HMS Mounts Bay Escort ship

1945 HMS MOUNTS BAY. One of a class of 25 ships designed to be built quickly and cheaply and serve as general-purpose escorts, Mounts Bay was to have a long career, serving subsequently with the Portuguese Navy.

MASS-PRODUCED ESCORTS

Like the Loch class anti-submarine escorts with which they shared a hull, the Bay class ships which were optimised for anti-aircraft duties, were designed specifically to be pre-fabricated. In essence, the two classes were improved Rivers, and built to a somewhat lighter standard than was normal in warships. They were unsophisticated ships, with vertical triple-expansion engines and a top speed which was just enough to allow them to act as sheepdog to the convoys they were built to protect. Mounts Bay was laid down (though begun is probably more accurate, in the context) by Pickersgill (which as far as can be determined had never built a warship before the Bay class) in late 1944, launched on 8 June, 1945, a month after the cessation of hostilities in Europe, and not completed, by Thorneycroft, until 1949. She served with the Royal Navy until 1961, when she was transferred to Portugal, serving there as the Vasco da Gama for a further ten years.

ANTI-AIRCRAFr ARMAMENT

The Bay class ships were comparatively heavily armed, with four 4in (102mm) quick-firing guns in twin turrets, fore and aft, four 40mm Bofors in twin mounts and two or four more in singles. Mounts Bay had two, and carried six 20mm Oerlikons; those with four carried just two of the smaller cannon. All had Hedgehog a fairly primitive anti-submarine spigot mortar array which fired 24 X 26kg (57 pound) bombs in a pattern ahead of the ship as well as conventional depth charges launched astern. All had originally been planned as Lochs with but one 4in gun and two Squid multi-barrel trainable anti-submarine mortars, each of which fired three 200kg (440 pound) depth charges which detonated in a pre-set pattern. Their armament configuration was changed before they were completed, in line with changing criteria (and a further 54 Lochs were cancelled). Four Bays were completed as survey vessels and two as dispatch ships.

TECHNICAL DATA
Type: Anti-aircraft frigate
Machinery: 2-shaft vertical triple-expansion engines giving a total of 5500ihp Dimensions (overall): Length, 307ft (93.6m); (beam, 38.5ft (1.8m)
Displacement: 1600 tons standard, 2420 tons deep load
Draught: 1 2.75ft (3.9m) deep load Complement: 157