HMS Holmes (K581)

HMS Holmes (K581) was a Royal Navy Captain-class frigate, originally a Buckley-class destroyer escort intended for the United States Navy. Before she was finished in 1944, she was transferred to the Royal Navy under the terms of Lend-Lease, and was in commission from 1944 to 1945, seeing service during World War II.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Holmes and USS Holmes.

History
United States
Name: unnamed
Builder: Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Hingham, Massachusetts
Laid down: 27 October 1943[1]
Identification: DE-572
Renamed: USS Holmes 1943
Namesake: British name assigned in anticipation of transfer to United Kingdom
Launched: 18 December 1943
Completed: 31 January 1944
Commissioned: never
Fate: Transferred to United Kingdom 31 January 1944
Acquired: Returned by United Kingdom 3 December 1945[2]
Stricken: 7 February 1946
Fate: Sold October 1947 for scrapping
United Kingdom
Class and type: Captain-class frigate
Name: HMS Holmes
Namesake: Admiral Sir Robert Holmes (ca. 1622-1692), English naval officer who fought in the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars[3]
Acquired: 31 January 1944
Commissioned: 31 January 1944[1]
Identification: Pennant number K581
Fate: Returned to U.S. Navy 3 December 1945[2]
General characteristics
Displacement: 1,400 tons
Length: 306 ft (93 m)
Beam: 36.75 ft (11.2 m)
Draught: 9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion:
  • Two Foster-Wheeler Express "D"-type water-tube boilers
  • GE 13,500 shp (10,070 kW) steam turbines and generators (9,200 kW)
  • Electric motors for 12,000 shp (8,900 kW)
  • Two shafts
Speed: 24 knots (44 km/h)
Range: 5,500 nmi (10,200 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h)
Complement: 186
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • SA & SL type radars
  • Type 144 series Asdic
  • MF Direction Finding antenna
  • HF Direction Finding Type FH 4 antenna
Armament:
Notes: Pennant number K581

Construction and transfer

The still-unnamed ship was laid down as the U.S. Navy destroyer escort DE-572 by Bethlehem-Hingham Shipyard, Inc., in Hingham, Massachusetts, on 27 October 1943.[1] Allocated to the United Kingdom, she received the British name Holmes and was launched on 18 December 1943. She was transferred to the United Kingdom upon completion on 31 January 1944.

Service history
An officer taking a compass bearing aboard HMS Holmes whilst she was guarding Allied supply lines to the Normandy beachhead

Commissioned into service in the Royal Navy as the frigate HMS Holmes (K581) on 31 January 1944 simultaneously with her transfer, the ship served on escort duty for the remainder of World War II. The Royal Navy returned her to the U.S. Navy on 3 December 1945.[2]

Disposal

The U.S. Navy struck Holmes from its Naval Vessel Register on 7 February 1946. She was sold to Walter H. Wilms and Company of Detroit, Michigan, in October 1947 for scrapping.

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References
  1. uboat.net HMS Holmes (K 581)
  2. Navsource Online: Destroyer Escort Photo Archive DE-572 HMS Holmes (K-581)
  3. Captain Class Frigate Association: HMS Holmes K581 (DE 572)


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