Name Holmes Renamed Hong Kong, 1943 Length 93 m | Laid down 17 August 1943 Namesake Hong Kong | |
Namesake A British name assigned in anticipation of delivery of the ship to the United Kingdom Reclassified Patrol frigate, PF-81, 15 April 1943 Builders Walsh-Kaiser Company, Providence | ||
The fourth HMS Tobago (K585), ex-Hong Kong, was a Colony-class frigate of the United Kingdom which served in the Royal Navy during World War II. She originally was ordered by the United States Navy as the Tacoma-class patrol frigate USS Holmes (PF-81) and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion.
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Construction and acquisition
The ship, originally designated a "patrol gunboat," PG-189, was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission under a United States Navy contract as the first USS Holmes. She was reclassified as a "patrol frigate," PF-81, on 15 April 1943 and laid down by the Walsh-Kaiser Company at Providence, Rhode Island, on 17 August 1943. Intended for transfer to the United Kingdom, the ship was first renamed Hong Kong and then Tobago by the British prior to launching and was launched on 27 September 1943, sponsored by Mrs. D. W. Ambridge of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Service history
Transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease on 12 August 1944, the ship served in the Royal Navy as HMS Tobago (K585) on patrol and escort duty until 1945.
Disposal
The United Kingdom returned Tobago to the U.S. Navy on 13 May 1946. She subsequently was sold to the Boston Metals Company of Baltimore, Maryland, for scrapping, but her scrapping was cancelled and in 1950 she was resold to Khedivial Mail Lines of Alexandria, Egypt, for use as a civilian passenger vessel. She was sunk as a blockship in the Suez Canal in 1956.