HMS Bahamas
{{short description|Colony-class frigate}}
{{other ships|USS Hotham}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = United States | Ship flag = {{USN flag|1947}} | Ship name = USS Hotham | Ship owner = | Ship namesake = Sir William Hotham (1772–1848), British naval officer who was commanding officer of {{HMS|Adamant|1780|6}} at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797 (British name assigned in anticipation of ship{{'}}s transfer to United Kingdom)The [https://web.archive.org/web/20040313232957/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/h8/hotham-ii.htm Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Hotham II] article does not provide a namesake, but [https://web.archive.org/web/20040331095957/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/h8/hotham-i.htm its Hotham I article] for a destroyer escort transferred to the United Kingdom identifies "Hotham" as a British name. | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence, Rhode Island | Ship laid down = 7 April 1943[http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/277.html uboat.net HMS Bahamas (K 503)] | Ship reclassified = Patrol frigate, 15 April 1943 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = yes | Ship renamed = Bahamas, 1943 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = yes | Ship namesake = The Bahamas (British name assigned in anticipation of ship{{'}}s transfer to United Kingdom) }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = yes | Ship launched = 17 August 1943 | Ship sponsor = Mrs. James A. Gallagher | Ship acquired = by Captain Walter Thomson OBE | Ship commissioned = never | Ship decommissioned = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship identification = *PG-183
| Ship honors = | Ship fate = Transferred to United Kingdom 6 December 1943 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = yes | Ship acquired = Returned by United Kingdom 11 June 1946 | Ship fate = Sold for scrapping 16 December 1947 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = title | Ship country = United Kingdom | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} | Ship name = HMS Bahamas | Ship namesake = The Bahamas | Ship acquired = 6 December 1943 | Ship commissioned = 6 December 1943 | Ship decommissioned = | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship honours = | Ship identification = K503 | Ship fate = Returned to United States, 11 June 1946 | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = {{sclass2|Colony|frigate|5}}/{{sclass|Tacoma|frigate}} | Ship displacement = {{convert|1264|LT|t|lk=in}} | Ship length = {{convert|303|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|37|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draft = {{convert|13|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship propulsion = *3 × boilers
| Ship speed = {{convert|20|kn|lk=in}} | Ship range = | Ship endurance = | Ship complement = 190 | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = *3 × single 3"/50 caliber gun
| Ship armor = | Ship notes = }} |
HMS Bahamas (K503) was a {{sclass2|Colony|frigate}} of the United Kingdom that served during World War II. She originally was ordered by the United States Navy as the {{sclass|Tacoma|frigate|1}} USS Hotham (PF-75) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion.
Construction and acquisition
The ship, originally designated a "patrol gunboat," PG-183, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a United States Navy contract as the first USS Hotham. Laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 7 April 1943, she was reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-75, on 15 April 1943. Intended for transfer to the United Kingdom, the ship was renamed Bahamas by the British prior to launching and was launched on 17 August 1943, sponsored by Mrs. James A. Gallagher.
Service history
Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 6 December 1943, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS Bahamas (K503) on patrol and escort duty. The most notable event of her career took place while she was part of the escort of an Arctic convoy in the Barents Sea on 11 November 1944; the German submarine {{GS|U-365||2}} blew the entire bow off of the British destroyer {{HMS|Cassandra|R62|6}} with a G7es ("GNAT") torpedo at {{coord|71|57|00|N|032|04|00|E}}, and Bahamas took Cassandra under tow stern-first toward the Kola Inlet in the Soviet Union. A Soviet tug later took over the tow from Bahamas and successfully delivered Cassandra to the Kola Inlet.
Disposal
The United Kingdom returned Bahamas to the U.S. Navy on 11 June 1946. She was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Commission for disposal and subsequently sold to the John J. Duane Company of Quincy, Massachusetts, for scrapping on 16 December 1947.
References
=Notes=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/h8/hotham-ii.htm|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b1/bahamas.htm}}
- [http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/08075.htm Navsource Online: Frigate Photo Archive HMS Bahama (K 503) ex-Hotham ex-PF-75 ex-PG-183]
{{Portal|United Kingdom}}
{{Tacoma class patrol frigate}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bahamas (K503)}}
Category:Ships built in Providence, Rhode Island
Category:Tacoma-class frigates
Category:Colony-class frigates
Category:World War II frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States