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement114
Armament

Service history

After sea trials and commissioning in November 1945 Loch Arkaig sailed to the Clyde in December for modifications to stiffen her hull. In January 1946 the ship carried out Squid anti-submarine mortar and radio direction finding calibration, before joining the Flotilla at Derry to take part in "Operation Deadlight". She sank the U-boat U-975 on 10 February, and U-3514 on 12 February with her Squid mortar and Shark 4-inch projectiles.[1] U-3514 was the last U-boat to be sunk in "Operation Deadlight".[2]

For the next few years Loch Arkaig carried out training duties for anti-submarine personnel and Flotilla duties at Derry. In February 1949 Loch Arkaig, along with the aircraft carrier Vengeance, and destroyers St. Kitts and Gabbard, sailed into the Arctic, around Jan Mayen island, to study the effects of very cold weather on the performance of naval personnel and equipment ("Operation Rusty").[1]

In mid-1950 she took part in Flag Officer Submarines summer war exercises and Home Fleet visits, calling at Haugesund and Nordheimsund in Norway. In December, after a refit at Chatham Dockyard she joined the 6th Frigate Flotilla, Home Fleet. In April 1951 she took part in the search for the missing submarine Affray, before the usual programme of exercises and visits.[1]

Disposal

In 1952 Loch Arkaig was decommissioned, and laid-up in Reserve at Hartlepool. In 1957 she was placed on the Disposal List, and sold to the British Iron & Steel Corporation (BISCO) in 1959 for demolition by J.J. King at Gateshead, arriving in tow at the breaker's yard on 28 January 1960.[1]

References
  1. Mason, Geoffrey B. (2005). Gordon Smith (ed.). "HMS Loch Arkaig". naval-history.net. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  2. "Operation Deadlight: History". operationdeadlight.co.uk. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2010.

Publications
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